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Updated: Mar 28, 2026
Instrumentation of Near-term Fetal Sheep for Multivariate Chronic Non-anesthetized Recordings
Published on: October 25, 2015
Intrauterine Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Chorioamnionitis in a Sheep: Does It Affect the Auditory System?
Adriana L Smit1, Verena A Lambermont2, Robert J Stokroos3
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands a.l.smit-9@umcutrecht.nl.
Background:
Fetal exposure to in utero inflammation such as chorioamnionitis is related to central nervous system injury. We hypothesized that chorioamnionitis can provoke inflammatory changes in the perilymph and alter hearing outcome.
Methods:
Pregnant ewes were randomized into 2 groups: intrauterine injection with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; n = 19) or saline (n = 21). In the first experiment, fetal perilymph samples were taken for cytokine analysis. In the second experiment, consecutive bone-conducted auditory brain stem responses were obtained from 1 to 7 months after birth.
Results:
Perilymph samples showed a significant elevation in interleukin 8 in the LPS group. Auditory brain stem response analysis demonstrated higher response thresholds and a prolongation of absolute peak V and interpeak intervals I to V and III to V in the LPS group compared to sham treatment.
Conclusion:
Our study confirms the hypothesis that an intrauterine inflammation by LPS can result in a fetal perilymphatic inflammatory response and functional impaired hearing outcomes after birth in a sheep model.
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