Effect of stretch and hyperoxia on the stress response of the newborn mouse lung

Introduction: Prolonged mechanical ventilation of preterm infants with oxygen-rich gas (MV-O2) as a lifesaving treatment often leads to chronic lung disease, also known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The disease is characterized by extracellular remodelling and inflammatory changes leading to impaired alveolar and vascular development. We aimed at investigating the effect of MV-O2 on the protein stress response of the immature lung focussing on cellular protein quality control pathways such as ER-stress, autophagy and proteasome function using a mouse-model of mechanical ventilation and neonatal pulmonary…