Acute changes in vasoactive lipid mediators in experimental hyaline membrane disease

Four decades of leading-edge research in the reproductive and developmental sciences: the Infant Primate Research Laboratory at the University of Washington National Primate Research Center

The Infant Primate Research Laboratory (IPRL) was established in 1970 at the University of Washington as a visionary project of Dr. Gene (Jim) P. Sackett. Supported by a collaboration between the Washington National Primate Research Center and the Center on Human Development and Disability, the IPRL operates under the principle that learning more about the causes of abnormal development in macaque monkeys will provide important insights into the origins and treatment of childhood neurodevelopmental disabilities. Over the past 40 years, a broad range of research projects have been conducted at the IPRL. Some have described the expression of normative behaviors in nursery-reared macaques while others have focused on important biomedical themes in child health and development. This article details the unique scientific history of the IPRL and the contributions produced by research conducted in the laboratory. Past and present investigations have explored the topics of early rearing effects, low-birth-weight, prematurity, birth injury, epilepsy, prenatal neurotoxicant exposure, viral infection (pediatric HIV), diarrheal disease, vaccine safety, and assisted reproductive technologies. Data from these studies have helped advance our understanding of both risk and resiliency in primate development. New directions of research at the IPRL include the production of transgenic primate models using our embryonic stem cell-based technology to better understand and treat heritable forms of human intellectual disabilities such as fragile X.

Comparison of pulmonary inflammatory mediators in preterm infants treated with intermittent positive pressure ventilation or high frequency oscillatory ventilation

Ventilated preterm infants prone to the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia have been shown to have increased inflammatory mediators in their tracheal aspirates. High frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) is thought to be less traumatic than intermittent positive pressure ventilation (IPPV) in premature infants with surfactant deficiency, and therefore may reduce the inflammatory response in tracheobronchial aspirates. We randomized 76 premature infants requiring mechanical ventilation (birth weight 420-1830 g, median 840 g, gestational age 23 3/7 to 29 2/7 wk, median 26 4/7 to receive either an IPPV with a high rate (60-80/min) and low peak pressures, or an HFOV aiming at an optimization of lung volume, within 1 h of intubation. Tracheal aspirates were systematically collected during the first 10 d of life and analyzed for albumin, IL-8, leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and the secretory component (SC) for IgA as a reference protein. Bacterially colonized samples were excluded. On the treatment d 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10, the resulting median values of albumin (milligrams/mg of SC) were 28, 23, 24, 18, and 10, in IPPV-ventilated infants, and 33, 28, 18, 25, and 39 in HFOV-ventilated infants, respectively. Median IL-8 values (nanograms/mg of SC) were 671, 736, 705, 1362, and 1879 (IPPV) and 874, 1713, 1029, 1426, and 1823 (HFOV), respectively, and median LTB4 values (nanograms/mg of SC) were 26, 13, 27, 22, and 11 (IPPV) and 15, 12, 7, 12, and 16 (HFOV), respectively. Values were similar in IPPV- and HFOV-ventilated infants, and no significant differences were noted. We conclude that HFOV, when compared with a high rate low pressure IPPV, does not reduce concentrations of albumin, IL-8, and LTB4 in tracheal aspirates of preterm infants requiring mechanical ventilation.