PR001290 (Project)

Description:This project seeks to understand the metabolic consequences of gestational hypoxia on fetal, newborn, and adult plasma, arteries and other tissues using a sheep model of fetal growth restriction. Specifically we are interested testing the hypothesis that gestational hypoxia will result in discernable differences in glucose and lipid metabolism in tissues and plasma as well influence indicators of oxidative stress and inflammation. These studies aim to delineate pathways and biomarkers that help explain how hypoxia leads to the development of neonatal as well as adult-onset diseases associated with chronic hypoxia that are inter-related with fetal growth restriction. From a vascular perspective this includes cerebrovascular hemorrhage and pulmonary hypertension in the newborn, but more broadly it includes development of diseases later in life including diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease.