Andrea Cupp
Professor Animal Science University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Contact
- Address
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ANSC A224i
Lincoln NE 68583-0908 - Phone
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402-472-6424 On-campus 2-6424
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acupp2@unl.edu
Research interests
VEGFA is alternatively spliced to produce both pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic isoforms which appear to have opposing functions. The balance of these isoforms determines tissue-specific growth, differentiation, or proliferation status. Dr. Cupp's laboratory has shown that pro-angiogenic VEGFA isoforms promote ovarian follicular angiogenesis that is critical for follicle development and progression, whereas anti-angiogenic VEGFA isoforms arrest follicle growth and may cause atresia. Her group further discovered a naturally occurring bovine infertility model of androgen excess with elevated anti-angiogenic VEGFA isoforms, the symptoms of which mimic those of human polycystic ovarian disease. Students in her laboratory currently have projects using this model to define mechanisms of the human disease and to identify biomarkers to predict bovine infertility that may translate to human disorders. Polycystic ovarian disease and mechanisms regulating stem cell populations are both clinically correlated with obesity and diabetes. Her work also has an oxidative stress component because VEGFA production and angiogenesis are directly related to hypoxia and reactive oxygen species generation.
Publications Cupp Lab