β1-Adrenoceptor in infantile hemangioma

Propranolol, a nonselective β1- and β2-adrenoceptor inhibitor, was recently introduced into the therapy of severe proliferating infantile hemangioma (IH). However, the underlying mechanism of its action is still unclear. Rössler and colleagues report distinctions between IH and vascular malformations with regard to β-adrenoceptor-subtype messenger RNA levels.

See β1-Adrenoceptor mRNA level reveals distinctions between infantile hemangioma and vascular malformations

Propofol, asphyxia, and the fetal lamb heart

Seehase et al. hypothesized that using maternal propofol anesthesia during emergency cesarean section would diminish cardiac injury in preterm fetuses exposed to global severe asphyxia in utero. In investigating whether propofol decreased the activity of proapoptotic caspase-3 in pregnant ewes, they found that propofol administration offered better cardiac protection than isoflurane.

See Propofol administration to the fetal-maternal unit reduces cardiac injury in late-preterm lambs subjected to severe prenatal asphyxia and cardiac arrest

Inspiration and aeration

Recent phase-contrast X-ray imaging studies suggest that inspiration is the primary driver of lung aeration and airway liquid clearance at birth, which brings into question the role of adrenaline-induced activation of epithelial sodium channels (ENaCs). In a study in newborn rabbits, Siew and coauthors found that pressures generated by inspiration had a larger role in airway liquid clearance than ENaCs did. Their findings indicate that inspiration is a major determinant of airway liquid clearance and functional residual capacity development during positive-pressure ventilation.

See The role of lung inflation and sodium transport in airway liquid clearance during lung aeration in newborn rabbits

Newborn gene expression in CP

Gene expression in archived blood spots in newborns may reflect pathophysiological disturbances useful in understanding the etiology of cerebral palsy (CP). Using archived, unfrozen residual blood spot specimens from 53 newborns with CP and 53 controls, Ho and colleagues quantified the expression of gene sets representing four physiological pathways hypothesized to contribute to CP. They found three gene sets—each reflecting a separate pathophysiological pathway—that were significantly dysregulated in newborns who later developed CP.

See Gene expression in archived newborn blood spots distinguishes infants who will later develop cerebral palsy from matched controls

Immunodepression in VLBW infants

Birth and intensive care present major immunologic challenges for very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants. Palojärvi and colleagues found in a group of such infants that postnatal immunodepression was associated with gestational age and was also a predisposing factor for late infections.

See Low monocyte HLA-DR expression as an indicator of immunodepression in very low birth weight infants

Genome expression in ROP

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is one of the most common preventable causes of blindness and impaired vision among children in developed countries. Pietrzyk and coauthors compared whole-genome expression in the first month of postnatal life in infants with and without ROP. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that genes in four pathways related to inflammatory response differed between groups defined by ROP and gestational age.

See New insight into the pathogenesis of retinopathy of prematurity: assessment of wholegenome expression