Dr T.J. Moore

Lecturer

PhD (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)

• Proliferation, differentiation and migration of germ cells in the foetal, neonatal and pubescent testis

• Exposure to environmental toxicants can adversely affect fertility and endocrine function. The physiological mechanisms whereby toxicants cause these disruptions are poorly understood.  Male germ or spermatogonial stem cells, are the progenitors of the male gamete (spermatozoa), and are essentially the carriers of the parental chromosomes.  Germ cells therefore play an important role in the survival of a species.  It has been shown however, that germ cells are sensitive to various stressors, including radiation, temperature and exposure to agents that alter their cellular kinetics, resulting in, among others, mutations, imprinting and apoptosis. 

  In particular, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are of special interest as they have been implicated in the disruption of the DNA methylation in the male germline, resulting in epigenetic changes that have trans-generational effects.  They have also been shown to elicit oxidative stress in male germ cells thereby inducing apoptosis.  This is in agreement with other findings that show that a common property of many environmental toxicants is the ability to perturb cellular redox homeostasis and induce oxidative stress. Furthermore, EDCs have been shown to interfere with the transcription of several genes, such as those involved in the synthesis of testosterone, and it has now been shown that germ cells are a specific target of androgens in the foetal mouse testis.

  Pesticides/herbicides are commonly used in Malaysia, and some have been identified as EDCs and have numerous toxic side effects, but very little data exists on the effects of these compounds on germ cells.

   Mvula B, Mathope T, Moore T, Abrahamse H (2008) The effect of low level laser irradiation on adult human adipose derived stem cells. Lasers Med Sci 23:

   277-282

   Moore TJ (2007) Stem cell Q and A - an introduction to stem cells and their role in scientific and medical research. MTSA J 21: 3-6

   Moore TJ, de Broer-Brouwer M, van Dissel-Emiliani FMF (2002) Purified gonocytes from the neonatal rat form foci of proliferating germ cells in 

    vitro. Endocrinology 143: 3171-3174

• The Impact of Environmental Toxicants on Male Germ Cell Migration, Proliferation, Differentiation and Gene Regulation.

• Effects of pesticides on proliferation of human cell lines

• Effect of pesticides on the expression of HSP90α in male germ cells

Positions for Honours and MSc research students are currently available.