A novel treatment strategy for gastrointestinal development of extremely low birth weight infants : Administration of micelles derived from pulmonary surfactants in a pregnant rabbit model

我们已经证明在人足月羊水中存在来源于肺表面活性剂的胶束。胶束化也是出生后脂质吸收的一个重要步骤，因为脂肪在小肠腔的水环境中是不溶的。胶束存在于胎儿吞咽的羊水和新生儿摄入的人母乳中。我们的研究旨在为极低出生体重婴儿的胃肠道发育提供一种新的治疗策略，重点关注胎儿和新生儿环境中胶束的存在。我们之前的研究表明，持续给药从肺表面活性剂和皮脂中提取的胶束可以促进兔胎儿小肠的发育。在我们的研究中，我们使用荧光标记脂质体来证明来自肺表面活性剂和皮脂藻复合物的胶束可能直接和局部地促进胎儿的胃肠道发育。此外，我们开发了一个新生大鼠模型来确定这些胶束对坏死性小肠结肠炎的潜在有益作用。虽然还需要进一步的研究，但我们的发现对肺部、真皮-表皮和胃肠道发育之间的生理相互作用提供了更好的理解。早产儿早期发育中最关键的问题之一是坏死性小肠结肠炎的预防和治疗。我们希望我们的研究能够对改善早产儿的预后有所贡献。

We have shown the presence of micelles derived from pulmonary surfactant in human full-term amniotic nuid. Micellization is also an important step in postnatal lipid absorption because fat is insoluble in the aqueous environment of the small intestinal lumen. Micelles exist in both amniotic fluid swallowed by the fetus and human breast milk ingested by neonates. Our study aimed to develop a new treatment strategy for gastrointestinal development of extremely low birth weight infants with a focus on the presence of micelles in the environment of fetus and neonates. We previously showed that continuous administration of micelles derived from pulmonary surfactants and vernix caseosa enhanced the development of the small intestine of the rabbit fetus.In our study, we used fluorescently labeled liposomes to show that micelles derived from pulmonary surfactant and vernix caseosa complex might directly and locally contribute to gastrointestinal development of the fetus. In addition, we developed a neonatal rat model to determine the potential beneficial effects of these micelles against necrotizing enterocolitis. Although further studies are required, our findings provide greater understanding of the physiologic interactions between the pulmonary, dermal-epidermal, and gastrointestinal development. One of the most critical issues in the early development of premature infants is the prevention and treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis. We expect that our study may contribute in improving the prognosis of premature infants.