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Postnatal growth restriction impairs rat lung structure and function
James Zhao1, Craig Ballard1, Adrienne J Cohen1
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Insights
Postnatal growth restriction negatively impacts lung development and function. Nutritional deficits impair lung structure and mediators, with sex-specific changes observed in this rat model.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Nutritional deficits are known to negatively affect bronchopulmonary dysplasia development.
- Mechanisms linking nutrition to lung outcomes and optimal nutritional strategies remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the isolated effects of postnatal nutrition on lung structure and function.
- To assess how postnatal growth restriction (PGR) impacts lung development, mediators, and fatty acid profiles in a rat model.
Main Methods:
- Rats were cross-fostered to create control (litter size 8) and PGR (litter size 16) groups.
- Lung structure, function, serum and lung tissue fatty acids, and molecular mediators were analyzed at postnatal day 21.
Main Results:
- PGR led to thicker airspace walls, decreased lung compliance, and increased tissue damping in both sexes.
- Male rats exhibited increased lung elastance, elastin protein, lysol oxidase, and elastic fiber deposition.
- Female rats showed increased airway resistance and reduced docosahexaenoic acid levels in lung tissue.
Conclusions:
- Postnatal growth restriction impairs lung structure and function in male and female rats.
- Sex-specific alterations in lung molecular mediators of development were observed following PGR.
Abstract:
The negative impact of nutritional deficits in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia is well recognized, yet mechanisms by which nutrition alters lung outcomes and nutritional strategies that optimize development and protect the lung remain elusive. Here, we use a rat model to assess the isolated effects of postnatal nutrition on lung structural development without concomitant lung injury. We hypothesize that postnatal growth restriction (PGR) impairs lung structure and function, critical mediators of lung development, and fatty acid profiles at postnatal day 21 in the rat. Rat pups were cross-fostered at birth to rat dams with litter sizes of 8 (control) or 16 (PGR). Lung structure and function, as well as serum and lung tissue fatty acids, and lung molecular mediators of development, were measured. Male and female PGR rat pups had thicker airspace walls, decreased lung compliance, and increased tissue damping. Male rats also had increased lung elastance, increased lung elastin protein abundance, and lysol oxidase expression, and increased elastic fiber deposition. Female rat lungs had increased conducting airway resistance and reduced levels of docosahexaenoic acid in lung tissue. We conclude that PGR impairs lung structure and function in both male and female rats, with sex-divergent changes in lung molecular mediators of development.
