Effect of simultaneous administration of betamethasone and triiodothyronine (T3) on the development of functional pulmonary maturation in fetal rabbit

Recent experimental evidence suggests that a combination of glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone may be more effective than either hormone alone in accelerating morphologic as well as biochemical mammalian fetal lung maturation. We have demonstrated that IM administration of T3 to the rabbit doe is associated with enhanced functional fetal lung maturation. We investigated the effect of simultaneous administration of T3 and betamethasone on the development of functional fetal lung maturation and the duration of survival after premature delivery. On day 25 and 26 of pregnancy, T3 (175 μg/kg/dose) betamethasone (85 μg/kg/dose), T3 plus betamethasone or the appropriate amount of the vehicles were injected. The functional fetal pulmonary maturity and the duration of survival after premature delivery were assessed on day 27 of gestation. Although enhanced functional fetal lung maturation was observed after T3 or betamethasone administration, there was no additive effect after simultaneous administration of both. The duration of survival on premature delivery was enhanced in betamethasone but not T3 or T3 plus betamethasone group when compared to control. Further animal experimentation seems necessary before a clinical trial of T3 plus betamethasone therapy is considered.