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Background: Many preterm infants are born with growth restriction (GR) following maternal or fetal complications before birth. Such infants may continue to grow slowly after birth, regardless of birth weight (BW), due to morbidities related to their immature organs. Severe GR increases the susceptibility to infections, but it is not clear if this is a consequence of impaired systemic immunity or other factors, such as prolonged hospital stay or poor mucosal barrier function. Using preterm pigs as models for preterm infants, we hypothesized that moderate GR, exerting limited clinical effects, does not influence systemic immune development.Methods: Preterm pigs were delivered by cesarean section and fed bovine milk diets until 19 d. Piglets with fetal growth restriction (F-GR, the lowest 25% of BW, n = 27, excluding those with BW |
