Lavezzi Anna Maria, Ottaviani Giulia, Matturri Luigi
Institute of Pathology, Lino Rossi Research Center for the Study and Prevention of Unexpected Perinatal Death and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), University of Milan, Via della Commenda, 19, 20122 Milan, Italy.
Neurobiol Dis. 2005 Nov;20(2):601-7. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2005.04.015. Epub 2005 May 31.
We aimed to study the consequences of chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in utero on the morphological and functional maturation of the brainstem by comparing stillbirths of smoker mothers versus nonsmoker mothers. A total of 42 stillbirths, aged 25-40 gestational weeks, underwent autopsy according to our guidelines (). The brainstem was studied on serial sections and by immunohistochemistry to assay the expression of the EN2 gene, somatostatin (SS) and the tyrosine hydroxylase enzyme (TH). We observed a significant correlation between maternal smoking and sudden intrauterine unexplained death (SIUD), hypoplasia of the ArcN, no immunostaining of the EN2 in the arcuate nucleus (ArcN), and of TH in the locus coeruleus (LC) (P < 0.05). An increased incidence of maternal smoking was also observed in fetuses with SS negativity in the hypoglossus nucleus (HypoglN). Exposure in utero to maternal smoking may strongly interfere with brain biological parameters, giving rise not only to structural developmental abnormalities of the arcuate nucleus, but also to a decrease of noradrenergic activity in the LC, of EN2 gene expression in the ArcN and of SS in the HypoglN.
我们旨在通过比较吸烟母亲与不吸烟母亲的死产儿，研究子宫内长期暴露于烟草烟雾对脑干形态和功能成熟的影响。共有42例孕25 - 40周的死产儿按照我们的指南接受了尸检。对脑干进行连续切片研究，并通过免疫组织化学分析EN2基因、生长抑素（SS）和酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）的表达。我们观察到母亲吸烟与不明原因的宫内猝死（SIUD）、弓状核发育不全、弓状核（ArcN）中EN2无免疫染色以及蓝斑（LC）中TH无免疫染色之间存在显著相关性（P < 0.05）。在舌下神经核（HypoglN）中SS阴性的胎儿中也观察到母亲吸烟的发生率增加。子宫内暴露于母亲吸烟可能会强烈干扰大脑生物学参数，不仅会导致弓状核结构发育异常，还会导致蓝斑中去甲肾上腺素能活性降低、弓状核中EN2基因表达降低以及舌下神经核中SS降低。
