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Cerebral energy metabolism in guinea pig fetuses during development
R Berger1, A Jensen, J Krieglstein
1Zentrum für Frauenheilkunde und Geburtshilfe, Justus-Liebig-Universität, Germany.
Insights
Fetal brain oxygen delivery meets rising consumption during development. Increased adenosine diphosphate may enhance glycolysis, supporting blood flow to the brain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Fetal oxygen tension decreases during development.
- Cerebral oxygen consumption and metabolism increase in fetuses.
- Increased cerebral blood flow compensates for rising oxygen demand.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if fetal cerebral oxygen delivery matches consumption during development.
- To analyze high-energy phosphates and glycolytic intermediates in the fetal brain.
Main Methods:
- Measurement of adenosine triphosphate, creatine phosphate, adenosine monophosphate, adenosine diphosphate, glucose, and lactate.
- Analysis in the cerebral cortex of fetal guinea pigs at various gestational ages.
Main Results:
- Adenosine triphosphate, creatine phosphate, adenosine monophosphate, and lactate concentrations remained unchanged.
- Adenosine diphosphate concentrations increased, while glucose concentrations decreased during development.
- These findings suggest oxygen delivery meets consumption as fetal development progresses.
Conclusions:
- Fetal cerebral oxygen delivery appears to adequately meet increasing cerebral oxygen consumption.
- Rising adenosine diphosphate may stimulate glycolysis, potentially driving increased cerebral blood flow.
- This mechanism could be crucial for maintaining adequate oxygen supply to the developing fetal brain.
Abstract:
During development fetal arterial oxygen tension falls, whereas cerebral oxygen consumption rises due to an increase in cerebral metabolism. To compensate for this increase in oxygen consumption, blood flow and therefore oxygen delivery to the cerebrum rises. To determine whether during development oxygen delivery to the cerebrum meets cerebral oxygen consumption, we measured the concentrations of high-energy phosphates and glycolytic intermediates in the cerebral cortex of fetal guinea pigs at different gestational ages. During development there was no change in the concentrations of adenosine triphosphate, creatine phosphate, adenosine monophosphate, and lactate. However, cerebral concentrations of adenosine diphosphate increased and those of glucose decreased. Our results suggest that the increase in fetal cerebral oxygen delivery during development meets cerebral oxygen consumption with increasing gestational age. We speculate that the measured rise in the concentrations of adenosine diphosphate may accelerate glycolysis during development and therefore may cause a rise in both cerebral blood flow to maintain oxygen delivery.