Dynamic lung aeration after birth does not impede pulmonary blood flow in preterm lambs.

Rationale: Stepwise positive end-expiratory pressure at birth (dynamic PEEP) reduces lung injury in preterm lambs; however, the impact of dynamic PEEP on pulmonary blood flow (PBF) during immediate (ICC) and deferred cord clamping (DCC) is unknown.

Objectives: To determine the impact of dynamic PEEP on PBF during DCC and ICC.

Methods: Preterm lambs (n=22) received a ventilation strategy with either dynamic PEEP (between 8 and 14 cmHO) or static PEEP (8 cmHO) after birth.

Speed of lung inflation at birth influences the initiation of lung injury in preterm lambs.

Gas flow is fundamental for driving tidal ventilation and, thus, the speed of lung motion, but current bias flow settings to support the preterm lung after birth do not have an evidence base. We aimed to determine the role of gas bias flow rates to generate positive pressure ventilation in initiating early lung injury pathways in the preterm lamb. Using slower speeds to inflate the lung during tidal ventilation (gas flow rates 4-6 L/min) did not affect lung mechanics, mechanical power, or gas exchange compared with those currently used in clinical practice (8-10 L/min).

Mechanical power made simple: validating a simplified calculation of mechanical power in preterm lungs.

Background: The incidence of chronic lung disease is increasing, suggesting a need to explore novel ways to understand ventilator induced lung injury (VILI) in preterm infants. Mechanical power (MP) is a unifying measure of energy transferred to the respiratory system and a proposed determinant of VILI. The gold-standard method for calculating MP (geometric method) is not feasible in the clinical setting.

Impact of tidal volume strategy at birth on initiating lung injury in preterm lambs.

Tidal ventilation is essential in supporting the transition to air-breathing at birth, but excessive tidal volume (V) is an important factor in preterm lung injury. Few studies have assessed the impact of specific V levels on injury development. Here, we used a lamb model of preterm birth to investigate the role of different levels of V during positive pressure ventilation (PPV) in promoting aeration and initiating early lung injury pathways.

Lung ultrasound detects regional aeration inhomogeneity in ventilated preterm lambs.

Background: Inhomogeneous lung aeration is a significant contributor to preterm lung injury. EIT detects inhomogeneous aeration in the research setting. Whether LUS detects inhomogeneous aeration is unknown.

Inflating Pressure and Not Expiratory Pressure Initiates Lung Injury at Birth in Preterm Lambs.

Inflation is essential for aeration at birth, but current inflating pressure settings are without an evidence base. To determine the role of inflating pressure (ΔP), and its relationship with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), in initiating early lung injury pathways in the preterm lamb lung. Preterm (124 to 127 d) steroid-exposed lambs ( = 45) were randomly allocated (8-10 per group) to 15 minutes of respiratory support with placental circulation and 20 or 30 cm HO ΔP, with an initial high PEEP (maximum, 20 cm HO) recruitment maneuver known to facilitate aeration (dynamic PEEP), and compared with dynamic PEEP with no ΔP or 30 cm HO ΔP and low (4 cm HO) PEEP.

Endometrial small extracellular vesicles regulate human trophectodermal cell invasion by reprogramming the phosphoproteome landscape.

A series of cyclical events within the uterus are crucial for pregnancy establishment. These include endometrial regeneration following menses, under the influence of estrogen (proliferative phase), then endometrial differentiation driven by estrogen/progesterone (secretory phase), to provide a microenvironment enabling attachment of embryo (as a hatched blastocyst) to the endometrial epithelium. This is followed by invasion of trophectodermal cells (the outer layer of the blastocyst) into the endometrium tissue to facilitate intrauterine development.

Proteomic profiling of human uterine extracellular vesicles reveal dynamic regulation of key players of embryo implantation and fertility during menstrual cycle.

Endometrial extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as important players in reproductive biology. However, how their proteome is regulated throughout the menstrual cycle is not known. Such information can provide novel insights into biological processes critical for embryo development, implantation, and successful pregnancy.

A Protocol for Isolation, Purification, Characterization, and Functional Dissection of Exosomes.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed vesicles released by cells. They carry proteins, nucleic acids, and metabolites which can be transferred to a recipient cell, locally or at a distance, to elicit a functional response. Since their discovery over 30 years ago, the functional repertoire of EVs in both physiological (e.

Structural and functional characterizations of the C-terminal domains of CzcD proteins.

Zinc is a potent antimicrobial component of the innate immune response at the host-pathogen interface. Bacteria subvert or resist host zinc insults by metal efflux pathways that include cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) proteins. The structural and functional examination of this protein class has been limited, with only the structures of the zinc transporter YiiP proteins from E.