A single dose of antenatal betamethasone enhances isoprenaline and prostaglandin E2-induced relaxation of preterm ovine pulmonary arteries

Biology of the Neonate
Y GaoJ U Raj

Abstract

Beta-adrenergic agonists and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) play an important role in perinatal pulmonary circulation. We have determined the effect of antenatal glucocorticoid treatment on isoprenaline- and PGE2-mediated relaxation of pulmonary arteries of newborn preterm lambs. Ovine fetuses (121 days of gestation; term = 150 days) received a single intramuscular dose of betamethasone (0.5 mg/kg) or saline. Fifteen hours after the injection, the lambs were delivered, ventilated for 3 h, and sacrificed. The fourth-generation pulmonary arteries were dissected and cut into rings for study. In endothelin-1-preconstricted vessels, isoprenaline, PGE2, and forskolin (an activator of adenylyl cyclase) induced greater relaxations of pulmonary arteries of betamethasone-treated lambs than those of controls. 8-Bromo-cyclic adenosine monophosphate, a cell membrane permeable analogue of cyclic adenosine monophosphate, caused similar relaxation of all vessels. When stimulated with isoprenaline and PGE2, the adenylyl cyclase activity of crude membrane preparations of pulmonary arteries treated with betamethasone was greater than that of controls. These results show that single-dose antenatal betamethasone treatment enhances relaxation of pulmonary ...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 16, 2007·Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy·José L BarthaBlas Hervías-Vivancos
Mar 7, 2019·American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology·Joseph J SmolichJonathan P Mynard
Jun 23, 2009·Pediatric Research·Kelly J CrossleyStuart B Hooper

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