Publications

View a selection of publications from our Implantation and Pregnancy Lab researchers

  1. Paule SG, Heng S, Samarajeewa N, Li Y, Mansilla M, Webb AI, Nebl T, Young SL, Lessey BA, Hull ML, Scelwyn M, Lim R, Vollenhoven B, Rombauts LJ and Nie G (2021). Podocalyxin is a key negative regulator of human endometrial epithelial receptivity for embryo implantation. Hum Reprod, 36,1353-1366.
  2. Heng S, Samarajeewa N, Aberkane A, Essahib W, Van de Velde H, Scelwyn M, Hull ML, Vollenhoven B, Rombauts LJ and Nie G (2021). Podocalyxin inhibits human embryo implantation in vitro and luminal podocalyxin in putative receptive endometrium is associated with implantation failure in fertility treatment. Fertil Steril, 116,1391-1401.
  3. Heng S, Samarajeewa N, Wang Y, Paule SG, Breen J and Nie G (2021). Podocalyxin promotes an impermeable epithelium and inhibits pro-implantation factors to negatively regulate endometrial receptivity. Scientific Reports, 11: 24016. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-03425-2.
  4. Skinner S,  Rolnik DL, Wang Y, Nie GSyngelaki A, Nicolaides KH, da Silva Costa F (2021). Second and third trimester serum levels of HtrA1 in pregnancies affected by pre-eclampsia. Placenta, 106, 1-6.
  5. Mansilla M, Wang Y, Lim R, Palmer K and Nie G. HtrA4 is up-regulated during trophoblast syncytialization and BeWo cells fail to syncytialize without HtrA4 (2021). Scientific Reports, 11:14363. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93520-1. PMID: 34257367; PMCID: PMC8277827.
  6. Le Tran N, Wang Y and Nie G (2021). Podocalyxin in normal tissue and epithelial cancer. Cancers 13, 2863. doi:10.3390/cancers13122863.
  7. Wang Y and Nie G (2021). Overview of human HtrA family proteases and their distinctive physiological roles and unique involvement in diseases, especially cancer and pregnancy complications. Int J Mol Sci 22, 10756. doi:10.3390/ijms221910756.
  8. Wang Y, Lim R and Nie G (2020).  Elevated circulating HtrA4 in preeclampsia may alter endothelial expression of senescence genes. Placenta 90, 71-81.
  9. Wertaschnigg D, Rolnik DL, Nie G, Teoh SSY, Syngelaki A, da Silva Costa F, Nicolaides KH (2020). Second- and third-trimester serum levels of growth-differentiation factor-15 in prediction of pre-eclampsia. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 56, 879-884.
  10. Gao X-X,  Ye MY, Liu Y, Li J-Y, Li L, Chen W, Lu X, Nie GChen Y-H (2020). Prevalence and risk factors of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in a Chinese population. Scientific Reports 10, 16307. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-73378-5.
  11. Salamonsen LA, Edgell TA, Nie G and Evans J (2020) Opening the black box of implantation: understanding endometrial receptivity and maternal-embryonic interactions. In: Manual of Embryo Selection in Human Assisted Reproduction (Racowsky C, Cohen  J and Macklon  N, eds.), Cambridge University Press.
  12. Wang Y, La M, Pham T, Lovrecz GO and Nie G (2019). High levels of HtrA4 detected in preeclamptic circulation may disrupt endothelial cell function by cleaving the main VEGFA receptor KDR. FASEB J 33, 5058-5066.
  13. Wang Y, Lim R and Nie G (2019). HtrA4 may play a major role in inhibiting endothelial repair in pregnancy complication preeclampsia. Scientific Reports 9, 2728. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39565-9.
  14. Tseng E, Teoh S, Wang Y and Nie G (2019). Elevated protease HtrA4 in the maternal circulation of preeclampsia may contribute to endothelial barrier disruption by cleaving key junctional protein VE-cadherin. Placenta 76, 51-53.
  15. Teoh SSY, Wang Y,  Li Y, Yiner-Lee Leemaqz S, Dekker GA, Roberts CT and Nie G (2019). Low serum levels of HtrA3 at 15 weeks of gestation are associated with late-onset preeclampsia development and small for gestation age birth. Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy (Fetal Diagn Ther) 46, 392-401.
  16. Rolnik D, Wang Y, Hyett J, da Silva Costa F and Nie G (2019). Serum podocalyxin at 11-13 weeks of gestation in the prediction of small-for-gestational-age neonates. Journal of Perinatology, 39, 784-790.
  17. Nie G and Dimitriadis E (2019) Molecular and cellular basis of human embryo implantation. In: How to Prepare the Endometrium to Maximize Implantation Rates and IVF Success (Kovacs G and Salamonsen L, eds.), Cambridge University Press.
  18. Wang Y, Li Y, Hyett J, da Silva Costa F and Nie G (2018). HtrA3 isoform specific ELISAs for early detection of preeclampsia. Slas Discovery 23, 1092-1099.
  19. Lv Q, Yang B, Ning C, Xie B, Nie G, Chen X and Chen Q (2018). Hypoxia is involved in the reduction of HtrA3 in patients with endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 503, 2918-2923.
  20. Mansilla M, Wang Y, Hyett J, da Silva Costa F and Nie G (2018). Serum podocalyxin for early detection of preeclampsia at 11-13 weeks of gestation. Placenta 71, 13-15.
  21. Singh H and Nie G (2018). HtrA1 alters endothelial tube formation characteristics in an in vitro model. bioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/539304.
  22. Heng S, Evans J, Salamonsen LA, Jobling TW and Nie G (2017). The significance of post-translational removal of Alpha-DG-N in early stage endometrial cancer development. Oncotarget 8, 81942-81952. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.17286.
  23. Li Y, Salamonsen LA, Hyett J, da Silva Costa F and Nie G (2017). Maternal HtrA3 optimizes placental development to influence offspring birth weight and subsequent white fat gain in adulthood. Scientific Reports 7:4627. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-04867-3.
  24. Chen Q, Wang Y, Li Y, Zhao M and Nie G (2017). Serum podocalyxin is significantly increased in early-onset preeclampsia and may represent a novel marker of maternal endothelial cell dysfunction.  J Hypertens 35, 2287-2294.
  25. Wang Y, Chen Q, Zhao M, Walton K, Harrison C and Nie G (2017). Multiple soluble TGF-β receptors are elevated in preeclamptic serum and they synergistically inhibit TGF-b signalling. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 102, 3065-3074.
  26. Heng S, Vollenhoven B, Rombauts LJ and Nie G (2016). A High-throughput assay for the detection of α-Dystroglycan N-terminus in human uterine fluid to determine uterine receptivity. J Biomol Screen 21, 408-413.
  27. Chen Q,  Wang Y, Zhao M, Hyett J, Costa FS and Nie G (2016). Serum levels of GDF15 are reduced in preeclampsia and the reduction is more profound in late-onset than early-onset cases. Cytokine 83, 226-230.
  28. Heng S, Andrew N. Stephens AN, Jobling TW and Nie G (2016). Measuring PC activity in endocervical swab may provide a simple and non-invasive method to detect endometrial cancer in post-menopausal women. Oncotarget 7, 46573-46578.
  29. Heng S, Andrew N. Stephens AN, Jobling TW and Nie G (2016). Total PC activity is increased in uterine lavage of post-menopausal endometrial but not ovarian cancer patients. J Cancer 7, 1812-1814.
  30. Wang Y and Nie G (2016). High levels of HtrA4 observed in preeclamptic circulation drastically alter endothelial gene expression and induce inflammation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Placenta 47, 46-55.
  31. Evans J, Salamonsen L, Winship A, Menkhorst E, Nie G, Gargett C and Dimitriadis E (2016). Fertile ground: human endometrial programming and lessons in health and disease. Nat Reviews Endocrinology 12, 654-667.
  32. Heng S, Dynon K,Li Y, Edgell T, Rombauts LJ, Vollenhoven B and Nie G (2015). Development of a high throughput assay for human proprotein convertase 5/6 for detecting uterine receptivity. Anal Biochem 475, 14-21.
  33. Paule S, Nebl T, Webb AL, Vollenhoven B, Rombauts LJF and Nie G (2015). Proprotein convertase 5/6 cleaves platelet derived growth factor A in the human endometrium in preparation for embryo implantation. Mol Hum Reprod 21, 262-270.
  34. Evans J, D’Sylva R, Volpert M, Jamsai D, Merriner DJ, Nie G, Salamonsen LA and O’Bryan MK (2015). Endometrial CRISP3 is regulated throughout the mouse estrous and human menstrual cycle and facilitates adhesion and proliferation of endometrial epithelial cells. Biol Reprod 92, 99, 1-10.
  35. Singh H, Zhao M, Chen Qi, Wang Y, Li Y, Kaitu’u-Lino TJ, Tong S and Nie G (2015). Human HtrA4 expression is restricted to the placenta, is significantly up-regulated in early-onset preeclampsia, and high levels of HtrA4 cause endothelial dysfunction. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 100, E936-E945.
  36. Teoh SS, Zhao M, Wang Y, Chen Q and Nie G (2015). Serum HtrA1 is differentially regulated between early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia. Placenta 36:990-995.
  37. Heng S, Paule SG, Li Y, Rombauts LJ, Vollenhoven B, Salamonsen LA and Nie G (2015). Post-translational removal of alpha-dystroglycan N-terminus by PC5/6 cleavage is important for uterine preparation for embryo implantation in women. FASEB J 29, 4011-4022.
  38. Ho H, Li Y and Nie G (2014). Inhibition of embryo implantation in mice through vaginal administration of a proprotein convertase 6 inhibitor. Reproductive Biology 14, 155-159.
  39. Singh H, Nero TL, Wang Y, Parker MW and Nie G (2014). Activity-modulating monoclonal antibodies to the human serine protease HtrA3 provide novel insights into regulating HtrA proteolytic activities. PLoS ONE 9(9), e108235. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108235. eCollection 2014.
  40. Zhao M, Ding JX, Nie G, Wei J, Li Y, Yin YX and Chen Q (2014). HtrA3 is reduced in ovarian cancers regardless of stage. Cancer Investigation 32, 464-469.
  41. Singh H, Li Y, Fuller PJ, Harrison C, Rao J, Stephens AN and Nie G (2013). HtrA3 is downregulated in cancer cell lines and significantly reduced in primary serous and granulosa cell ovarian tumors. J Cancer 4,152-164.
  42. Al-Khan A, Bulmer JN, Chantraine F, Chen CP, et al, Nie G,  Lash GE (2013). Trophoblast deportation, gestational trophoblastic disease, placental insufficiency and fetal growth restriction, trophoblast over-invasion and accreta-related pathologies, placental thrombosis and fibrinolysis. Placenta 34, S11-16.
  43. Ho H, Singh H, Heng S, Nero TL, Paule S, Parker MW, Johnson AY, Jiao G-S and Nie G (2013). Small molecule proprotein convertase inhibitors for inhibition of embryo implantation. PLoS ONE 8(12), e81380. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081380. eCollection 2013.
  44. Yin YX, Wu M, Nie G, Wang K, Wei J, Zhao M and Chen Q (2013). HtrA3 is negatively correlated with lymph node metastasis in invasive ductal breast cancer. Tumor Biology 34,3611-3617.
  45. Salamonsen LA, Edgell T, Rombauts LJ, Stephens AN, Robertson DM, Rainczuk A, Nie G and Hannan NJ (2013). Proteomics of the human endometrium and uterine fluid: a pathway to biomarker discovery. Fert Steril  99, 1086-1092.
  46. Singh H, Makino S, Endo Y, Li Y, Stephens AN and Nie G (2012). Application of the wheat-germ cell-free translation system to produce high temperature requirement A3 (HtrA3) proteases. BioTechniques 52, 23-28.
  47. Aljofan M, Singh H, Ho H, Xie S, Zhu Y, Sun Z, Guo X, Wang J and Nie G (2012). Inhibition of proprotein convertase 5/6 activity: potential for non-hormonal women-centered contraception. Contraception 85, 602-610.
  48. Ho H, Singh H, Aljofan M and Nie G (2012). A high-throughput in vitro model of human embryo attachment. Fertil Steril 97, 974-978.
  49. Singh H, Heng S, Nicholls PN, Li Y, Tai L, Jobling T, Salamonsen LA and Nie G (2012). Proprotein convertases in post-menopausal endometrial cancer: distinctive regulation and non-invasive diagnosis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 419, 809-814.
  50. Paule S, Aljofan M, Simon C, Rombauts LJF and Nie G (2012). Cleavage of endometrial a-integrins into their functional forms at implantation is mediated by proprotein convertase 6. Human Reprod 7, 2766-2774.
  51. Dynon K, Heng S, Puryer M, Li Y, Walton K, Endo Y and Nie G (2012). HtrA3 as an early marker for preeclampsia: specific monoclonal antibodies and sensitive high-throughput assays for serum screening. PLoS ONE 7(9), e45956. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045956.
  52. Ho H, Nero TL, Singh H, Parker MW and Nie G (2012). PEGylation of a proprotein convertase peptide inhibitor for vaginal route of drug delivery: in vitro bioactivity, stability and in vivo pharmacokinetics Peptides. Peptide 38, 266-274.
  53. Warren-Smith SC, Nie G, Schartner EP, Salamonsen LA and Monro TM (2012). Enzyme activity assays within microstructured optical fibers enabled by automated alignment. Biomed Opt Express 3, 3304-3313.
  54. Hannan NJ, Nie G, Rainzcuk A, Rombauts LJ and Salamonsen LA (2012). Uterine lavage or aspirate: which view of the intrauterine environment? Reprod Sci 19:1125-32.
  55. Thach B, Samarajeewa N, Li Y, Heng S, Tsai T, Pangestu M, Catt S and Nie G (2022). Podocalyxin molecular characteristics and endometrial expression: high conservation between humans and macaques but divergence in mice. Biol Reprod, 106, 1143-1158. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioac053.
  56. Shekibi M, Heng S and Nie G (2022). MicroRNAs in the regulation of endometrial receptivity for embryo implantation. Int J Mol Sci 23, 6210. doi: 10.3390/ijms23116210.
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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.