News — Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG)

On the left is an example of data collected using a line-scan confocal microscope. A single line through the cell is scanned within repeatedly (ca. 500 times per second), and calcium indicator fluorescence is recorded. Time goes from top to bottom and the location along the cell length is left-to-right. When single sparks recruit further sparks, this can lead to the emergence of propagating calcium wave, as shown starting near the middle of the cell and propagating to the left. The right panel shows how SparkMaster 2 detects calcium sparks, miniwaves, and waves. For each of the recorded events, the software records numerous event properties, such as location, size, amplitude, dynamics of rise and fall of fluorescence to a spreadsheet, for further analyses.

Pioneering new software to analyse intracellular calcium signals

1 September 2023

A collaborative team of UC Davis and University of Oxford researchers have developed an innovative new software tool – SparkMaster 2 – which will enable automatic analysis of calcium sparks which are known to cause cardiac arrythmias in a variety of disease settings. First and co-corresponding author Dr Jakub Tomek, who is a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellow based in DPAG's Zaccolo group, conducted this research as part of his fellowship year spent at UC Davis.

Two side by side tissue samples from a human colon. On the left shows a sample from a normal colon (more alkaline) and on the right shows colorectal cancer tissue, characterised by higher acidity.

Researchers discover how cancer cells adapt under acidity

27 June 2023

New research led by Dr Johanna Michl and Professor Pawel Swietach has solved the longstanding mystery of how cancer cells are able to maintain a relatively alkaline intracellular pH, despite being surrounded by an acidic environment. A raised intracellular pH is required for cancer progression because it allows cancer cells to efficiently proliferate and metastasise. However, until now the exact molecular mechanism underlying this adaptation was unknown.

New computational technique reveals changes to lung function post COVID-19 infection

5 October 2022

A collaborative DPAG-led study studied patients at six and twelve months after COVID-19 infection, finding that prior COVID-19 infection was associated with more uneven inflation of the lungs during normal breathing. There was also an association between hospitalisation with COVID-19 and smaller lung volumes, and admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) was associated with an enlarged respiratory dead space.

Researchers describe how cancer cells can defend themselves from the consequences of certain genetic defects

16 September 2022

Swietach Group scientists have identified a rescue mechanism that allows cancers to overcome the consequences of inactivating mutations in critically important genes.

Anant Parekh to deliver The Physiological Society's Annual Review Prize Lecture

4 July 2022

The Annual Review Prize Lecture is The Physiological Society's most prestigious lecture.

A male individual breathes into a scientific sensor device.

Collaborative team driven by DPAG and Chemistry awarded RSC Horizon Prize

7 June 2022

The Molecular Flow Sensor Team, with collaborating members principally from DPAG’s Robbins and Talbot groups and the Department of Chemistry, has been named the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC) Analytical Division Horizon Prize for the development of a new technology for measuring lung function.

DPAG researchers showcased at premier European Society of Cardiology meeting

5 May 2022

DPAG scientists across four research groups were highlighted at the major annual European Society of Cardiology basic science conference (FCVB 2022). Congratulations are in order for Dr KC Park on receiving the Young Investigator Award and to Dr Elisabetta Gamen on winning the Moderated Poster Prize.

Map of nuclear and cytoplasmic pH recorded in neonatal cardiac cells incubated in various medium pH: 6.24, 6.49, 6.80. 6.98, 7.10 and 7.45. This is colour coded on a scale from 6.1 - 7.6 pH.

The effect of nuclear pH on cardiac gene expression

13 April 2022

Research led by Dr Alzbeta Hulikova and Professor Pawel Swietach has, for the first time, described the potential regulation of nuclear acid-base chemistry in neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes, and explained its relevance in the context of heart physiology and pathology.

An unexpected role for the cell’s largest membrane network

7 April 2022

A new Klemm Lab-led paper has uncovered a new mechanism involving the endoplasmic reticulum that is critical to the organisation and position of the microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton, which ultimately dictates the shape and function of our body’s cells.

Side by side pancreatic islets demonstrating prevalence of glucagon in normal animals and heavily reduced glucagon when ACC1 is knocked out.

New insights into little understood regulator of blood sugar levels

25 March 2022

A new Novo Nordisk project paper has uncovered the role of ACC1 enzyme in the regulation of glucagon secretion for the first time. This raises the prospect of a potential new therapeutic target in the context of type 2 diabetes and metabolic disorders characterised by hyperglycaemia.

Pawel Swietach appointed to Oxford Cancer Oversight Committee

21 March 2022

Congratulations are in order to Professor Pawel Swietach, who will represent the Department in strategic decision-making for Oxford Cancer.

Cy5.5-conjugated pH-(low)-insertion peptide (pHLIP, red) to label acidic tumour regions and Hoechst-33342 (blue) to label cell nuclei in the fresh frozen tumor sections of wild-type SW1222 xenografts.

New gene target identified to prevent tumour growth under acidity

11 March 2022

A new paper led by Dr Johanna Michl and Professor Pawel Swietach from DPAG’s Swietach Group has identified a new gene that allows cancer cells to survive in the typically acidic microenvironment of a malignant tumour. They have discovered drugs that inhibit the gene in other medical conditions also selectively kill cancer cells at acidic pH, without damaging healthy tissue. This defines a novel strategy for targeting acidic tumour regions.

Blood bank storage can reduce ability of transfusions to treat anaemia

13 September 2021

New research from the Swietach Group in collaboration with NHS Blood and Transplant has demonstrated that the process of storing blood in blood banks can negatively impact the function of red blood cells and consequently may reduce the effectiveness of blood transfusions, a treatment commonly used to combat anaemia.

Decorative comparison of rest cells and simulated cells

Overlapping second messengers increase dynamic control of physiological responses

3 September 2021

New research from the Parekh and Zaccolo groups reveals that a prototypical anchoring protein, known to be responsible for regulating several important physiological processes, also orchestrates the formation of two important universal second messengers.

Upper panel: Rest
Lower panel: stimulated

Images from left:
Orai1-GFP
STIM1-YFP
DAPI (nuclear stain)
NFAT-cherry
All merged

New target to develop immunosuppressants

18 May 2021

A new study from the Parekh Group has resolved a long-standing question in our understanding of intracellular Ca2+ signalling, namely how a specific type of Ca2+ channel is uniquely able to signal to the nucleus to regulate gene expression. By unravelling this mechanism, researchers have identified a new approach for developing immunosuppressant drugs.

Nchimunya Nelisa Tebeka wins Diabetes UK Early Career Investigator Award

10 May 2021

Congratulations are in order to Rhodes Scholar Nchimunya Nelisa Tebeka, who has been awarded this year's Diabetes UK Early Career Investigator Award for her DPhil work. This award is awarded for the best basic or clinical science oral abstract presentation at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference.

Cartoon of pair of lungs displaying how Almitrine Bismesylate operates in Covid-19. Arrows underneath show blood flow is blocked from entering diseased right hand lung.

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