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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
A Neonatal Mouse Model of Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Lamina Propria Isolation for Immune Cell Profiling
Published on: September 19, 2025
P-selectin expression, neutrophil infiltration, and histologic injury in neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis
Giorgio Stefanutti1, Paula Lister, Virpi V Smith
1Department of Paediatric Surgery, Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital, WC1N 1EH London, UK.
Background/Purpose:
P-selectin promotes adherence of leukocytes to the endothelium in inflammatory processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of P-selectin and its role in the development of inflammation in neonates with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).
Methods:
Twenty-nine intestinal specimens from 13 neonates with NEC and 7 control neonates with congenital gastrointestinal abnormalities were studied. Histologic damage, immunohistochemical expression of P-selectin, and polymorphonuclear cell infiltrate were graded blindly. Mann-Whitney U and Spearman rank tests were used to compare grades.
Results:
Expression of P-selectin was increased in NEC compared with controls in both medium-sized vessels (P = .03) and in the microcirculation (P = .03). P-selectin expression on medium-sized vessels correlated with the degree of histologic injury (P = .02, r = 0.425). P-selectin expression was greatest in areas of active inflammation but markedly lower in necrotic areas. The degree of polymorphonuclear cell infiltration strongly correlated with P-selectin expression on both medium-sized vessels (P = .004, r = 0.513) and the microcirculation (P = .001, r = 0.578).
Conclusions:
Expression of P-selectin is increased in medium-sized vessels and in the microcirculation in intestinal specimens of neonates with NEC compared with neonatal controls. Expression of P-selectin is associated with the recruitment of polymorphonuclear cells and the severity of histologic injury, although P-selectin expression is lost in necrotic tissue.
