Breath of Life: Heart Disease Link to Developmental Hypoxia.
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Authors
Publication Date
2021-10-26Journal Title
Circulation
ISSN
0009-7322
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Volume
144
Issue
17
Pages
1429-1443
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Giussani, D. A. (2021). Breath of Life: Heart Disease Link to Developmental Hypoxia.. Circulation, 144 (17), 1429-1443. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.054689
Abstract
Heart disease remains one of the greatest killers. In addition to genetics and traditional lifestyle risk factors, we now understand that adverse conditions during pregnancy can also increase susceptibility to cardiovascular disease in the offspring. Therefore, the mechanisms by which this occurs and possible preventative therapies are of significant contemporary interest to the cardiovascular community. A common suboptimal pregnancy condition is a sustained reduction in fetal oxygenation. Chronic fetal hypoxia results from any pregnancy with increased placental vascular resistance, such as in preeclampsia, placental infection, or maternal obesity. Chronic fetal hypoxia may also arise during pregnancy at high altitude or because of maternal respiratory disease. This article reviews the short- and long-term effects of hypoxia on the fetal cardiovascular system, and the importance of chronic fetal hypoxia in triggering a developmental origin of future heart disease in the adult progeny. The work summarizes evidence derived from human studies as well as from rodent, avian, and ovine models. There is a focus on the discovery of the molecular link between prenatal hypoxia, oxidative stress, and increased cardiovascular risk in adult offspring. Discussion of mitochondria-targeted antioxidant therapy offers potential targets for clinical intervention in human pregnancy complicated by chronic fetal hypoxia.
Keywords
Mitochondria, Hypoxia, Oxidative stress, Fetus
Sponsorship
The work is supported by The British Heart Foundation (RG/17/8/32924) and the Medical Research Council UK (MR/V03362X/1).
Funder references
British Heart Foundation (None)
MRC (unknown)
British Heart Foundation (None)
British Heart Foundation (RG/17/8/32924)
British Heart Foundation (via University of Manchester) (R122324)
Identifiers
PMC8542082, 34694887
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.054689
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/332172
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