Antenatal steroids elicited neurodegenerative-associated transcriptional changes in the hippocampus of preterm fetal sheep independent of lung maturation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antenatal steroid therapy for fetal lung maturation is routinely administered to women at risk of preterm delivery. There is strong evidence to demonstrate benefit from antenatal steroids in terms of survival and respiratory disease, notably in infants delivered at or below 32 weeks' gestation. However, dosing remains unoptimized and lung benefits are highly variable. Current treatment regimens generate high-concentration, pulsatile fetal steroid exposures now associated with increased risk of childhood neurodevelopmental diseases. We hypothesized that damage-associated changes in the fetal hippocampal transcriptome would be independent of preterm lung function.

Methods

Date-mated ewes carrying a single fetus at 122 ± 2dGA (term = 150dGA) were randomized into 4 gr

SUBMITTER: Carter SWD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11346182 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature