Does intrauterine inflammation cause lung injury?
By Rob Clancy, staff writer. Reviewed by Emma Vandenberg
Fetal exposure to inflammation has long been identified as a risk factor for a range of harmful conditions, but new research suggests systemic inflammation alone is not enough to cause lung injury.
A team from Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Monash University investigated whether progressive systemic inflammation could cause lung injury in preterm fetuses, and the results were surprising.
Lead author, PhD student Emma Vandenberg, said the purpose of the research was to mimic the evolving fetal inflammatory response that’s often seen in utero.
“While our model successfully induced systemic inflammation, it did not result in lung inflammation or structural lung injury,” Ms Vandenberg said.
“These findings suggest that systemic inflammation alone may not be sufficient to trigger pulmonary injury in the fetus; rather, direct contact between the fetal lungs and inflammatory stimuli may be required.”
No damage from intrauterine inflammation
“Despite a strong systemic response, the fetal lungs showed no evidence of damage, suggesting that direct exposure to inflammatory stimuli may be necessary to trigger lung injury,” she said.
“This has important implications for understanding how prenatal infections contribute to neonatal lung diseases and may help refine pre-clinical models and future therapeutic strategies.”
Disrupted fetal lung development can lead to serious respiratory diseases after birth.
Among the dangers of preterm lung damage are diseases such as Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) , a serious condition with no cure, which can cause multiple severe life-long health complications.
Lung damage before birth may also prime the immune system toward hyperreactivity, increasing susceptibility to wheezing and asthma-like symptoms in childhood.
Collaborators | Monash University
Journal | Frontiers in physiology
Title | Investigating pulmonary inflammation and injury after progressive systemic inflammation in preterm fetal sheep
View publication | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12120474/
In this article
About Hudson Institute
Hudson Institute’ s research programs deliver in three areas of medical need – inflammation, cancer, women’s and newborn health. More
Hudson News
Get the inside view on discoveries and patient stories
“Thank you Hudson Institute researchers. Your work brings such hope to all women with ovarian cancer knowing that potentially women in the future won't have to go through what we have!”