Comparative responses of premature versus full-term newborn rats to prolonged hyperoxia

Because fetal rat lungs have lower baseline levels of both surfactant and antioxidant enzymes than full-term newborn rats, we questioned whether prematurely delivered rats might be more susceptible to O2 toxicity than those born at term. In the present studies, prematurely delivered rats (gestational d 21 of 22) and full-term rat pups were simultaneously put in > 95% O2 after birth. Surprisingly, we found that the preterm rats were not more susceptible to O2-induced lung damage and lethality than full-term newborns, but, in fact, the composite percentage of survival was even greater in the preterm pups from 7 to 9 d in hyperoxia and were similar thereafter up to 14 d in high O2. In addition, the preterm rats showed significantly decreased lung wet/dry weight ratios and consistently less severe pathologic evidence of pulmonary edema compared with term rats at 6 and 8 d of O2 exposure. The premature pups demonstrated the capability of inducing pulmonary antioxidant enzyme responses to hyperoxia by 3 d, and had significantly elevated copper-zinc superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase activities (and lung surfactant contents) at 6 d of O2 exposure compared with the term rats in O2. The rates of lung total O2 consumption and cyanide-resistant O2 consumption at d 6 in hyperoxia were not different for preterm versus term pups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)