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Elevated Circulating Cardiac Troponins in Chronically Catheterized Pre‐and Post‐Natal Sheep
Author(s) -
Jonker Sonnet S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.01966
Subject(s) - troponin complex , medicine , troponin , troponin i , cardiology , fetus , cord blood , troponin t , cardiac marker , pregnancy , myocardial infarction , biology , genetics
BACKGROUND Circulating markers of cardiac damage have been reported to be elevated in cord blood of healthy infants. This elevation is reported to be independent of the stress of labor, as elevations are also reported in the cord blood of healthy infants delivered by Caesarian section prior to labor. We hypothesized that circulating markers of cardiac damage are elevated in the late‐term fetus prior to delivery. METHODS Three fetal sheep were surgically instrumented with indwelling catheters in the carotid artery and coronary sinus. Sheep were recovered from surgery, and daily blood samples were taken to determine circulating levels of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), c‐reactive protein (CRP), and N‐terminal pro hormone BNP (nt‐ProBNP) using the Siemens DIMENSION VISTA, and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) using the Roche cobas e601 STAT. Data were visualized to determine trends. RESULTS We found that circulating cTnI and cTnT levels tend to decline in the week preceding birth. Troponins also were elevated following natural vaginal delivery. CRP and nt‐ProBNP levels were not detectable. CONCLUSIONS These data support our hypothesis that a cardiac process is releasing cardiac troponins to circulate 1–2 weeks prior to birth. Further investigation is required to determine if this is a transient event, or if levels are high throughout fetal development. We also found that levels decline as term approaches, but that birth re‐stimulates release of these markers of cardiac damage. Support or Funding Information OHSU Medical Research FoundationCirculating markers of cardiac damage in chronically catheterized perinatal sheep. The x‐intercept represents day of surgery, while the dashed line represents the day of birth. Solid symbols = blood samples from the carotid artery. Open symbols = blood samples from the coronary sinus.