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Protective effect of vitamin D against hyperoxia-induced lung injury in newborn rats
Mehmet Kose1, Osman Bastug2, Mehmet Fatih Sonmez3
1Division of Pediatric Pulmonology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
Insights
Vitamin D supplementation may protect newborn rats from lung injury caused by hyperoxia. This study found reduced lung damage and cell death in pups treated with vitamin D during high oxygen exposure.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal physiology
- Pulmonary medicine
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Preterm infants are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency.
- Hyperoxia can cause lung injury in newborns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the protective effects of vitamin D on hyperoxia-induced lung injury in newborn rats.
Main Methods:
- Newborn rats were divided into eight groups, including normoxia and hyperoxia controls, and groups receiving varying doses of vitamin D (1, 3, or 5 ng/g/day).
- Lung injury was assessed using histopathology, specifically measuring alveolar surface area (mean linear intercept - MLI), apoptosis index, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) index.
Main Results:
- Vitamin D treatment significantly reduced MLI and apoptosis index in hyperoxia-exposed rats compared to controls.
- PCNA index, indicating cell proliferation, significantly increased in rats treated with higher doses of vitamin D (3 and 5 ng/g/day) under hyperoxia.
Conclusions:
- Vitamin D demonstrates a protective effect against hyperoxia-induced lung injury in newborn rats.
- The findings suggest potential therapeutic benefits of vitamin D in managing neonatal lung conditions associated with hyperoxia.
Introduction:
Preterm infants have risks of developing vitamin D deficiency. Thus we aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D on hyperoxia-induced lung injury in newborn rats.
Methods:
Full term rat pups were included in the study 12-24 hr after delivery. The pups were randomly divided into eight groups as follows: normoxia control group (NC), normoxia plus vitamin D group (ND1, 1 ng/gr/day vitamin D), normoxia plus vitamin D group (ND2, 3 ng/gr/day vitamin D), normoxia plus vitamin D group (ND3, 5 ng/gr/day vitamin D), hyperoxia control group (HC), hyperoxia plus vitamin D group (HD1, 1 ng/gr/day vitamin D), hyperoxia plus Vitamin D group (HD2, 3 ng/gr/day vitamin D), hyperoxia plus vitamin D group (HD3, 5 ng/gr/day vitamin D). The histopathological effects of vitamin D were assessed by alveolar surface area (with mean linear intercept (MLI) method), apoptosis index and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) index.
Results:
MLI values were significantly lower among three groups (HD1: 83.93 ± 1.95 μm, HD2: 81.76 ± 1.68 μm, and HD3: 82.33 ± 1.87 μm) when compared with HC group (92.98 ± 2.09 μm) (P = 0.001, P = 0.0004, P = 0.002, respectively). Apoptotic cell index were significantly lower among three treatment groups (HD1: 1.455 ± 0.153, HD2: 0.575 ± 0.079, and HD3: 0.700 ± 0.105) when compared with HC group (2.500 ± 0.263) (P = 0.001, P = 0.001, P = 0.001, respectively). Although PCNA positive cell index did not change in HD1 group (0.132 ± 0.008) (P > 0.05), there were significant increases in HD2 (0.277 ± 0.026) and HD3 (0.266 ± 0.018) group when compared with HC group (0.142 ± 0.010) (HD2 P = 0.001, HD3 P = 0.001).
Conclusion:
Vitamin D seems to protect hyperoxia-induced lung injury in newborn rats. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2017;52:69-76. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
