Dr Lola Mugisho

PhD (biomedical science), MSc (hons), PGDipSci, BSc

Research Fellow

In: Ophthalmology » School of Medicine » Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences

Doctoral Candidate - Doctor of Philosophy

In: School of Medicine » Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences

Research | Current

My project investigates the efficacy of two Cx43 hemichannel modulators in the treatment of retinal vascular inflammatory complications associated with diabetes using both in vivo and in vitro models. The investigated treatments include intraperitoneally injected Peptide5 and Tonabersat, a novel orally available Cx43 therapeutic that has already shown efficacy in an animal model of age-related macular degeneration.

Distinctions/Honours

Sir John Logan Campbell Travel Award (2018)

International Gap Junction Conference (IGJC) Travel Award (2017)

Buchanan Ocular Therapeutics Unit Doctoral Scholarship (2015)

Faculty of Science Masters Awards (2013)

FMHS Summer Studentship Scholarship (2012/2013)

Areas of expertise

Animal handling
in vivo rodent retinal imaging techniques (Fundus Imaging and Spectral Domain-Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Cell culture
Western blotting
Flow cytometry
Cytometric Bead Array (CBA)
Spectrophotometry
Confocal cell and tissue imaging
Tissue sectioning using a cryostat
Immunocytochemistry
Immunohistochemistry

Selected publications and creative works (Research Outputs)

Mugisho, O. O., Green, C. R., Kho, D. T., Zhang, J., Graham, E. S., Acosta, M. L., & Rupenthal, I. D. (2018). The inflammasome pathway is amplified and perpetuated in an autocrine manner through connexin43 hemichannel mediated ATP release. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects, 1862 (3), 385-393. 10.1016/j.bbagen.2017.11.015
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Ilva Rupenthal, Colin Green, Monica Acosta, Scott Graham, Dan Kho, Jie Zhang
Mugisho, O. O. (2018). Vascular breakdown in diabetic retinopathy: Role of connexin43 and possible interventions The University of Auckland. ResearchSpace@Auckland.
Mugisho, O. O., Green, C. R., Zhang, J., Binz, N., Acosta, M. L., Rakoczy, E., & Rupenthal, I. D. (2017). Immunohistochemical characterization of connexin43 expression in a mouse model of diabetic retinopathy and in human donor retinas. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 18 (12).10.3390/ijms18122567
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Colin Green, Jie Zhang, Monica Acosta, Ilva Rupenthal
Rotimi, O. O., Green, C., Zhang, J., Acosta, M. L., & Rupenthal, I. (2016). Increased Connexin43 expression in a mouse model of advanced diabetic retinopathy. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the Association-for-Research-in-Vision-and-Ophthalmology (ARVO), Seattle, WA. 1 May - 5 May 2016. INVESTIGATIVE OPHTHALMOLOGY & VISUAL SCIENCE. (pp. 2).
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Colin Green, Ilva Rupenthal, Monica Acosta
Choi, J., Rotimi, O., O'Carroll S, & Nicholson, L. (2016). IL-6 stimulates a concentration-dependent increase in MCP-1 in immortalised human brain endothelial cells. F1000Research, 5.10.12688/f1000research.8153.1
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Simon OCarroll
O'Carroll SJ, Kho, D. T., Wiltshire, R., Nelson, V., Rotimi, O., Johnson, R., ... Graham, E. S. (2015). Pro-inflammatory TNFα and IL-1β differentially regulate the inflammatory phenotype of brain microvascular endothelial cells. Journal of Neuroinflammation, 1210.1186/s12974-015-0346-0
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/30036
Other University of Auckland co-authors: Scott Graham, Simon OCarroll, Catherine Angel, Dan Kho
Rotimi, O. O. (2013). Influence of Downstream Peripheral Inflammation Markers on an in vitro Model of the Blood-Brain Barrier The University of Auckland. ResearchSpace@Auckland.
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/22551