Superresistance against hypoxia after preliminary adaptation to repeated stress

The study investigated the influence of adaptation to stress on resistance to hypoxia. After rats were adaptated to moderate restraint stress, they were anesthetized and exposed to 6% O2. Adaptation increased tidal volume by 2.6-fold, lung and alveolar ventilation by 1.6- and 1.8-fold, respectively, and O2 consumption by 1.6-fold; limited lactate accumulation in the liver by 2-fold, in the heart by 34%, in the lung by 36%, and in the blood by 36%; and elevated pH. At the same time, preliminary adaptation to stress inhibited the hypoxic activation of lipolysis and peroxidation in all tissues. The concentration of lipid peroxides decreased after adaptation by 1.3- to 1.5-fold in different organs, whereas the content of free fatty acids diminished by 1.7- to 2.3-fold. Finally, after adaptation, mortality decreased under severe hypoxia by 6.5-fold. Thus, the data suggest that the cross-protective effect of adaptation was achieved by the economization of respiration and circulation, by marked augmentation in the ability of tissue to utilize blood O2, and by the limitation of processes that are able to damage tissue membranes, namely, acidosis, lipolysis, and lipid peroxidation.