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Development of a Neonatal Piglet Acute Lung Injury Model Recreating the Early Environment of Preterm Infant Lungs
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Perinatal factors in neonatal and pediatric lung diseases

Rodney D Britt1, Arij Faksh, Elizabeth Vogel

  • 1Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, 4-184 W Jos SMH, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.

Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine
|October 5, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Infant wheezing and asthma are linked to early life factors. Understanding prenatal and postnatal influences is key to developing new therapies for childhood airway diseases.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pulmonology
  • Neonatal Medicine
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Wheezing and asthma are common in infants and young children, especially those born prematurely.
  • Airway remodeling and bronchoconstriction are key features of neonatal and pediatric airway diseases.
  • Perinatal factors, including fetal lung development, NICU interventions, and neonatal environmental exposures, significantly influence childhood airway diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To summarize current understanding of prenatal and postnatal factors contributing to airway disease development in neonates and children.
  • To highlight the role of genetics, maternal health, environmental exposures, innate immunity, and impaired lung development in disease pathogenesis.
  • To inform the identification and development of novel therapeutic strategies for childhood airway diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current scientific literature on perinatal influences on childhood airway diseases.
  • Synthesis of evidence linking prenatal and postnatal factors to the pathogenesis of wheezing and asthma.
  • Analysis of the interplay between genetics, maternal health, environment, immunity, and lung development.

Main Results:

  • Prenatal and postnatal factors significantly impact the development of airway diseases in children.
  • Altered fetal lung development, neonatal intensive care unit (ICU) interventions, and environmental insults are critical contributors.
  • Genetics, maternal health, environmental exposures, innate immunity, and impaired lung development collectively influence disease pathogenesis.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal and postnatal factors are crucial in the development of neonatal and pediatric airway diseases.
  • A comprehensive understanding of these factors is essential for advancing therapeutic interventions.
  • Targeting these early-life influences holds promise for preventing and treating childhood asthma and wheezing disorders.

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