Inflammatory mechanisms in the newborn

Both the vascular and cellular aspects of inflammation were studied in rats aged from 6 hours to 2 months. The onset of a vascular permeability reaction was found to vary according to the age of rat and type of permeability agent injected.Induction of acute inflammations (turpentine pleurisy, 48/80 and dextran-induced foot oedema) in newborn rats revealed a marked reduction of exudate/oedema formation compared with adult rats. These observations were related to a lack of histamine and 5-HT-mediated increased vascular permeability during the inflammatory reactions of newborn rats.Qualitative differences were observed between the acute inflammatory pleural cell exudates of newborn and adult rats after intra-pleural injection of dextran. In contrast to adults, polymorphs were observed to dominate the newborn reaction, and the peak accumulation of these cells was delayed. The mononuclear cells of 4-day lesions induced by sub-cutaneous implantation of glass coverslips showed a higher rate of mitosis in newborn animals, compared with adults.Ultrastructural studies of the mononuclear cells of peritoneal exudates induced by carrageenan indicated that those of newborn rats contained fewer lysosomes than adults. The Golgi apparatus of newborn mononuclear cells was observed to be poorly-developed compared with adult mononuclear cells.