Cole McCutcheon
@crm110.bsky.social
Postdoc in Coyne Lab @ Duke. Trying to figure out if I’m a microbiologist, immunologist, or reproductive biologist. Probably running or attempting to find a sweet treat.
We hope this paper serves as a critical resource to help improve our understanding of swine reproductive biology. This project was so much fun to work on and I couldn’t ask for a better team of collaborators to get this exciting story out the door.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Defining cellular diversity at the swine maternal–fetal interface using spatial transcriptomics and organoids
Understanding porcine placental development has been hindered by the lack of in vitro models that reflect its cellular heterogeneity. This study develops a swine trophoblast organoid model that mimics...
journals.plos.org
August 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
We hope this paper serves as a critical resource to help improve our understanding of swine reproductive biology. This project was so much fun to work on and I couldn’t ask for a better team of collaborators to get this exciting story out the door.
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Additionally, we used spatial transcriptomics to fully characterize the pig placenta in full detail, providing the most comprehensive analysis of the pig placenta to date. (We also made a cool app that you can use to explore the pig placenta in detail: coynelab.shinyapps.io/myshinyapp/)
Spatial Transcriptomics and Cell-Cell Communication at the Swine Maternal-Fetal Interface
coynelab.shinyapps.io
August 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Additionally, we used spatial transcriptomics to fully characterize the pig placenta in full detail, providing the most comprehensive analysis of the pig placenta to date. (We also made a cool app that you can use to explore the pig placenta in detail: coynelab.shinyapps.io/myshinyapp/)
What we did:
We made mini pig placentas, which are called swine trophoblast organoids, which function very similarly to the pig placenta. This means we can use the organoids to understand why pigs lose their pregnancies and hopefully improve breeding programs to prevent product loss.
We made mini pig placentas, which are called swine trophoblast organoids, which function very similarly to the pig placenta. This means we can use the organoids to understand why pigs lose their pregnancies and hopefully improve breeding programs to prevent product loss.
August 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
What we did:
We made mini pig placentas, which are called swine trophoblast organoids, which function very similarly to the pig placenta. This means we can use the organoids to understand why pigs lose their pregnancies and hopefully improve breeding programs to prevent product loss.
We made mini pig placentas, which are called swine trophoblast organoids, which function very similarly to the pig placenta. This means we can use the organoids to understand why pigs lose their pregnancies and hopefully improve breeding programs to prevent product loss.
The problem:
The pig placenta is very hard to study in the lab because we don’t have any way of doing experiments without using an entire pig….which is pretty tricky to sneak into the lab.
The pig placenta is very hard to study in the lab because we don’t have any way of doing experiments without using an entire pig….which is pretty tricky to sneak into the lab.
August 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
The problem:
The pig placenta is very hard to study in the lab because we don’t have any way of doing experiments without using an entire pig….which is pretty tricky to sneak into the lab.
The pig placenta is very hard to study in the lab because we don’t have any way of doing experiments without using an entire pig….which is pretty tricky to sneak into the lab.
You may ask, why pig placentas?
The pork industry is dependent on successful breeding programs. Unfortunately, 10-15% of pig pregnancy’s fail, which is approximately $10 billion in lost product. Many of these losses occur because the placenta is dysfunctional, triggering a spontaneous abortion.
The pork industry is dependent on successful breeding programs. Unfortunately, 10-15% of pig pregnancy’s fail, which is approximately $10 billion in lost product. Many of these losses occur because the placenta is dysfunctional, triggering a spontaneous abortion.
August 29, 2025 at 1:42 AM
You may ask, why pig placentas?
The pork industry is dependent on successful breeding programs. Unfortunately, 10-15% of pig pregnancy’s fail, which is approximately $10 billion in lost product. Many of these losses occur because the placenta is dysfunctional, triggering a spontaneous abortion.
The pork industry is dependent on successful breeding programs. Unfortunately, 10-15% of pig pregnancy’s fail, which is approximately $10 billion in lost product. Many of these losses occur because the placenta is dysfunctional, triggering a spontaneous abortion.
We believe that this critical hypothesis generating dataset sets the stage for future studies aimed at understanding the interplay between antibiotic persistence and GBS MVs, with the ultimate goal being to increase IAP effectiveness.
June 11, 2025 at 8:43 PM
We believe that this critical hypothesis generating dataset sets the stage for future studies aimed at understanding the interplay between antibiotic persistence and GBS MVs, with the ultimate goal being to increase IAP effectiveness.
We show here that IAP alters the production and composition of Group B Streptococcus membrane vesicles. Our data further demonstrate that MVs contain known antibiotic targets, which theoretically could serve as antibiotic decoys, thereby decreasing antibiotic mediated killing of GBS.
June 11, 2025 at 8:43 PM
We show here that IAP alters the production and composition of Group B Streptococcus membrane vesicles. Our data further demonstrate that MVs contain known antibiotic targets, which theoretically could serve as antibiotic decoys, thereby decreasing antibiotic mediated killing of GBS.
We have previously demonstrated that the fetal and neonatal pathogen Group B Streptococcus can persist after intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) even in the absence of antibiotic resistance genes. The underlying mechanisms allowing for this persistence remains unclear.
June 11, 2025 at 8:43 PM
We have previously demonstrated that the fetal and neonatal pathogen Group B Streptococcus can persist after intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) even in the absence of antibiotic resistance genes. The underlying mechanisms allowing for this persistence remains unclear.