The change from a fetus in amniotic fluid who utilizes the placenta for the substance exchange to become a newborn who metabolizes and excretes in the own organs, taking in oxygen from the air and eliminating carbon dioxide, occurs rapidly at birth. With that adaptation, Mt. Everest in Utero describes the transition the fetus undergoes from the state of low partial pressure of oxygen to a significantly higher state when the oxygen in air enters the alveoli and is diffused to the blood vessels during the first breath after birth. The increase in partial pressure of oxygen, which is essential for life outside the uterus, is accompanied by a rapid increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The theme of this topic will focus on the adaptive phenomena of biological organs due to increased partial pressure of oxygen and the adaptive phenomena related to ROS defense.
Oxygen consumption in each organ increases due to the rapid increase in blood catecholamine and cortisol levels induced by labor pain and passage through the birth canal, decrease in environmental temperature, skeletal muscle activity, and the onset of hibernating organ functions (lungs, intestines, and kidneys). In a fetus, growth (increase in the number of the cells) dominates but, in order to obtain physiological adaptation outside of the uterus, development/maturation of the individual cell becomes the significant state after birth. In addition, the predominance of the right heart in fetal circulation in terms of pressure, output, and workload subsides in favor of the left heart after birth. Physiological jaundice is a unique feature of humans and the role of unconjugated bilirubin is considered as a defense against biotoxicity caused by reactive oxygen species that substantially increase after birth. These rapid circulatory and metabolic changes from the fetal to the neonatal period are rational processes that are important for future brain and other human-specific organ development, and these changes are being investigated using various approaches. A detailed understanding of these changes may help predict future growth and maturation processes, as well as provide solutions for preventing and treating diseases in full-term and preterm infants. One example of a ROS defense is, physiological jaundice, a unique feature of humans, and the role of unconjugated bilirubin is considered as a defense against biotoxicity caused by reactive oxygen species that substantially increase after birth.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to contribute to future neonatal medicine by organizing basic information on human specificity, disease characteristics, and their prevention and treatment methods by examining the changes in circulation and oxygen metabolism from the fetal to the neonatal period from scientific findings.
This Research Topic is open to contributions that address the following thematic axes:
- Developmental specificity of oxygen metabolism and defense mechanisms against reactive oxygen species, such as bilirubin metabolism, in the human fetus and neonate.
- Methods of evaluation of cerebral circulation and oxygen metabolism mechanisms and their developmental changes in the fetus and neonate.
- Pathophysiology of brain damage in preterm and full-term infants, and methods for its prevention and treatment.
The change from a fetus in amniotic fluid who utilizes the placenta for the substance exchange to become a newborn who metabolizes and excretes in the own organs, taking in oxygen from the air and eliminating carbon dioxide, occurs rapidly at birth. With that adaptation, Mt. Everest in Utero describes the transition the fetus undergoes from the state of low partial pressure of oxygen to a significantly higher state when the oxygen in air enters the alveoli and is diffused to the blood vessels during the first breath after birth. The increase in partial pressure of oxygen, which is essential for life outside the uterus, is accompanied by a rapid increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The theme of this topic will focus on the adaptive phenomena of biological organs due to increased partial pressure of oxygen and the adaptive phenomena related to ROS defense.
Oxygen consumption in each organ increases due to the rapid increase in blood catecholamine and cortisol levels induced by labor pain and passage through the birth canal, decrease in environmental temperature, skeletal muscle activity, and the onset of hibernating organ functions (lungs, intestines, and kidneys). In a fetus, growth (increase in the number of the cells) dominates but, in order to obtain physiological adaptation outside of the uterus, development/maturation of the individual cell becomes the significant state after birth. In addition, the predominance of the right heart in fetal circulation in terms of pressure, output, and workload subsides in favor of the left heart after birth. Physiological jaundice is a unique feature of humans and the role of unconjugated bilirubin is considered as a defense against biotoxicity caused by reactive oxygen species that substantially increase after birth. These rapid circulatory and metabolic changes from the fetal to the neonatal period are rational processes that are important for future brain and other human-specific organ development, and these changes are being investigated using various approaches. A detailed understanding of these changes may help predict future growth and maturation processes, as well as provide solutions for preventing and treating diseases in full-term and preterm infants. One example of a ROS defense is, physiological jaundice, a unique feature of humans, and the role of unconjugated bilirubin is considered as a defense against biotoxicity caused by reactive oxygen species that substantially increase after birth.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to contribute to future neonatal medicine by organizing basic information on human specificity, disease characteristics, and their prevention and treatment methods by examining the changes in circulation and oxygen metabolism from the fetal to the neonatal period from scientific findings.
This Research Topic is open to contributions that address the following thematic axes:
- Developmental specificity of oxygen metabolism and defense mechanisms against reactive oxygen species, such as bilirubin metabolism, in the human fetus and neonate.
- Methods of evaluation of cerebral circulation and oxygen metabolism mechanisms and their developmental changes in the fetus and neonate.
- Pathophysiology of brain damage in preterm and full-term infants, and methods for its prevention and treatment.