Before birth, the compliance of the heart is limited predominantly by extracardiac constraint. Reduction of this constraint at birth requires that myocardial compliance be determined mainly by the heart's own constituents. Because titin is a principal contributor to ventricular passive tension (PT), we studied the expression and mechanics of cardiac-titin isoforms during perinatal rat heart development. Gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting revealed a single, 3.7-MDa, N2BA isoform present 6 days before birth and an additional, also previously unknown, N2BA isoform of 3.5 to 3.6 MDa expressed in the near-term fetus. These large isoforms rapidly disappear after birth and are replaced by a small N2B isoform (3.0 MDa) predominating in 1-week-old and adult rats. In addition, neonatal pig hearts showed large N2BA-titin isoforms distinct from those present in the adult porcine myocardium. By quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, developmentally expressed titin-mRNA species were detected in rat heart. Titin-based PT was much lower (approximately 15 times) in fetal than adult rat cardiomyocytes, and measured PT levels were readily predictable with a model of worm-like chain titin elasticity. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed the extensibility of the differentially spliced molecular spring regions of fetal/neonatal titin isoforms in isolated rat cardiomyofibrils. Whereas the titin-isoform shift by 700 kDa ensures high passive stiffness of the postnatal cardiac myofibrils, the expression of specific fetal/neonatal cardiac-titin isoforms may also have important functions for contractile properties, myofibril assembly or turnover, and myocardial signaling during perinatal heart development.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.RES.0000124301.48193.E1 | DOI Listing |
PLoS One
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America.
Aim: To evaluate the impact of heart rate-guided basic resuscitation compared to Helping Babies Breathe on neonatal outcomes and resuscitation practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Methods: We conducted a pre-post clinical trial comparing heart rate-guided basic resuscitation to Helping Babies Breathe in three facilities, enrolling in-born neonates ≥28 weeks gestation. We collected observational data during a convenience sample of resuscitations and extracted clinical data from the medical record for all participants.
Novel Insights In presence of cardiotocographic features suspected for hypoxic insult, intrapartum ultrasound in the hands of experienced operators can demonstrate cerebral edema as an indirect sign of fetal hypoxia affecting the fetal CNS and exclude non-hypoxic conditions potentially leading to abnormalities of the fetal heart rate. Introduction Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a syndrome involving the fetal central nervous system as the result of a perinatal hypoxic-ischemic injury. To date, transfontanellar ultrasound represents the first line exam in neonates with clinical suspicion of HIE as it allows to show features indicating acute hypoxic injury and exclude potential non-hypoxic determinants of HIE, however there is no report concerning the sonographic assessment of the brain during labor.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAC Antimicrob Resist
February 2025
Division of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Background: Research on the contextual drivers of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme interventions in neonatal units is limited.
Methods: As part of a prospective mixed-methods multidisciplinary neonatal AMS (NeoAMS) interventional study in 14 South African hospitals, we applied a three-phased process to assess implementation barriers and contextual drivers experienced by participating health professionals. The study included: (Phase one; P1) a survey of pre-intervention barriers and enablers; (P2) written feedback during the study intervention phase; and (P3) semi-structured exit interviews.
Jpn J Nurs Sci
January 2025
Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Aim: This study aims to review research on heart rate variability and psychiatric symptoms in perinatal women and explains how heart rate variability can be useful in preventing depressive symptoms in perinatal women.
Methods: Data were collected from PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. The literature search encompassed articles published until July 2024, with the inclusion criteria targeting studies on women within 1 year postpartum, starting from the gestation period.
Genes (Basel)
January 2025
Perinatal Pathology Consulting, 490 Dogwood Valley Drive, Atlanta, GA 30342, USA.
Oropouche virus (OROV) is an orthobunyavirus endemic in the Brazilian Amazon that has caused numerous outbreaks of febrile disease since its discovery in 1955. During 2024, Oropouche fever spread from the endemic regions of Brazil into non-endemic areas and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, resulting in 13,014 confirmed infections. Similarly to other orthobunyaviruses, OROV can undergo genetic reassortment events with itself as well as other viruses.
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