Experimental amniotic fluid infection in sheep : effects of Ureaplasma parvum serovars 3 and 6 on preterm or term fetal sheep

T.J. Moss, C.L. Knox, S.G. Kallapur, Ilias Nitsos, C. Theodoropoulos, John Newnham, M. Ikegami, Alan Jobe

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    80 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the effects in late gestation of Ureaplasma parvum serovar 3 colonization and the effects, preterm, of U. parvum serovar 6.Study Design: Ewes received an intraamniotic (IA) injection of U. parvum serovar 6 (20 × 106 colony-forming units [cfu]; n = 9), U. parvum serovar 3 (20 × 103 cfu; n = 6), vehicle (n = 10), or saline (n = 4) on day 80 of pregnancy (d). The lambs were delivered at 125 d (U parvum serovar 6, n = 9; saline or media controls, n = 9) or 145 d (U parvum serovar 3, n = 6; media controls, n = 5) for assessment of inflammation and lung maturation.Results: IA ureaplasmas caused histologic chorioamnionitis but not preterm delivery. Fetal lung epithelium was colonized with ureaplasmas at both gestational ages, and pulmonary interleukin-8 levels had doubled in the ureaplasma-colonized animals, compared with the controls at 145 d. Surfactant levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid had increased 8-fold and 2.5-fold at 125 and 145 d, respectively, after ureaplasma injection. Conclusion: Fetal lung inflammation and altered development accompanies ureaplasma colonization, regardless of age at delivery.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)122.e1-122.e8
    JournalAmerican Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
    Volume198
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008

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