Increased fetal colonic muscle contractility following glucocorticoid and thyroxine therapy: Implications for meconium passage

Ross, B.; Bradley, Kathleen; Nijland, Mark J.; Polk, Daniel H.; Ross, M. G.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1520-6661(199705/06)6:3<129::aid-mfm2>3.0.co;2-n

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The optimal resting tension was determined as previously described. 18 After 5 minutes equilibration period, each muscle strip was stimulated with bethanechol, a cholinergic agonist, at a concentration of 10 Ϫ3 mol/L, and total muscle tension was measured. Tension was calculated and expressed per cross-sectional area according to the equation described by Tucker et al 19 All results were expressed as means Ϯ SEM.…”

Section: In Vitro Contractile Assay Of the Stomachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal gastrointestinal motility in a rabbit model of gastroschisis

Oyachi

Lakshmanan

Ross

et al. 2004

Journal of Pediatric Surgery

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: In Vitro Contractile Assay Of the Stomachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fetal gastrointestinal motility in a rabbit model of gastroschisis

Oyachi

Lakshmanan

Ross

et al. 2004

Journal of Pediatric Surgery

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Gastrointestinal hypomotility and prolonged transit time have been reported in newborn human infants with congenital hypothyroidism and in a case report of a child with a mutation in the THR-α gene (Smith et al, 1975;Bochukova et al, 2012). In colon segments taken from sheep fetuses treated with the synthetic glucocorticoid betamethasone, the muscle tension generated in response to a muscarinic agonist in vitro was greater when T4 was combined with the glucocorticoid (Ross et al, 1997). Similarly, fetal gut motility was accelerated by intra-amniotic injection of betamethasone and T4 in rhesus monkeys (Gilbert et al, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypothyroidism impairs development of the gastrointestinal tract in the ovine fetus

Young

Lewandowska²,

Long³

et al. 2023

Front. Physiol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Growth and maturation of the fetal gastrointestinal tract near term prepares the offspring for the onset of enteral nutrition at birth. Structural and functional changes are regulated by the prepartum rise in cortisol in the fetal circulation, although the role of the coincident rise in plasma tri-iodothyronine (T3) is unknown. This study examined the effect of hypothyroidism on the structural development of the gastrointestinal tract and the activity of brush-border digestive enzymes in the ovine fetus near term. In intact fetuses studied between 100 and 144 days of gestation (dGA; term ∼145 days), plasma concentrations of T3, cortisol and gastrin; the mucosal thickness in the abomasum, duodenum, jejunum and ileum; and intestinal villus height and crypt depth increased with gestational age. Removal of the fetal thyroid gland at 105–110 dGA suppressed plasma thyroxine (T4) and T3 concentrations to the limit of assay detection in fetuses studied at 130 and 144 dGA, and decreased plasma cortisol and gastrin near term, compared to age-matched intact fetuses. Hypothyroidism was associated with reductions in the relative weights of the stomach compartments and small intestines, the outer perimeter of the intestines, the thickness of the gastric and intestinal mucosa, villus height and width, and crypt depth. The thickness of the mucosal epithelial cell layer and muscularis propria in the small intestines were not affected by gestational age or treatment. Activities of the brush border enzymes varied with gestational age in a manner that depended on the enzyme and region of the small intestines studied. In the ileum, maltase and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPPIV) activities were lower, and aminopeptidase N (ApN) were higher, in the hypothyroid compared to intact fetuses near term. These findings highlight the importance of thyroid hormones in the structural and functional development of the gastrointestinal tract near term, and indicate how hypothyroidism in utero may impair the transition to enteral nutrition and increase the risk of gastrointestinal disorders in the neonate.

show abstract

“…14 Ross et al reported that antenatal fetal betamethasone and thyroid hormone treatment increases ovine fetal colonic muscle contractility in vitro. 15 However, there has been no study quantifying the relation between prenatal corticosteroids and fetal small intestinal motility.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%