Am J Perinatol 2016; 33 - A035
DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-159240

Production of Reactive Oxygen Species by Peripheral Blood Phagocytic Cells of Premature Newborns in the Early Neonatal Period

A. S. Zhukova 1, I. V. Nikitina 1, L. V. Vanko 1, N. K. Matveeva 1, L. V. Krechetova 1, O. V. Ionov 1, L. A. Timofeeva 1, V. V. Zubkov 1, D. N. Degtyarev 1, G. T. Sukhikh 1
  • 1Research Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology, Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation

Presenter: I. V. Nikitina (e-mail: nikitinadoctor@yandex.ru)

Introduction: Preterm newborns often have signs of morphofunctional immaturity. The absence of antigenic stimulation during intrauterine development of fetus leads to considerable immaturity of the neonatal adaptive immune system. Effectors of innate immune system play thus a major role in protecting newborns against infection belongs. Neutrophils and monocytes are considered as the first responders to infection, and their ability to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) has an important role in bacterial clearance. The aim of this study was to investigate the features of ROS production by phagocytic cells in peripheral blood of newborn infants in the early neonatal period depending on their gestational age and clinical condition.

Materials and Methods: This prospective study was performed analyzing peripheral blood samples obtained from 65 newborns: 48 preterm infants (gestational age was 25–36 weeks) with respiratory diseases and 17 healthy full-term newborns. The intensity of zymosan-induced ROS production was determined by chemiluminescence method. Extracellular and summary ROS generation was identified using isoluminol and luminol, respectively. Newborns were examined in the first hours of life, and on the third and the seventh day of life.

Results and Conclusion: The intensity of ROS production by peripheral blood phagocytes of newborns was significantly related to gestational age. Both extra- and intracellular ROS production was significantly decreased at birth in newborns with diseases of the respiratory system characterized by the development of systemic inflammation, such as respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal pneumonia. In turn, the differences in functional activity of ROS-producing cells in all studied preterm infants tended to disappear by the third day of life.

Keywords: phagocytes, reactive oxygen species, newborns, infection