Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
Reprod Sci. 2010 Aug;17(8):724-33. doi: 10.1177/1933719110369182. Epub 2010 May 5.
Our aim was to characterize an ovine model of preterm birth that allows analysis of the developmental effects of preterm birth in the absence of postnatal confounding factors. Preterm birth was induced at 131 days of gestation in 82 lambs; controls (n = 31) were born at term (145 days). Overall survival of preterm lambs was 60%; males had significantly lower survival than females (44% vs 76%); 94% of term lambs survived. Although the birth weight of preterm lambs was approximately 0.9 kg lower than in term lambs, the crown-to-rump and forelimb lengths were similar. At 9 weeks after term-equivalent age, there were no differences in body weight or dimensions between preterm and term lambs; when adjusted for body weight, the heart was 21% heavier in preterm than term lambs. We conclude that moderately preterm birth in sheep is characterized by a greater survival of female lambs than males and has significant effects on organ development.
我们的目的是描述一种早产绵羊模型，该模型可在不存在产后混杂因素的情况下分析早产对发育的影响。在 82 只绵羊妊娠 131 天时诱导早产；对照组（n = 31）足月出生（145 天）。早产绵羊的总存活率为 60%；雄性的存活率明显低于雌性（44%对 76%）；94%的足月羔羊存活。尽管早产羔羊的出生体重比足月羔羊低约 0.9 公斤，但头臀长和前肢长度相似。在相当于足月后的 9 周时，早产和足月羔羊的体重或体型没有差异；当按体重调整时，早产羔羊的心脏比足月羔羊重 21%。我们得出结论，绵羊中度早产的特征是雌性羔羊的存活率高于雄性，并且对器官发育有重大影响。
