Sequential Exposure to Antenatal Microbial Triggers Attenuates Alveolar Growth and Pulmonary Vascular Development and Impacts Pulmonary Epithelial Stem/Progenitor Cells

Multipotent adult progenitor cells prevent functional impairment and improve development in inflammation driven detriment of preterm ovine lungs

Background

Perinatal inflammation increases the risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm neonates, but the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Given their anti-inflammatory and regenerative capacity, multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPC) are a promising cell-based therapy to prevent and/or treat the negative pulmonary consequences of perinatal inflammation in the preterm neonate. Therefore, the pathophysiology underlying adverse preterm lung outcomes following perinatal inflammation and pulmonary benefits of MAPC treatment at the interface of prenatal inflammatory and postnatal ventilation exposures were elucidated.

Methods

Instrumented ovine fetuses were exposed to intra-amniotic lipopolysaccharide (LPS 5 mg) at 125 days gestation to induce adverse systemic and peripheral organ outcomes. MAPC (10 × 106 cells) or saline were administered intravenously two days post LPS exposure. Fetuses were delivered preterm five days post MAPC treatment and either killed humanely immediately or mechanically ventilated for 72 h.

Results

Antenatal LPS exposure resulted in inflammation and decreased alveolar maturation in the preterm lung. Additionally, LPS-exposed ventilated lambs showed continued pulmonary inflammation and cell junction loss accompanied by pulmonary edema, ultimately resulting in higher oxygen demand. MAPC therapy modulated lung inflammation, prevented loss of epithelial and endothelial barriers and improved lung maturation in utero. These MAPC-driven improvements remained evident postnatally, and prevented concomitant pulmonary edema and functional loss.

Conclusion

In conclusion, prenatal inflammation sensitizes the underdeveloped preterm lung to subsequent postnatal inflammation, resulting in injury, disturbed development and functional impairment. MAPC therapy partially prevents these changes and is therefore a promising approach for preterm infants to prevent adverse pulmonary outcomes.

Optimized lung expansion ventilation modulates ventilation-induced lung injury in preterm lambs

INTRODUCTION

Preterm infants close to viability commonly require mechanical ventilation (MV) for respiratory distress syndrome. Despite commonly used lung-sparing ventilation techniques, rapid lung expansion during MV induces lung injury, a risk factor for bronchopulmonary dysplasia. This study investigates whether ventilation with optimized lung expansion is feasible and whether it can further minimize lung injury. Therefore, optimized lung expansion ventilation (OLEV) was compared to conventional volume targeted ventilation.

METHODS

Twenty preterm lambs were surgically delivered after 132 days of gestation. Nine animals were randomized to receive OLEV for 24 h, and seven received standard MV. Four unventilated animals served as controls (NV). Lungs were sampled for histological analysis at the end of the experimental period.

RESULTS

Ventilation with OLEV was feasible, resulting in a significantly higher mean ventilation pressure (0.7-1.3 mbar). Temporary differences in oxygenation between OLEV and MV did not reach clinically relevant levels. Ventilation in general tended to result in higher lung injury scores compared to NV, without differences between OLEV and MV. While pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor-α messenger RNA (mRNA) levels increased in both ventilation groups compared to NV, only animals in the MV group showed a higher number of CD45-positive cells in the lung. In contrast, mean (standard deviations) surfactant protein-B mRNA levels were significantly lower in OLEV, 0.63 (0.38) compared to NV 1.03 (0.32) (p = .023, one-way analysis of variance).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, a small reduction in pulmonary inflammation after 24 h of support with OLEV suggests potential to reduce preterm lung injury.

Insights into the Black Box of Intra-Amniotic Infection and Its Impact on the Premature Lung: From Clinical and Preclinical Perspectives

Intra-amniotic infection (IAI) is one major driver for preterm birth and has been demonstrated by clinical studies to exert both beneficial and injurious effects on the premature lung, possibly due to heterogeneity in the microbial type, timing, and severity of IAI. Due to the inaccessibility of the intra-amniotic cavity during pregnancies, preclinical animal models investigating pulmonary consequences of IAI are indispensable to elucidate the pathogenesis of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). It is postulated that on one hand imbalanced inflammation, orchestrated by lung immune cells such as macrophages, may impact on airway epithelium, vascular endothelium, and interstitial mesenchyme, resulting in abnormal lung development. On the other hand, excessive suppression of inflammation may as well cause pulmonary injury and a certain degree of inflammation is beneficial. So far, effective strategies to prevent and treat BPD are scarce. Therapeutic options targeting single mediators in signaling cascades and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs)-based therapies with global regulatory capacities have demonstrated efficacy in preclinical animal models and warrant further validation in patient populations. Ante-, peri- and postnatal exposome analysis and therapeutic investigations using multiple omics will fundamentally dissect the black box of IAI and its effect on the premature lung, contributing to precisely tailored and individualized therapies.

Moving Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Research from the Bedside to the Bench

Although advances in the respiratory management of extremely preterm infants have led to improvements in survival, this progress has not yet extended to a reduction in the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BPD is a complex multifactorial condition that primarily occurs due to disturbances in the regulation of normal pulmonary airspace and vascular development. Preterm birth and exposure to invasive mechanical ventilation also compromises large airway development, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Although both predisposing and protective genetic and environmental factors have been frequently described in the clinical literature, these findings have had limited impact on the development of effective therapeutic strategies. This gap is likely because the molecular pathways that underlie these observations are yet not fully understood, limiting the ability of researchers to identify novel treatments that can preserve normal lung development and/or enhance cellular repair mechanisms. In this review article, we will outline various well-established clinical observations whilst identifying key knowledge gaps that need to be filled with carefully designed pre-clinical experiments. We will address these issues by discussing controversial topics in the pathophysiology, the pathology and the treatment of BPD, including an evaluation of existing animal models that have been used to answer important questions.