title: Basement membrane biomarkers in very low birth weight premature infants. Association with length of NICU stay and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
abstract: Basement membranes, critical for vital organs like the lungs, consist of two interwoven homopolymers, one assembled by type IV collagens and one by laminins. We hypothesized their serum antigens C-IV and P1, respectively, to be global measures for the maturity of these organs. In 39 very low birth weight premature neonates (means: gestational age, 25.8 weeks; birth weight, 779 g) requiring intensive care, we analyzed these biomarkers during the first two months post partum. Median C-IV and P1 exceeded adult levels by one order of magnitude. The individuals with the lowest first week C-IV values (mean: 667 ng/ml) required significantly longer neonatal intensive care unit stays than those with the highest values (mean: 2,467 ng/ml), on average 109 vs. 80 days (p = 0.008) irrespective of gestational age. Patients diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) at 36 weeks postconceptional age, already in their first week of life displayed C-IV levels lower than in controls, suggesting a defect in pulmonary basement membrane remodeling. This is the first identification by a matrix biomarker of a BPD-antecedent state.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, The New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, N.Y., USA.
authors.forename: Zubair H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Aghai
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arevalo
authors.forename: Lorna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lumicao
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lesser
authors.forename: Quihu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Ajey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Alfred N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.forename: Peter A M
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Auld
authors.forename: Hartmut M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Hanauske-Abel
mesh_terms: D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D001724:Birth Weight; D001997:Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia / Q000097:blood; D024141:Collagen Type IV / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal; D007797:Laminin / Q000097:blood; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D024141:Collagen Type IV; D007797:Laminin