Prematurity predisposes to cardiovascular disease; however the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Disturbance of the endothelial glycocalyx (EG), an important regulator of vessel function, is thought to contribute to vascular pathology. Here, we studied the EG with respect to gestational and postnatal age in preterm and term neonates. The Perfused Boundary Region (PBR), an inverse measure of glycocalyx thickness, was measured postnatally in 85 term and 39 preterm neonates. Preterm neonates were further analyzed in two subgroups i.e., neonates born < 30 weeks gestational age (group A) and neonates born ≥ 30 weeks (group B). In preterm neonates, weekly follow-up measurements were performed if possible. PBR differed significantly between preterm and term neonates with lowest values representing largest EG dimension in extremely premature infants possibly reflecting its importance in fetal vascular development. Linear regression revealed a dependence of PBR on both, gestational age and postnatal age. Furthermore, hematocrit predicted longitudinal PBR changes. PBR measured in group A at a corrected age of > 30 weeks was significantly higher than in group B at birth, pointing towards an alteration of intrinsic maturational effects by extrinsic factors. These changes might contribute to the increased cardiovascular risk associated with extreme prematurity.

早产易患心血管疾病；然而，潜在的机制仍然难以捉摸。内皮糖萼 (EG) 是血管功能的重要调节器，被认为会导致血管病变。在这里，我们研究了早产儿和足月新生儿中 EG 与孕龄和产后年龄的关系。灌注边界区 (PBR) 是糖萼厚度的反向测量，在 85 名足月新生儿和 39 名早产新生儿中进行了产后测量。早产新生儿分为两个亚组，即出生小于 30 周胎龄的新生儿（A 组）和出生 ≥ 30 周的新生儿（B 组）。对于早产儿，如有可能，每周进行一次随访测量。PBR 在早产儿和足月新生儿之间存在显着差异，最低值代表极早产儿的最大 EG 维度，可能反映了其在胎儿血管发育中的重要性。线性回归揭示了 PBR 对孕龄和产后年龄的依赖性。此外，血细胞比容预测纵向 PBR 变化。在校正年龄大于 30 周时测量的 A 组 PBR 显着高于出生时 B 组，表明外在因素改变了内在成熟效应。这些变化可能会导致与极端早产相关的心血管风险增加。血细胞比容预测纵向 PBR 变化。在校正年龄大于 30 周时测量的 A 组 PBR 显着高于出生时 B 组，表明外在因素改变了内在成熟效应。这些变化可能会导致与极端早产相关的心血管风险增加。血细胞比容预测纵向 PBR 变化。在校正年龄大于 30 周时，A 组测量的 PBR 显着高于 B 组，这表明外在因素改变了内在成熟效应。这些变化可能会导致与极端早产相关的心血管风险增加。