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Postnatal change in inhibitory regulation of intestinal motor activity in human and canine neonates
1Department of Pediatrics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
Insights
Newborn gut motor patterns mature postnatally, with increased intestinal motor quiescence during fasting and altered peptide release in preterm infants and puppies. These changes parallel each other in both species.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Physiology
- Gastrointestinal Motility
- Comparative Medicine
Background:
- Postnatal development of gastrointestinal (GI) motor patterns is crucial for nutrient absorption and overall health in neonates.
- Understanding these changes in preterm infants and animal models aids in optimizing neonatal care and interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental changes in small intestinal motor activity and peptide release during fasting and feeding in preterm human infants and newborn canine pups.
- To compare the parallel maturation of GI motor patterns and peptide release between human preterm neonates and canine neonates.
Main Methods:
- Motor activity was recorded in 19 preterm infants and 11 newborn dogs over several weeks using established recording techniques.
- Plasma concentrations of gastrin and peptide YY were measured during fasting and postprandial states.
Main Results:
- Small intestinal motor quiescence during fasting was initially scarce but significantly increased with postnatal age in both preterm infants and canine pups.
- Motor responses to feeding were consistently observed within the first few days of life in both species.
- Plasma concentrations of gastrin and peptide YY increased with postnatal age, with significant postprandial increases in gastrin.
Conclusions:
- Intestinal motor quiescence during fasting becomes a more prominent feature of newborn GI function postnatally.
- The release of regulatory peptides, gastrin and peptide YY, also undergoes significant postnatal changes.
- Postnatal maturation of GI motor patterns and peptide release occurs in parallel in human preterm neonates and canine neonates.
Abstract:
Motor activity was recorded in 19 preterm infants three times during the first postnatal month. There was a paucity of small intestinal motor quiescence during fasting in the first postnatal week; however, its duration significantly increased with postnatal age (p < 0.03). Although fasting motor patterns changed with postnatal age, motor responses to feeding were present within the first few days of life. Motor activity was also recorded weekly in 11 newborn dogs for 6 wk. Intestinal motor quiescence was also absent during fasting for the first postnatal week but it significantly increased with postnatal age (p < 0.002). As in the human preterm infant, a motor response to feeding was present within the first few days of life. Plasma concentrations of gastrin and peptide YY during fasting were low in the preterm human and canine neonate during the first postnatal week but plasma concentrations of both peptides increased with postnatal age. Although plasma concentrations of gastrin were low during fasting for the first postnatal week, plasma concentrations of gastrin increased significantly postprandially compared with fasting (p < 0.05). We conclude that motor quiescence during fasting becomes a more prominent feature of newborn intestinal motor function postnatally. In addition the release of two peptides that regulate motor patterns also change postnatally. Thus, postnatal changes in motor patterns and peptide release change in a parallel fashion in human preterm neonates and canine neonates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)