Publication Research
The Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic has left thousands of children in devastating conditions that has had a huge impact on their entire life. Understanding the pathology and management of the condition remains a priority for researchers.
Professor Zoltán Molnár and a team of international researchers, including Patricia Garcez from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Helen Stolp from King's College London, have published a paper, entitled "Zika virus impairs the development of blood vessels in a mouse model of congenital infection", which studies the development abnormalities associated to ZIKV.
In the paper, which has been published in Scientific Reports, the team demonstrated a novel mechanism as to how the ZIKV infection impacts on blood vessels development. The study demonstrated the previously described reduction of the cortical progenitors and cortical neurons as a result of ZIKV infection, but it revealed that the ZIKV infected brains displayed a reduction in brain vasculature density and vessel branching.
These impaired vascular patterns were not only apparent in the brain, but also in the placenta and retina. Moreover, proteomic analysis has shown that angiogenesis proteins are deregulated in the infected brains compared to controls.
These new results indicate that ZIKV impairs angiogenesis in addition to neurogenesis during development. The study suggests that ZIKV is responsible for additional angiogenic defects that could contribute to the reduced neurogenesis in the ventricular zone and the later reduced cortical volume. The widespread vasculature defects contribute to the congenital ZIKA syndrome to affect not only the general brain growth but also the general development of the unborn child.
The study emphasises these novel disease mechanisms that have to be considered in management and in direct therapeutic targeting.
General Research
Professor Zoltán Molnár talks to Dr Erica Charters for a History of Medicine perspective on Oxford physician and Father of Neurology Thomas Willis.
On 27 January 2021 we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of the greatest neuroanatomist of all time, Thomas Willis. DPAG's Professor Zoltán Molnár has interviewed 8 experts - watch a video preview of what's to come from Monday onwards! With thanks to St John's College.
Cardiac Theme Postdoctoral Publication Research
The earliest known progenitor of the outermost layer of the heart has been characterised for the first time and linked to the development of other critical cell types in the developing heart in a new paper from the Srinivas group led by BHF Immediate Fellow Dr Richard Tyser.
In a new study into the longer-term damage amongst patients recovering from COVID-19, DPAG Research Fellow Dr James Grist of the Tyler Lab has been running a novel scanning technique that shows a dramatic decrease in the ability of the lungs to diffuse gas in to the blood stream after COVID infection. This work may shed light on the problem of breathlessness after COVID infection and help guide us in understanding therapeutic selection and efficacy.
CNCB Publication Research
Hundreds of dietary supplements have been reported to improve cognitive and emotional function in humans, but few have scientific foundation. A new study from the Waddell group provides fresh insight into how dietary Magnesium supplementation can influence memory performance.
New research led by Oxford BHF CRE Intermediate Transition Fellow Dr Kerstin Timm shows that a recently developed imaging technique pioneered by the Tyler Group can detect early metabolic changes in the heart caused by a commonly used chemotherapy drug, which is known to increase risk of heart failure in cancer survivors.