Biology subjects

Clapperton, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Clapperton, M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Assessing the role of collagen to improve understanding of disease pathophysiology in patients with acute recurrent tonsillitis

Acute recurrent tonsillitis (ART) and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) are the most common indications for tonsillectomy worldwide however the disease pathophysiology is poorly understood. Acute recurrent tonsillitis causes repeated episodes of inflammation within the tonsils. Repeated episodes of inflammation can lead to scarring of tissue due to an overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen, which in return can cause decreased immunological function. In this study we assess collagen prevalence within ART and OSA tonsils with the aim of better understanding the underlying disease pathophysiology. By performing label-free second harmonic generation (SHG) imaging of tonsil tissue from patients with ART and OSA it is possible to enable measurement of the relative abundance of immature and mature type I collagen within ex vivo paediatric palatine tonsils. We have demonstrated that there is a significant difference in the mean area fraction of immature type I collagen with a higher relative fraction in patients with ART compared to those with OSA (p = 0.0059). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean area fraction of mature type I collagen in patients with ART and OSA (p = 0.61). Spatial analysis demonstrated that there was a significantly fraction in tonsillar tissue from patients with ART of immature type I collagen in the epithelia dominant regions (p = 0.0074) and the interior regions (p = 0.0023). Our results provide new information regarding these two common paediatric diseases, giving us an improved insight into the disease pathophysiology.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2024

IL-17C plays a role in the pathophysiology of acute recurrent tonsillitis

Withdrawal StatementThe authors have withdrawn their manuscript owing to an error discovered in the selection and analysis of blot data. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as reference for the project. If you have any questions, please contact the corresponding author.

immunology↗

bioRxiv2023

Multimodal optical mesoscopy reveals the quantity and spatial distribution of gram-positive biofilms in ex vivo tonsils

Biofilms are known to be present in tonsils, but little is known about their spatial location and size distribution throughout the tonsil. Studies of the location and distribution of biofilms in tonsil specimens have thus far been limited to either high-magnification methods such as electron microscopy, which enables high resolution imaging but only from a tiny tissue volume, or lower magnification techniques such as light microscopy, which allow imaging of larger specimens but with poor spatial resolution. To overcome these limitations, we report the use of multimodal optical mesoscopy to visualize and quantify the number and spatial distribution of gram-positive biofilms in fresh, excised paediatric tonsils. This methodology supports simultaneous imaging of both the tonsil host and biofilms in whole mounts of tissue up to 5 mm x 5 mm x 3 mm with subcellular resolution throughout. A quantitative assessment of thirty-six tonsil specimens revealed no statistically significant difference between biofilm presence on the tonsil surface and the interior of the tonsil. This new quantitative mesoscale imaging approach may prove useful in understanding the role of biofilms in tonsillar diseases and other infections.

biophysics↗