Research

Adult onset lung disease following transient disruption of fetal stretch-induced differentiation

Joseph J Hudak , Erin Killeen , Ashok Chandran , J Craig Cohen and Janet E Larson

The Brady Laboratory, Section of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Stony Brook University, School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, 11794, USA

author email corresponding author email

Respiratory Research 2009, 10:34doi:10.1186/1465-9921-10-34

Published:	6 May 2009

Abstract

One of the mechanisms by which adult disease can arise from a fetal origin is by in utero disruption of organogenesis. These studies were designed to examine respiratory function changes in aging rats following transient disruption of lung growth at 16 days gestation. Fetuses were treated in utero with a replication deficient adenovirus containing the cystic fibrosis conductance transmembrane regulator (CFTR) gene fragment cloned in the anti-sense direction. The in utero-treated rats demonstrated abnormal lung function beginning as early as 30 days of age and the pathology progressed as the animals aged. The pulmonary function abnormalities included decreased static compliance as well as increased conducting airway resistance, tissue damping, and elastance. Pressure volume (PV) curves demonstrated a slower early rise to volume and air trapping at end-expiration. The alterations of pulmonary function correlated with lung structural changes determined by morphometric analysis. These studies demonstrate how transient disruption of lung organogensis by single gene interference can result in progressive change in lung function and structure. They illustrate how an adult onset disease can arise from subtle changes in gene expression during fetal development.