The airway smooth muscle layer is structurally abnormal in low birth weight infants: implications for obstructive disease

Extract This research letter concerns known associations between intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), low birth weight (LBW) and increased risk of obstructive disease [1, 2]. Our prior animal simulations, specifically a mid-gestation maternal hypoxia mouse model of IUGR, has forwarded the hypothesis that increased risk of obstructive disease is due to abnormalities of the airway wall. In mice, IUGR causes airway smooth muscle (ASM) thickening of the fetus [3], and in postnatal life, increases airway wall stiffness [4] and modifies bronchoconstrictor response to inhaled methacholine [5]. These forerunner findings support airway pathophysiology (i.e. ASM) as a possible contributor to adverse respiratory function in growth-restricted individuals born with LBW, a proposal that has not been tested in human subjects.
Source: European Respiratory Journal - Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Lung structure and function Research Letters Source Type: research