ArticleJournal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany)2013
Effect of prenatal steroid treatment on the developing immune system.
Article in Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Intramuscular and Oral Betamethasone and Dexamethasone in Reproductive Age Women in India.Clinical and translational science · 2020Trial
- Associations between antenatal corticosteroids and neonatal morbidities in a prospective cohort: role of course, timing, and gestational age.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Perinatal glucocorticoid sensitivity in the preterm newborn: molecular mechanisms, endogenous determinants, and clinical implications.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
- Urinary Tract Infection Epidemiology in NICUs in the United States.American journal of perinatology · 2024Observational
- Thymic Atrophy and Immune Dysregulation in Infants with Complex Congenital Heart Disease.Journal of clinical immunology · 2024Article
- Premature birth carries a higher risk of nephrotic syndrome: a cohort study.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Glucocorticoids in T cell development, differentiation and function.Nature reviews. Immunology · 2021Review
- Nomograms of the fetal thymus for clinical practice.Archives of medical science : AMS · 2021Article
- The immunological link between neonatal lung and eye disease.Clinical & translational immunology · 2021Review
- Article
- Immune System Remodelling by Prenatal Betamethasone: Effects on β-Cells and Type 1 Diabetes.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2020Review
- Antenatal corticosteroid administration is associated with decreased growth of the fetal thymus: a prospective cohort study.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2020Article
- Prenatal Betamethasone interferes with immune system development and alters target cells in autoimmune diabetes.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Steroids, Pregnancy and Fetal Development.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Review
- Interactions Between the Neuroendocrine System and T Lymphocytes in Diabetes.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2018Review
- Prenatal Administration of Betamethasone Causes Changes in the T Cell Receptor Repertoire Influencing Development of Autoimmunity.Frontiers in immunology · 2017Article
- Increased Fetal Thymocytes Apoptosis Contributes to Prenatal Nicotine Exposure-induced Th1/Th2 Imbalance in Male Offspring Mice.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Antenatal endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoids and their impact on immune ontogeny and long-term immunity.Seminars in immunopathology · 2016Review
- Developmental origins of inflammatory and immune diseases.Molecular human reproduction · 2016Review
- Expression of lymphocyte activation markers of preterm neonates is associated with perinatal complications.BMC immunology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
unlabelledPrenatal steroids have an undisputed positive effect of decreasing neonatal morbidity and mortality by improving fetal lung maturation. Some concerns have been raised on long-term consequences on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and cognition, but there are no studies addressing effects on the immune system. The thymus is an essential organ for the development and selection of T cells, and thymocytes are extremely sensitive to steroids. Using a mouse model for prenatal steroid administration, we show here that betamethasone treatment to the mother has a profound effect on the thymus of the offspring. We find the thymus volume reduced, affecting mostly the developing CD4+ CD8+ double-positive thymocytes and a compensatory accelerated transition of the earlier stages to replenish the depleted compartment. This effect lasts for at least 3 days, which correspond to a very relevant period for the selection of the T cell repertoire. Moreover, we show that low doses of betamethasone have similar effects on human thymocytes in vitro. Therefore, further studies are needed to analyze possible long-term consequences of this treatment on the immune system of the offspring. KEY MESSAGE: Betamethasone administered to the mother before birth reaches the fetal thymus. Prenatal betamethasone results in massive loss of developing thymocytes. The effects of betamethasone on thymus development are visible for several days. Human thymocytes are also sensitive to low doses of betamethasone. Altered thymocyte development around birth may have an effect on the immune system.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.