Cardiac mitochondrial metabolism during pregnancy and the postpartum period

The goal of the present study was to characterize changes in mitochondrial respiration in the maternal heart during pregnancy and after birth. Timed pregnancy studies were performed in 12-wk-old female FVB/NJ mice, and cardiac mitochondria were isolated from the following groups of mice: nonpregnant (NP), midpregnancy (MP), late pregnancy (LP), and 1-wk postbirth (PB). Similar to our previous studies, we observed increased heart size during all stages of pregnancy (e.g., MP and LP) and postbirth (e.g., PB) compared with NP mice. Differential cardiac gene and protein expression analyses revealed changes in several mitochondrial transcripts at LP and PB, including several mitochondrial complex subunits and members of the Slc family, important for mitochondrial substrate transport. Respirometry revealed that pyruvate- and glutamate-supported state 3 respiration was significantly higher in PB vs. LP mitochondria, with respiratory control ratio (RCR) values higher in PB mitochondria. In addition, we found that PB mitochondria respired more avidly when given 3-hydroxybutyrate (3-OHB) than mitochondria from NP, MP, and LP hearts, with no differences in RCR. These increases in respiration in PB hearts occurred independent of changes in mitochondrial yield but were associated with higher abundance of 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase 1. Collectively, these findings suggest that, after birth, maternal cardiac mitochondria have an increased capacity to use 3-OHB, pyruvate, and glutamate as energy sources; however, increases in mitochondrial efficiency in the postpartum heart appear limited to carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Few studies have detailed the physiological adaptations that occur in the maternal heart. We and others have shown that pregnancy-induced cardiac growth is associated with significant changes in cardiac metabolism. Here, we examined mitochondrial respiration and substrate preference in isolated mitochondria from the maternal heart. We show that following birth, cardiac mitochondria are "primed" to respire on carbohydrate, amino acid, and ketone bodies. However, heightened respiratory efficiency is observed only with carbohydrate and amino acid sources. These results suggest that significant changes in mitochondrial respiration occur in the maternal heart in the postpartum period.