Pulmonary immune cell transcriptome changes in double-hit model of BPD induced by chorioamnionitis and postnatal hyperoxia

Preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have lifelong increased risk of respiratory morbidities associated with environmental pathogen exposure and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The resident immune cells of the lung play vital roles in host defense. However, the effect of perinatal events associated with BPD on pulmonary-specific immune cells is not well understood. We used a double-hit model of BPD induced by prenatal chorioamnionitis followed by postnatal hyperoxia, and performed global transcriptome analysis of all resident pulmonary immune cells. This is the first comprehensive report delineating transcriptomic changes in resident immune cells of the lung in a translationally relevant double-hit model of BPD. Control group consisted of pups injected prenatally with intra-amniotic normal saline and exposed to normoxia after birth. Experimental group was injected prenatally with intra-amniotic lipopolysaccharide and exposed to hyperoxia after birth. A total of six samples were used with three biological replicates per control and experimental group.