Torrens, Christopher - University of Southampton

个人简介

Dr Torrens received his BSc in Biological Sciences with Honours in Physiology from Glasgow Caledonian University before undertaking a PhD at the newly established FOAD centre, within the School of Medicine at the University of Southampton. His PhD work demonstrated the maternal nutrient restriction in pregnancy lead to endothelial dysfunction in the offspring, which was apparent in their subsequent pregnancy and was transmitted to the second generation. Following the completion of his PhD Dr Torrens remained in Southampton to continue this work on a BHF funded project before spending a short period at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland as a Visiting Research Fellow. Shortly after returning to Southampton, Dr Torrens was appointed as a lecturer in physiology in 2006.

研究领域

Developmental Origins of Endothelial Dysfunction: (with Prof. Clough, Prof. Hanson, Dr. Curzen & Dr. Burdge). The vascular endothelium plays an important role in maintaining cardiovascular homeostasis through the release of factors such as nitric oxide (NO). The importance of a healthy endothelium is seen in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, where endothelial dysfunction is a common finding. Dysfunction of the endothelium is also a common finding in children who are small at birth and multiple animal models of poor maternal environment. Our group is interested in the pathways through which maternal environment can influences long-term changes in the endothelium of the offspring. Central to this is the role of NO and the influence of oxidative stress. Currently there are three main focuses to this work i) With obesity now a growing public health concern there is an increasing number of young women of childbearing age who are obese. We are interested in the influence of both pre- and post-natal high fat on the priming of both macro- and microvascular disease ii) The influence of a maternal diet high in fat is evident from the above projects, but what is less clear is the influence of types of fats. Diets rich in saturated or hydrogenated fats have been shown to increase cardiovascular risk, while diets rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fats (fish oils) have been suggested to be cardioprotective. We are investigating whether the type and amount of fat eaten during pregnancy influences cardiovascular risk in the offspring. iii) Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world and dysfunction of the endothelium is an important component in the aetiology of this disease. Our research has shown a clear role for early environmental factors to prime for the risk of future disease, but such developmental plasticity also offers a unique window for early positive interventions. One such intervention is statins. Statins are the drug of choice for treatment of cardiovascular disease; however their effectiveness is greater than their cholesterol lowering capabilities suggesting their efficacy is due to one or more pleiotropic effects. We are interested in identifying some of these pleiotropic actions linked to the positive actions of statins.

近期论文

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Endogenous reference genes for gene expression studies on bicuspid aortic valve associated aortopathy in humans - Harrison, Oliver, Moorjani, Narain, Torrens, Christopher, Ohri, Sunil and Cagampang, Felino Published:2016Publication:PLoS OneVolume:11, (10)Page Range:1-9doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0164329PMID:27727313 Developmental conditioning of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDH) mediated vasorelaxation - Stead, Rebecca, Musa, Moji G., Bryant, Claire L., Lanham, Stuart, Johnston, David A., Torrens, Christopher, Fraser, Paul A. and Clough, Geraldine Published:2016Publication:Journal of HypertensionVolume:34, (3)Page Range:452-463doi:10.1097/HJH.0000000000000833PMID:26682783 Polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis is involved in phenylephrine-mediated calcium release in vascular smooth muscle cells - Irvine, Nicola A., Lillycrop, Karen A., Fielding, Barbara, Torrens, Christopher, Hanson, Mark A. and Burdge, Graham C. Published:2015Publication:Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA)Volume:101Page Range:31-39doi:10.1016/j.plefa.2015.08.001PMID:26324193 Prenatal development is linked to bronchial reactivity: epidemiological and animal model evidence - Pike, Katharine C., Davis, Shelley A., Collins, Samuel A., Lucas, Jane S.A., Inskip, Hazel M., Wilson, Susan J., Thomas, Elin R., Wain, Harris A., Keskiväli-Bond, Piia H.M., Cooper, Cyrus, Godfrey, Keith M., Torrens, Christopher, Roberts, Graham and Holloway, John W. Published:2014Publication:Scientific ReportsVolume:4, (4705)Page Range:1-7doi:10.1038/srep04705PMID:24740086 Maternal fat intake in rats alters 20:4n-6 and 22:6n-3 status and the epigenetic regulation of Fads2 in offspring liver - Hoile, Samuel P., Irvine, Nicola A., Kelsall, Christopher J., Sibbons, Charlene, Feunteun, Aurelie, Collister, Alex, Torrens, Christopher, Calder, P.C., Hanson, Mark A., Lillycrop, Karen A. and Burdge, Graham C. Published:2013Publication:Journal of Nutritional BiochemistryVolume:24, (7)Page Range:1213-1220doi:10.1016/j.jnutbio.2012.09.005PMID:23107313