Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Antenatal steroids decrease blood-brain barrier permeability in the ovine fetus

B S Stonestreet¹, K H Petersson, G B Sadowska

¹Department of Pediatrics, Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, Rhode Island 02905, USA.

The American Journal of Physiology

|February 10, 1999

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Expression and localization of Inter-alpha Inhibitors in rodent brain.

Neuroscience·2016

Same author

Ontogeny of tight junction protein expression in the ovine cerebral cortex during development.

Neuroscience·2015

Same author

The effect of vitamin E supplementation on an experimental Haemonchus contortus infection in lambs.

Veterinary parasitology·2014

Same author

Maternal treatment with glucocorticoids modulates gap junction protein expression in the ovine fetal brain.

Neuroscience·2014

Same author

Ischemia-reperfusion impairs blood-brain barrier function and alters tight junction protein expression in the ovine fetus.

Neuroscience·2012

Same author

In-vitro validation of cytokine neutralizing antibodies by testing with ovine mononuclear splenocytes.

Journal of comparative pathology·2012

Same journal

Blood coagulation in fish.

The American journal of physiology·2011

Same journal

Renal tubular reabsorption, metabolic utilization and isomeric fractionation of lactic acid in the dog.

The American journal of physiology·2010

Same journal

The inactivation of placental toxin by human serum.

The American journal of physiology·2010

Same journal

Adrenal function following ovariectomy in the rat.

The American journal of physiology·2010

Same journal

Capillary permeability; perfusion of frog and guinea pig hind limbs.

The American journal of physiology·2010

Same journal

Evaluation of protective measures against sunburn.

The American journal of physiology·2010

See all related articles

Antenatal corticosteroid therapy, given to pregnant ewes, reduced blood-brain barrier permeability in preterm lambs. This finding suggests a mechanism for protecting vulnerable fetal brains from injury.

Area of Science:

Perinatal medicine
Neuroscience
Pharmacology

Background:

Antenatal corticosteroid therapy is known to reduce intraventricular hemorrhage in premature infants.
Enhanced microvascular integrity may protect against intraventricular hemorrhage.
Hormonal control of the blood-brain barrier is suggested by adult studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if antenatal corticosteroids decrease blood-brain barrier permeability in preterm fetuses.
To test the hypothesis that corticosteroids enhance fetal blood-brain barrier integrity.

Main Methods:

Chronically instrumented 120-day-gestation ovine fetuses were used.
Ewes received four 6-mg dexamethasone injections or placebo over 48 hours.
Blood-brain barrier function was measured using the blood-to-brain transfer constant (Ki) for alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB).

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

The blood-to-brain transfer constant (Ki) for AIB was significantly lower in fetuses exposed to antenatal dexamethasone compared to placebo.
This reduction in Ki was observed across multiple brain regions, including the cortex, cerebellum, and medulla.
Specific Ki values (microliter . g brain wt-1. min-1) in the cortex were 2.43 ± 0.27 for dexamethasone vs. 3.41 ± 0.74 for placebo.

Conclusions:

Antenatal corticosteroid treatment demonstrably reduces blood-brain barrier permeability in the ovine fetus.
This suggests a potential mechanism by which corticosteroids protect the developing brain against injury, such as intraventricular hemorrhage.