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Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with foetal cardiac remodelling and dysfunction together with increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Experimental data concerning effects of IUGR on cardiomyocyte and microvascularization anatomy are inconsistent and it is unknown whether both ventricles are similarly susceptible to in utero undersupply. Foetal IUGR was induced in pregnant rabbits at 25 days of gestation by selective ligation of uteroplacental vessels. Foetal echocardiography showed systolic and diastolic dysfunction of both ventricles and body and heart weight were significantly reduced in response to IUGR. Design-based stereology revealed a decrease in cardiomyocyte number in both ventricles which was only in the left ventricle accompanied by a significantly higher cardiomyocyte mean volume. The proportion of mono- and bi-nucleated cardiomyocytes was unaltered between the groups indicating a similar maturation status. The number and length of cardiac capillaries in IUGR offspring was diminished in left but not in right ventricles. Foetal left and right ventricles are differently affected by placental insufficiency. While cardiomyocyte numbers are diminished in both ventricles, hypertrophic remodelling of cardiomyocytes and alterations in microvascularization is rather a left ventricular adaptation to IUGR. These unequal structural changes may be related to loading and developmental differences of the left and right ventricles.

Patients with Pompe disease (glycogen storage disease type II) exhibit a variable degree of vacuolar myopathy with pathological glycogen deposits. Importantly, patients differ in their response to enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). In this study, we characterised and correlated the morphological changes[for full text, please go to the a.m. URL], 57th Annual Meeting of the German Society for Neuropathology and Neuroanatomy (DGNN)

Recent findings are reported about certain aspects of the structure and function of the mammalian and avian lungs that include(a) the architecture of the air capillaries (ACs) and the blood capillaries (BCs); (b) the pulmonary blood capillary circulatory dynamics; (c) the adaptive molecular, cellular, biochemical,compositional, and developmental characteristics of the surfactant system; (d) the mechanisms of the translocation of fine and ultra fine particles across the airway epithelial barrier; and (e) the particle-cell interactions in the pulmonary airways. In the lung of the Muscovy duck Cairina moschata, at least, the ACs are rotund structures that are interconnected by narrow cylindrical sections, while the BCs comprise segments that are almost as long as they are wide. In contrast to the mammalian pulmonary BCs, which are highly compliant, those of birds practically behave like rigid tubes. Diving pressure has been a very powerful directional selection force that has influenced phenotypic changes in surfactant composition and function in lungs of marine mammals. After nanosized particulates are deposited on the respiratory tract of healthy human subjects, some reach organs such as the brain with potentially serious health implications. Finally, in the mammalian lung, dendritic cells of the pulmonary airways are powerful agents in engulfing deposited particles, and in birds, macrophages and erythrocytes are ardent phagocytizing cellular agents. The morphology of the lung that allows it to perform different functions - including gas exchange, ventilation of the lung by being compliant, defense, and secretion of important pharmacological factors - is reflected in its "compromise design." Refereed/Peer-reviewed