Chronic intrauterine hypoxia is a significant pregnancy complication impacting fetal heart growth, metabolism, and mitochondrial function, contributing to cardiovascular programming of the offspring. PGC1α (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator 1α) is the master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. We investigated the effects of hypoxia on PGC1α expression following exposure at different gestational ages. Time-mated pregnant guinea pigs were exposed to normoxia (NMX, 21% O2) or hypoxia (HPX, 10.5% O2) at either 25-day (early-onset) or 50-day (late-onset) gestation, and all fetuses were extracted at term (term = ~65-day gestation). Expression of nuclear PGC1α, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and mitochondrial sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) was measured, along with SIRT3 activity and mitochondrial acetylation of heart ventricles of male and female fetuses. Early-onset hypoxia increased (P<0.05) fetal cardiac nuclear PGC1α and had no effect on mitochondrial acetylation of either growth-restricted males or females. Late-onset hypoxia had either no effect or decreased (P<0.05) PCC1α expression in males and females, respectively, but increased (P<0.05) mitochondrial acetylation in both sexes. Hypoxia had variable effects on expression of SIRT1, AMPK, SIRT3, and SIRT3 activity depending on the sex. The capacity of the fetal heart to respond to hypoxia differs depending on the gestational age of exposure and sex of the fetus. Further, the effects of late-onset hypoxia on fetal heart function impose a greater risk to male than female fetuses, which has implications toward cardiovascular programming effects of the offspring.
Keywords: Fetal heart; Fetal hypoxia; Hypoxia; Mitochondria; Sexual dimorphism.
© 2023. The Author(s).