Newcastle University

Research Interests

Transcriptional and post-transcription regulation of myometrial genes in human pregnancy. Research themes include: progesterone/progesterone receptor signalling; the role of alternative splicing in myometrial gene regulation; the use of antisense morpholino oligonucleotides for mechanistic studies and the development of potential therapeutics; the roles of HDACs/HDAC inhibitors to regulate specific myometrial genes. Main expertise includes: mini-gene construction, DNA affinity precipitation assays (DAPAs),DNA electrophoretic mobility assays(EMSAs), DNA/RNA-protein binding assays, nuclear splicing assays, transient/stable transfections of primary myometrial cell, the use of morpholino oligonucleotides, Serial Analysis of Gene Regulation (SAGE).

• Tyson-Capper AJ, Shiells EA, Robson SC. Interplay between polypyrimidine tract binding protein-associated splicing factor and human myometrial progesterone receptors. Journal of Molecular Endocrinology 2009, 43(1), 29-41.
• Harper KA, Tyson-Capper AJ. Complexity of COX-2 gene regulation. Biochemical Society Transactions 2008, 36(3), 543-545.
• Tyson-Capper AJ. Alternative splicing: An important mechanism for myometrial gene regulation that can be manipulated to target specific genes associated with preterm labour. In: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth: Proceedings of the First and Second European Workshops on Preterm Labour of the Special Non-Invasive Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Evaluation (SAFE) Network of Excellence. 2007, Tarragona, Spain: BioMed Central Ltd..
• Tyson-Capper AJ, Europe-Finner GN. Novel targeting of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pre-mRNA using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides directed to the 3′ acceptor and 5′ donor splice sites of exon 4: Suppression of COX-2 activity in human amnion-derived WISH and myometrial cells. Molecular Pharmacology 2006, 69(3), 796-804.
• Tyson-Capper AJ, Cork DMW, Wesley E, Shiells EA, Loughney AD. Characterization of cellular retinoid-binding proteins in human myometrium during pregnancy. Molecular Human Reproduction 2006, 12(11), 695-701.
• Tyson-Capper AJ, Bailey J, Krainer AR, Robson SC, Europe-Finner GN. The switch in alternative splicing of cyclic AMP-response element modulator protein CREMτ2α (activator) to CREMα (repressor) in human myometrial cells is mediated by SRp40. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2005, 280(41), 34521-34529.
• Bailey J, Tyson-Capper AJ, Gilmore K, Robson SC, Europe-Finner GN. Identification of human myometrial target genes of the cAMP pathway: The role of cAMP-response element binding (CREB) and modulator (CREMα and CREMτ2α) proteins. Journal of Molecular Endocrinology 2005,34 1 1-17.
• Phillips RJ, Tyson-Capper AJ, Bailey J, Robson SC, Europe-Finner GN. Regulation of expression of the chorionic gonadotropin/luteinizing hormone receptor gene in the human myometrium: Involvement of specificity protein-1 (Sp1), Sp3,Sp4, Sp-like proteins, and histone deacetylases. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2005,90 6 3479-3490.
• Sethna F, Tyson-Capper AJ, Shiells EA, Robson SC. The expression of glucocorticoid receptor in human myometrium in pregnancy and labour. J Steroids Hormon Sci 2011, 2.