Ivell Laboratory

The new Ivell laboratory is close and convenient to the laboratories of the Discipline of Physiology as well as to the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Pharmacology in the Faculty of Health Sciences, with whom we have active collaborations. The group, which also includes a senior researcher Professor Mordechai Shemesh from Israel, is versed in all aspects of the molecular and cell biology of reproductive tissue differentiation, especially including analysis of gene regulation and signal transduction pathways.

The Molecular Reproduction Laboratory is concerned with understanding reproductive physiology at the molecular level. Reproductive function, unlike in many other organ systems, is regulated by modulating differentiation processes within the tissues concerned. An example of this is the differentiation of the uterus through the menstrual cycle in preparation for embryo implantation and pregnancy. Other examples are in the growth and maturation of ovarian follicles, or in the production of sperm and steroid hormones within the testes. We want to understand the molecular mechanisms governing these processes, and what makes an individual fertile or infertile. This knowledge is not only of importance for helping couples to have children, but is key science in the development of novel forms of contraception, or of the reproductive technologies upon which animal biotechnology and the production of transgenic animals increasingly depend.

The Molecular Reproduction Laboratory is run by Professor Richard Ivell and Dr Ravinder Anand-Ivell, who have recently joined the University of Adelaide from Germany. Projects currently running in the group relate to the way the insulin-like peptide hormone relaxin is able to induce the endometrium of the uterus to adopt a differentiation status suitable for embryo implantation, and to the way another closely related peptide, INSL3, is involved in follicle selection in the ovary and differentiation in the male. In boys and men, the latter hormone seems to be responsible for descent of the testes at birth as well as playing a role in the changes, during puberty and aging, of the sex steroid-producing cells of the testis. The group is also looking at the genes, which contribute to the structure and function of spermatozoa, and which may have been instrumental in aspects of human evolution. Research on these systems, is not only of relevance for normal development, but is also being focussed on situations where the regulatory mechanisms break down, as in the hormone-dependent cancers of the reproductive system, or in so-called endocrine disruption by environmental factors.

The major techniques being used in the laboratory are modern methods of cell and molecular biology, using primary cells derived from animal and human tissues, as well as established cell-lines. Methods include the use of microarrays and realtime PCR analysis, as well as the investigation of cell signalling mechanisms by western blotting and antibody-based techniques. The lab now also has a fully established time-resolved fluorescent immunoassay (TRFIA) and ELISA unit for the development and application of in-house assays. Development of new methods represents an important part of the work of this laboratory.