Chronic hypoxia during gestation has profound adverse effects on the adaptation of uteroplacental circulation in pregnancy. Yet, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The present study tested the hypothesis that enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in uterine arteries plays a critical role in the maladaptation of uterine circulation associated with chronic hypoxia....

Although abundant evidence indicates that chronic hypoxia can induce pulmonary vascular remodeling, very little is known of the effects of chronic hypoxia on cerebrovascular structure and function, particularly in the fetus. Thus the present study explored the hypothesis that chronic hypoxemia also influences the size and shape of cerebrovascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, with parall...

Hypoxia is an important ecological, evolutionary, and biomedical stressor. While physiological acclimatization of mammals to hypoxia is well studied, the variation in gene expression that underlies acclimatization is not well studied. We acclimatized inbred mice for 32 days to hypoxic conditions that simulated altitudes of 1400, 3000, and 4500 m. We used oligonucleotide microarrays to measure c...

Hypoxia induces vasoconstriction of pulmonary arteries through contraction of smooth muscle cells (SMCs). The GTPase RhoA regulates smooth muscle contractility and actin cytoskeletal remodeling through the Rho-associated kinase (ROCK). We previously found that the postnatal fall in pulmonary vascular resistance was associated with actin cytoskeletal remodeling in porcine pulmonary arterial SMCs...

Hypoxia exposure often cause the increases of pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP). Studies reported that mast cells (MCs) participate in vascular remodeling and promote formation chronic hypertension. Current studies mainly focus on change MCs under hypoxia, but few regulatory role mechanism acute hypoxia. T?herefore, present study investigated dynamic lung tissues hypoxia activation increasement...

One of the major manifestations of obstructive sleep apnea is profound and repeated hypoxia during sleep. Acute hypoxia leads to stimulation of the peripheral chemoreceptors, which in turn increases sympathetic outflow, acutely increasing blood pressure. The chronic effect of these repeated episodic or intermittent periods of hypoxia in humans is difficult to study because chronic cardiovascula...