Tania Fowke

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Researcher at MIMETAS

Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia is associated with disruption of cortical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic interneurons and their surrounding perineuronal nets, which may contribute to persisting neurological deficits. Blockade of connexin43 hemichannels using a mimetic peptide can alleviate seizures and injury after hypoxia-ischemia. In this study,...

Abstract Hypoxia-ischaemia (HI) in term infants is a common cause of brain injury and neurodevelopmental impairment. Development of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic circuitry in the cerebral cortex is a critical event in perinatal brain development. Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are specialised extracellular matrix structures that surround GABAergic...

Hyaluronan is a linear glycosaminoglycan that forms the backbone of perineuronal nets around neurons in the cerebral cortex. However, it remains controversial whether neurons are capable of independent hyaluronan synthesis. Herein, we examined the expression of hyaluronan and hyaluronan synthases (HASs) throughout cortical neuron development in vit...

Preterm born infants have high rates of brain injury, leading to motor and neurocognitive problems in later life. Infection and resulting inflammation of the fetus and newborn are highly associated with these disabilities. However, there are no established neuroprotective therapies. Microglial activation and expression of many cytokines play a key...

Objective Although the spectrum of white matter injury (WMI) in preterm infants is shifting from cystic necrotic lesions to milder forms, the factors that contribute to this changing spectrum are unclear. We hypothesized that recurrent hypoxia-ischemia (rHI) will exacerbate the spectrum of WMI defined by markers of inflammation and molecules relate...