The Content and Activity of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor HIF1α Increased in the Hippocampus of Newborn Rats That Were Subjected to Prenatal Hypoxia on Days 14–16 of Embryogenesis

Abstract—Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR were used to study the content of the regulatory alpha subunit of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF1α), and the mRNA content of the HIF1-regulated genes lactate dehydrogenase A (ldha) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (g6pd) in the hippocampus of 1-day old rat pups whose mothers were subjected to three sessions of severe damaging hypoxia on days 14–16 of pregnancy. Prenatal hypoxia caused a stable increase in HIF1α content, and also led to an increase in the ldha mRNA content and a decrease in the g6pd mRNA content. The results indicate that changes in hippocampal metabolism after prenatal hypoxia are stable and can cause disturbances in the energy metabolism of the brain in further ontogeny.