Cerebrovascular Responses in the Fetal Sheep Brain to Low-Dose Endotoxin

Subclinical exposure to low-dose endotoxin impairs EEG maturation in preterm fetal sheep.

Exposure to chorioamnionitis is strongly associated with neurodevelopmental disability after premature birth; however, it remains unclear whether subclinical infection affects functional EEG maturation. Chronically instrumented 103-104-day-old (0.7 gestational age: term 147 days) fetal sheep in utero were randomized to receive either gram-negative LPS by continuous low-dose infusion (100 ng iv ...

Fetal plasma prostaglandin F(2alpha) and cortisol responses to high-dose endotoxin administration in fetal goats.

Intrauterine inflammation/infection has been associated with prenatal mortality and morbidity. However, few studies have been performed to investigate how the fetus responds to intrauterine inflammation/infection in utero. In the present study, fetal plasma prostaglandin (PG) F(2alpha) and cortisol responses to high-dose fetal endotoxin administration were evaluated in late gestation goats (n=8...

Acute on chronic exposure to endotoxin in preterm fetal sheep.

Acute, high-dose exposure to endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in preterm fetal sheep can trigger periventricular white matter lesions (PVL), in association with severe hypotension/hypoxemia and significant mortality. Intriguingly, however, chronic or repeated exposure to LPS can induce tachyphylaxis. We therefore tested the hypothesis that progressive, acute on chronic fetal infection would b...

Low-Dose Endotoxin Induces Inflammation

Endotoxin-induced maturation of monocytes in preterm fetal sheep lung.

The fetal lung normally contains immature monocytes and very few mature macrophages. The chorioamnionitis frequently associated with preterm birth induces monocyte influx into the fetal lung. Previous studies demonstrated that monocytes in the developing lung can mediate lung injury responses that resemble BPD in humans. We hypothesized that chorioamnionitis would induce maturation of immature ...