Abstract
89 samples of amniotic fluid were obtained from 46 pregnant baboons at 91 to 176 days of gestation (term = 180 days). In 8 baboons delivered by cesarean section at 174-176 days of gestation, the entire amniotic fluid contents of the uterus were aspirated and lung lavage was performed within 1 hour of birth. Surfactant was purified from these 8 amniotic fluids and products of lung lavage by differential and density-gradient centrifugation. Lecithin/sphingomyelin ratios ranged from 0 to 2.41. Mean (±SD) L/S ratio at term was significantly higher than before term (0.77±0.55 vs 0.28±0.25, p<0.001). Of 12 samples obtained after 170 days of pregnancy, only 6 had L/S ratios greater than 1 and only 1 had a ratio in excess of 2. The relation between L/S ratios and gestational maturity was best described as a second order polynomial (r=0.63, p<0.001). Phosphatidylglycerol (PG) was detected in none of the amniotic fluid samples. Of the 8 surfactants purified from amniotic fluid at term, none contained detectable amounts of PG. Yet, 6 of 7 surfactants purified from products of lung lavage did contain PG. These data suggest 3 possibilities: (1) baboon fetuses make no PG; (2) PG is present in amniotic fluid, but in concentrations too low to be detected; or (3) PG is present in the lungs but is not excreted into amniotic fluid. The third explanation appears to be most likely.
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Brans, Y., Kuehl, T., Hayashi, R. et al. ABSENCE OF PHOSPHATIDYLGLYCEROL IN AMNIOTIC FLUID OF BABOONS AT TERM. Pediatr Res 18 (Suppl 4), 313 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01320
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198404001-01320