Profile

Professor Christine Jasoni

Contact Details

Phone: +64 3 479 6373
Email: hod.anatomy@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position: Professor and Head of Department
Department: Department of Anatomy
Qualifications: BSc PhD
Research summary: Neural development

Research

The focus of Professor Jasoni's research is on discovering how the maternal environment during pregnancy affects the formation of the fetal brain. With conditions such as obesity and diabetes on the rise in Western society and the developing world, it is critical that we fully understand the health implications of these disorders for future generations. Specifically, there is clear epidemiological data showing that maternal obesity can greatly increase the likelihood that offspring will also be obese. Professor Jasoni seeks 1) to establish specifically how maternal obesity during pregnancy alters the development of the fetal brain circuits that regulate offspring body weight; 2) to discover epigenetic changes in the brains of the offspring of obese or diabetic mothers, as a further mechanism to explain the influence of maternal health on offspring brain function.

Research interests

My team uses an array of techniques including molecular and cellular biology, mouse genetic models, live cell imaging, and bioinformatics to address their scientific questions. In addition, they have active collaborations with laboratories in the Centre for Neuroendocrinology, the National Research Centre for Growth and Development (one of the 7 national Centres of Research Excellence), as well as overseas collaborations. This collaborative research creates a vibrant, intellectually invigorating environment in which to conduct cutting-edge science that is internationally recognized and will benefit health outcomes in New Zealand and the world.

Laboratory of Developmental Neuroscience

Publications

Richard, S., Zhou, Y., Jasoni, C. L., & Pankhurst, M. W. (2023). Ovarian follicle size or growth-rate can both be determinants of ovulatory follicle selection in mice. Biology of Reproduction, ioad134. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioad134

Kamstra, K., van der Burg, C., Quertermous, H. M., Muncaster, S., Todd, E. V., Jasoni, C. L., … Gemmell, N. J. (2023). Neuroanatomy of a sex changing fish: The New Zealand spotty wrasse (Notolabrus celidotus) brain atlas. New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/03014223.2023.2216939

Watanabe, Y., Fisher, L., Campbell, R. E., & Jasoni, C. L. (2023). Defining potential targets of prenatal androgen excess: Expression analysis of androgen receptor on hypothalamic neurons in the fetal female mouse brain. Journal of Neuroendocrinology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/jne.13302

Decourt, C., Watanabe, Y., Evans, M. C., Inglis, M. A., Fisher, L. C., Jasoni, C. L., Campbell, R. E., & Anderson, G. M. (2023). Deletion of androgen receptors from kisspeptin neurons prevents PCOS features in a letrozole mouse model. Endocrinology, bqad077. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1210/endocr/bqad077

Zhou, Y., Neyt, C., Batchelor, N. J., Kelley, R. L., Jaafar Amsak, K., Anderson, G. M., Oorschot, D. E., Jasoni, C. L., Girling, J. E., & Pankhurst, M. W. (2022). Fetal resorption coincides with dysregulated LH secretion in AMH-overexpressing mice. Journal of Endocrinology, 253(2), 53-62. doi: 10.1530/joe-21-0430

Journal - Research Article

Freeman, A. K., Glendining, K. A., & Jasoni, C. L. (2021). Developmental genes controlling neural circuit formation are expressed in the early postnatal hypothalamus and cellular lining of the third ventricle. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 33(9), e13020. doi: 10.1111/jne.13020

Journal - Research Article

Nair, B. B., Khant Aung, Z., Porteous, R., Prescott, M., Glendining, K. A., Jenkins, D. E., Augustine, R. A., Silva, M. S. B., Yip, S. H., Bouwer, G. T., Brown, C. H., Jasoni, C. L., Campbell, R. E., Bunn, S. J., Anderson, G. M., Grattan, D. R., Herbison, A. E., & Iremonger, K. J. (2021). Impact of chronic variable stress on neuroendocrine hypothalamus and pituitary in male and female C57BL/6J mice. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 33, e12972. doi: 10.1111/jne.12972

Journal - Research Article

Sati, A., Prescott, M., Holland, S., Jasoni, C. L., Desroziers, E., & Campbell, R. E. (2021). Morphological evidence indicate a role for microglia in shaping the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)-like brain. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 33, e12999. doi: 10.1111/jne.12999

Journal - Research Article

Watanabe, Y., Prescott, M., Campbell, R. E., & Jasoni, C. L. (2021). Prenatal androgenization causes expression changes of progesterone and androgen receptor mRNAs in the arcuate nucleus of female mice across development. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 33, e13058. doi: 10.1111/jne.13058

Journal - Research Article

Glendining, K. A., Higgins, M. B. A., Fisher, L. C., & Jasoni, C. L. (2020). Maternal obesity modulates sexually dimorphic epigenetic regulation and expression of leptin receptor in offspring hippocampus. Brain, Behavior & Immunity, 88, 151-160. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.03.006

Journal - Research Article

Campbell, S., Jasoni, C., & Longnecker, N. (2019). Drinking patterns and attitudes about alcohol among New Zealand adolescents. Kōtuitui, 14(2), 276-289. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2019.1625934

Journal - Research Article

Glendining, K. A., Fisher, L. C., & Jasoni, C. L. (2018). Maternal high fat diet alters offspring epigenetic regulators, amygdala glutamatergic profile and anxiety. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 96, 132-141. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.06.015

Journal - Research Article

Pace, P. E., Peskin, A. V., Konigstorfer, A., Jasoni, C. L., Winterbourn, C. C., & Hampton, M. B. (2018). Peroxiredoxin interaction with the cytoskeletal-regulatory protein CRMP2: Investigation of a putative redox relay. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 129, 383-393. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.10.407

Journal - Research Article

Tan, C. L., Sheard, P. W., & Jasoni, C. L. (2018). Developing neurites from mouse basal forebrain gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons use Sonic hedgehog to modulate their growth. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 68, 89-97. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2018.05.005

Journal - Research Article

Thomson-Laing, G., Jasoni, C. L., & Lokman, P. M. (2018). The effects of migratory stage and 11-ketotestosterone on the expression of rod opsin genes in the shortfinned eel (Anguilla australis). General & Comparative Endocrinology, 257, 211-219. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.06.025

Journal - Research Article

Glendining, K. A., Markie, D., Gardner, R. J. M., Franz, E. A., Robertson, S. P., & Jasoni, C. L. (2017). A novel role for the DNA repair gene Rad51 in Netrin-1 signalling. Scientific Reports, 7, 39823. doi: 10.1038/srep39823

Journal - Research Article

Méneret, A., Franz, E. A., Trouillard, O., Oliver, T. C., Zagar, Y., Robertson, S. P., … Gardner, R. J. M., … Jasoni, C. L., … Markie, D. (2017). Mutations in the netrin-1 gene cause congenital mirror movements. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 127(11), 3923-3936. doi: 10.1172/jci95442

Journal - Research Article

Sanders, T. R., Glendining, K. A., & Jasoni, C. L. (2017). Obesity during pregnancy in the mouse alters the Netrin-1 responsiveness of foetal arcuate nucleus neuropeptide Y neurones. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 29(12), e12556. doi: 10.1111/jne.12556

Journal - Research Article

Berretta, A., Gowing, E. K., Jasoni, C. L., & Clarkson, A. N. (2016). Sonic hedgehog stimulates neurite outgrowth in a mechanical stretch model of reactive-astrogliosis. Scientific Reports, 6, 21896. doi: 10.1038/srep21896

Journal - Research Article

Doynova, M. D., Berretta, A., Jones, M. B., Jasoni, C. L., Vickers, M. H., & O'Sullivan, J. M. (2016). Interactions between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA in mammalian cells are non-random. Mitochondrion, 30, 187-196. doi: 10.1016/j.mito.2016.08.003

Journal - Research Article

Kim, D. W., Glendining, K. A., Grattan, D. R., & Jasoni, C. L. (2016). Maternal obesity in the mouse compromises the blood-brain barrier in the arcuate nucleus of offspring. Endocrinology, 157(6), 2229-2242. doi: 10.1210/en.2016-1014

Journal - Research Article

Kim, D. W., Glendining, K. A., Grattan, D. R., & Jasoni, C. L. (2016). Maternal obesity leads to increased proliferation and numbers of astrocytes in the developing fetal and neonatal mouse hypothalamus. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 53, 18-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2016.06.005

Journal - Research Article

Prescott, S. L., Allen, K., Armstrong, K., Collins, C., Dickinson, H., Gardiner, K., … Jasoni, C., … Craig, J. M. (2016). The establishment of DOHaD working groups in Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health & Disease, 7(5), 433-439. doi: 10.1017/S2040174416000167

Journal - Research Article

Franz, E. A., Chiaroni-Clarke, R., Woodrow, S., Glendining, K. A., Jasoni, C. L., Robertson, S. P., Gardner, R. J. M., & Markie, D. (2015). Congenital mirror movements: Phenotypes associated with DCC and RAD51 mutations. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 351(1-2), 140-145. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2015.03.006

Journal - Research Article

Hale, M. W., Spencer, S. J., Conti, B., Jasoni, C. L., Kent, S., Radler, M. E., … Sominsky, L. (2015). Diet, behavior and immunity across the lifespan. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 58, 46-62. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.12.009

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., Sanders, T. R., & Kim, D. W. (2015). Do all roads lead to Rome? The role of neuro-immune interactions before birth in the programming of offspring obesity. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 8, 455. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2014.00455

Journal - Research Article

Kim, D. W., Young, S. L., Grattan, D. R., & Jasoni, C. L. (2014). Obesity during pregnancy disrupts placental morphology, cell proliferation, and inflammation in a sex-specific manner across gestation in the mouse. Biology of Reproduction, 90(6), 130. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.113.117259

Journal - Research Article

Sanders, T. R., Kim, D. W., Glendining, K. A., & Jasoni, C. L. (2014). Maternal obesity and IL-6 lead to aberrant developmental gene expression and deregulated neurite growth in the fetal arcuate nucleus. Endocrinology, 155(7), 2566-2577. doi: 10.1210/en.2013-1968

Journal - Research Article

Wyatt, A. K., Zavodna, M., Viljoen, J. L., Stanton, J.-A. L., Gemmell, N. J., & Jasoni, C. L. (2013). Changes in methylation patterns of Kiss1 and Kiss1r gene promoters across puberty. Genetics & Epigenetics, 5, 51-62.

Journal - Research Article

Constantin, S., Jasoni, C., Romanò, N., Lee, K., & Herbison, A. E. (2012). Understanding calcium homeostasis in postnatal gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons using cell-specific Pericam transgenics. Cell Calcium, 51(3-4), 267-276. doi: 10.1016/j.ceca.2011.11.005

Journal - Research Article

Low, V. F., Fiorini, Z., Fisher, L., & Jasoni, C. L. (2012). Netrin-1 stimulates developing GnRH neurons to extend neurites to the median eminence in a calcium-dependent manner. PLoS ONE, 7(10), e46999. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046999

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., & Campbell, S. R. S. (2011). Defining the cellular targets of IL6 in the fetal mouse brain. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health & Disease, 2(Suppl. 1), S77. doi: 10.1017/S2040174411000481

Journal - Research Article

Constantin, S., Jasoni, C. L., Wadas, B., & Herbison, A. E. (2010). γ-aminobutyric acid and glutamate differentially regulate intracellular calcium concentrations in mouse gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons. Endocrinology, 151(1), 262-270. doi: 10.1210/en.2009-0817

Journal - Research Article

Fiorini, Z., & Jasoni, C. L. (2010). A novel developmental role for Kisspeptin in the growth of GnRH neurites to the median eminence in the mouse. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 22(10), 1113-1125. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2826.2010.02059.x

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., Romanò, N., Constantin, S., Lee, K., & Herbison, A. E. (2010). Calcium dynamics in gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 31, 259-269. doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2010.05.005

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., Porteous, R. W., & Herbison, A. E. (2009). Anatomical location of mature GnRH neurons corresponds with their birthdate in the developing mouse. Developmental Dynamics, 238(3), 524-531.

Journal - Research Article

Romanò, N., Lee, K., Ábrahám, I. M., Jasoni, C. L., & Herbison, A. E. (2008). Nonclassical estrogen modulation of presynaptic GABA terminals modulates calcium dynamics in gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons. Endocrinology, 149(11), 5335-5344. doi: 10.1210/en.2008-0424

Journal - Research Article

Grattan, D. R., Jasoni, C. L., Liu, X., Anderson, G. M., & Herbison, A. E. (2007). Prolactin regulation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons to suppress luteinizing hormone secretion in mice. Endocrinology, 148(9), 4344-4351.

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., Todman, M. G., Strumia, M. M., & Herbison, A. E. (2007). Cell type-specific expression of a genetically encoded calcium indicator reveals intrinsic calcium oscillations in adult gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 27(4), 860-867.

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., Todman, M. G., Han, S.-K., & Herbison, A. E. (2005). Expression of mRNAs encoding receptors that mediate stress signals in gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons of the mouse. Neuroendocrinology, 82, 320-328.

Journal - Research Article

Namciu, S. J., Friedman, R. D., Marsden, M. D., Sarausad, L. M., Jasoni, C. L., & Fournier, R. E. K. (2004). Sequence organization and matrix attachment regions of the human serine protease inhibitor gene cluster at 14q32.1. Mammalian Genome, 15, 162-178.

Journal - Research Article

Neiman, P. E., Ruddell, A., Jasoni, C., Loring, G., Thomas, S. J., Brandvold, K. A., … Delrow, J. (2001). Analysis of gene expression during myc oncogene-induced lymphomagenesis in the bursa of Fabricius. PNAS, 98(11), 6378-6383. doi: 10.1073/pnas.111144898

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C., Hendrickson, A., & Roelink, H. (1999). Analysis of chicken Wnt-13 expression demonstrates coincidence with cell division in the developing eye and is consistent with a role in induction. Developmental Dynamics, 215(3), 215-224.

Journal - Research Article

The MHC Sequencing Consortium, including Jasoni, C. (1999). Complete sequence and gene map of a humanmajor histocompatability complex. Nature, 401(6756), 921-923.

Journal - Research Article

The MHC Sequencing Consortium, including Jasoni, C. (1999). Mapping HLA for single nucleotide polymorphisms. Reviews in Immunogenetics, 1(2), 231-238.

Journal - Research Article

Johnston, L. A., Ostrow, B. D., Jasoni, C. L., & Blochlinger, K. (1998). The homeobox gene cut interacts genetically with the homeotic genes proboscipedia and antennapedia. Genetics, 149(1), 131-142.

Journal - Research Article

Bumsted, K., Jasoni, C. L., Szel, A., & Hendrickson, A. (1997). Spatial and temporal expression of cone opsins during monkey retinal development. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 378(1), 117-134.

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., & Reh, T. A. (1996). Temporal and spatial pattern of MASH-1 expression in the developing rat retina demonstrates progenitor cell heterogeneity. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 369(2), 319-327. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9861(19960527)369:2<319::AID-CNE11>3.0.CO;2-C

Journal - Research Article

Jasoni, C. L., Walker, M. B., Morris, M. D., & Reh, T. A. (1994). A chicken achaete-scute homolog (CASH-1) is expressed in a temporally and spatially discrete manner in the developing nervous system. Development, 120, 769-783.

Journal - Research Article

Glendining, K. A., Fisher, L. C., & Jasoni, C. L. (2020). Maternal obesity modulates expression of Satb2 in hypothalamic VMN of female offspring [Communication]. Life, 10(4), 48. doi: 10.3390/life10040048

Journal - Research Other

Glendining, K. A., & Jasoni, C. L. (2019). Maternal high fat diet-induced obesity modifies histone binding and expression of Oxtr in offspring hippocampus in a sex-specific manner. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(2), 329. doi: 10.3390/ijms20020329

Journal - Research Other

Sominsky, L., Jasoni, C. L., Twigg, H. R., & Spencer, S. J. (2018). Hormonal and nutritional regulation of postnatal hypothalamic development. Journal of Endocrinology, 237, R47-R64. doi: 10.1530/joe-17-0722

Journal - Research Other

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Professor Christine Jasoni

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Publications