Skin-to-skin contact after birth and the natural course of neurosteroid levels in healthy term newborns.

ObjectiveTo determine the postnatal course of neurosteroid levels in relation to gender, mode of delivery and the extent of skin-to-skin (STS) contact during the first days of life in healthy term newborns.Study designProspective observational study of 39 neonates in which parents recorded total duration of STS in the first 2 days and nine neurosteroids (dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, progesterone, pregnenolone, pregnenolone-sulfate, allopregnanolone, isopregnanolone, epipregnanolone, pregnanolone and pregnanolone-sulfate) were assayed from blood samples at birth and at 1-2 days of age.ResultsAll nine neurosteroid levels declined significantly during the first 2 days of life. Gender did not significantly affect the change in neurosteroid levels. The decline in neurosteroid levels was generally more pronounced in vaginal deliveries, and there was a trend toward a larger decline with more exposure to STS.ConclusionOngoing studies may better characterize the role of neurosteroids and the influence of STS in more critically ill and premature neonates

Skin-to-skin contact after birth and the natural course of neurosteroid levels in healthy term newborns.

ObjectiveTo determine the postnatal course of neurosteroid levels in relation to gender, mode of delivery and the extent of skin-to-skin (STS) contact during the first days of life in healthy term newborns.Study designProspective observational study of 39 neonates in which parents recorded total duration of STS in the first 2 days and nine neurosteroids (dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate, progesterone, pregnenolone, pregnenolone-sulfate, allopregnanolone, isopregnanolone, epipregnanolone, pregnanolone and pregnanolone-sulfate) were assayed from blood samples at birth and at 1-2 days of age.ResultsAll nine neurosteroid levels declined significantly during the first 2 days of life. Gender did not significantly affect the change in neurosteroid levels. The decline in neurosteroid levels was generally more pronounced in vaginal deliveries, and there was a trend toward a larger decline with more exposure to STS.ConclusionOngoing studies may better characterize the role of neurosteroids and the influence of STS in more critically ill and premature neonates

Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein: a possible marker for gut maturation

BACKGROUND: Gut immaturity is linked with postnatal intestinal disorders. However, biomarkers to assess the intestinal developmental stage around birth are lacking. The aim of this study was to gain more insight on intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) as an indicator of gut maturity. METHODS: Antenatal I-FABP distribution and release was investigated in extremely premature, moderately premature, and term lambs, and these findings were verified in human urinary samples. Heal I-FABP distribution was confirmed in autopsy material within 24h postnatally. RESULTS: Median (range) serum I-FABP levels were lower in extremely premature lambs compared with moderately premature lambs (156 (50.0-427) vs. 385 (100-1,387) pg/ml; P = 0.02). Contrarily, median early postnatal urine I-FABP levels in human infants were higher in extremely premature compared with moderately premature and term neonates (1,219 (203-15,044) vs. 256 (50-1,453) and 328 (96-1,749) pg/ml; P = 0.008 and P = 0.04, respectively). I-FABP expression was most prominent in nonvacuolated enterocytes and increased with rising gestational age (GA) in ovine and human tissue samples. The epithelial distribution pattern changed from a phenotype displaying I-FABP-positive enterocytes merely in the crypts early in gestation into a phenotype with I-FABP expressing cells exclusively present in the villus tips at term in ovine and human tissue. CONCLUSION: In this ovine and human study, increasing GA is accompanied by an increase in I-FABP tissue content. Cord I-FABP levels correlate with gestation in ovine fetuses, identifying I-FABP as a marker for gut maturation. Raised postnatal urine I-FABP levels in preterm human infants may indicate intestinal injury and/or inflammation in utero

Dynamic molecular changes during the first week of human life follow a robust developmental trajectory

Systems biology can unravel complex biology but has not been extensively applied to human newborns, a group highly vulnerable to a wide range of diseases. We optimized methods to extract transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, cytokine/chemokine, and single cell immune phenotyping data from <1 ml of blood, a volume readily obtained from newborns. Indexing to baseline and applying innovative integrative computational methods reveals dramatic changes along a remarkably stable developmental trajectory over the first week of life. This is most evident in changes of interferon and complement pathways, as well as neutrophil-associated signaling. Validated across two independent cohorts of newborns from West Africa and Australasia, a robust and common trajectory emerges, suggesting a purposeful rather than random developmental path. Systems biology and innovative data integration can provide fresh insights into the molecular ontogeny of the first week of life, a dynamic developmental phase that is key for health and disease