Context: Fetal zone steroids (FZSs) are excreted in high concentrations in preterm infants. Experimental data suggest protective effects of FZSs in models of neonatal disease.
Objective: We aimed to characterize the postnatal FZS metabolome of well preterm and term infants.
Methods: Twenty-four-hour urinary FZS excretion rates were determined in early preterm (<30 weeks' gestation), preterm (30-36 weeks), and term (>37 weeks) infants. Pregnenolone and 17-OH-pregnenolone metabolites (n = 5), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and metabolites (n = 12) were measured by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Postnatal concentrations of FZSs were compared with already published prenatal concentrations in amniotic fluid.
Results: Excretion rates of total FZSs and most of the single metabolites were highest in early preterm infants. In this group, excretion rates approach those of term infants at term equivalent postmenstrual age. Preterm infants of 30-36 weeks had more than half lower median excretion rates of FZSs than early preterm infants at the same time of postmenstrual age. Postnatal concentrations of FZSs were partly more than 100-fold higher in all gestational age groups than prenatal concentrations in amniotic fluid at midgestation.
Conclusion: The excretion rates of FZSs as a proxy of the involution of the fetal zone of the most immature preterm infants approached those of term infants at term equivalent. In contrast, the fetal zone in more mature preterm infants undergoes more rapid involution. These data in exclusively well neonates can serve as a basis to investigate the effects of illness on the FZS metabolome in future studies.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/clinem/dgab194 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Development of autonomic innervation at the venous pole of the heart: bridging the gap from mice to human.
J Transl Med
January 2025
Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Leiden University Medical Center, P.O. Box 9600, Postal Zone: S-1-P, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Background: Prenatal development of autonomic innervation of sinus venosus-related structures might be related to atrial arrhythmias later in life. Most of the pioneering studies providing embryological background are conducted in animal models. To date, a detailed comparison with the human cardiac autonomic nervous system (cANS) is lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevalence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid and factors associated with emergency cesarean section: multicenter cross-sectional study in south central Ethiopia.
Front Glob Womens Health
December 2024
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahirdar University, Bahirdar, Ethiopia.
Background: Meconium is thick black-green fetal intestinal content starting from the early first trimester of gestation. Unfortunately, if it is released into the amniotic cavity due to any cause, it can be associated with neonatal mortality and morbidity.
Objective: To identify the factors associated with meconium-stained amniotic fluid among mothers undergoing emergency cesarean section in specialized hospitals cross-sectional study in south central Ethiopia from August 1, 2022, to 30, October 2022.
Single-cell RNA sequencing identifies CXADR as a fate determinant of the placental exchange surface.
Nat Commun
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge, NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The placenta is the critical interface between mother and fetus, and consequently, placental dysfunction underlies many pregnancy complications. Placental formation requires an adequate expansion of trophoblast stem and progenitor cells followed by finely tuned lineage specification events. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing of mouse trophoblast stem cells during the earliest phases of differentiation, we identify gatekeepers of the stem cell state, notably Nicol1, and uncover unsuspected trajectories of cell lineage diversification as well as regulators of lineage entry points.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffects of exercise on vascular remodelling and fetal growth in uncomplicated and abortion-prone mouse pregnancies.
Sci Rep
December 2024
Robinson Research Institute, School of Biomedicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Studies in humans and rodents show exercise in pregnancy can modulate maternal blood pressure, vascular volume, and placental efficiency, but whether exercise affects early uteroplacental vascular adaptations is unknown. To investigate this, CBA/J female mice mated with BALB/c males to generate healthy uncomplicated pregnancies (BALB/c-mated) or mated with DBA/2J males to generate abortion-prone pregnancies (DBA/2J-mated), were subjected to treadmill exercise (5 days/week, 10 m/min, 30 min/day for 6 weeks before and throughout pregnancy), or remained sedentary. In uncomplicated pregnancies, exercise caused symmetric fetal growth restriction in fetuses evidenced by reductions in fetal weight, crown-to-rump length, abdominal girth and biparietal diameter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeep Learning-Based Visual Complexity Analysis of Electroencephalography Time-Frequency Images: Can It Localize the Epileptogenic Zone in the Brain?
Algorithms
December 2023
Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Article Synopsis
- In drug-resistant epilepsy, the study focuses on using deep learning to analyze intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) signals, specifically through time-frequency (TF) images, to locate the epileptogenic zone (EZ) for surgical guidance.
- The researchers processed iEEG data from 20 children and employed a pre-trained neural network (VGG16) to measure visual complexity, revealing that contacts within the seizure onset zone had significantly lower activation energy compared to those outside.
- The findings suggest a new computer-assisted method for accurately localizing the EZ with a 7 mm accuracy in MRI scans, potentially reducing the need for extensive manual iEEG examinations.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!