Hypophagia-induced hypometabolism during experimental anaemia in rats

Structural and Material Mechanical Quality of Femoral Shafts in Rats Exposed to Simulated High Altitude from Infancy to Adulthood

The growth of the body and bone mass and the mechanical properties of appendicular bone are impaired in immature rats exposed to different simulated high altitudes (SHA) (1850-5450 m) between the 32nd and the 74th days of postnatal life. Now, we report the effects of exposure to 4100 m on the above cited variables in female rats from infancy (age: 1 month) to adulthood (age: 8 months) to define the occurrence of catch up and to establish whether the effects of altitude are transient or permanent. The ex vivo right femur was mechanically tested in three-point bending. Body weight and length, and structural (loads at yielding and fracture, and stiffness) and architectural (diaphyseal cross-sectional area, cortical area, and cross-sectional moment of inertia) properties were measured at 2, 4, 6, and 8 months of exposure to SHA. The negative influence of hypoxia on all variables was similar at different ages or, in other words, the difference among ages was maintained at any extent of hypoxia. Hypoxia did not affect the elastic modulus, thus suggesting that the mechanical properties of the bone tissue were maintained. Catch up did not occur. The resulting osteopenic bone remained appropriate to its mechanical function during the entire exposure to SHA.

Gestational and early postnatal exposure to simulated high altitude does not modify postnatal body mass growth trajectory in the rat

Postnatal hypoxia blunts body mass growth. It is also known that the quality of the fetal environment can influence the subsequent adult phenotype. The main purpose of the study was to determine whether gestational hypoxia and early postnatal hypoxia are able to blunt growth when the offspring is raised under normoxia. Hypobaric hypoxia was induced in simulated high altitude (SHA) chambers in which air was maintained at 380 mmHg (5450 m). Mature Sprague-Dawley rats of both sexes were divided in normoxic (NX) and hypoxic (HX) groups and, in the case of the HX group, maintained for 1 month at 5450 m. Mating was then allowed under NX or HX conditions. Offspring were NX-NX, NX-HX, HX-HX, or HX-NX: the first term indicates NX or HX during both gestation and the first 30 days of life; the second term indicates NX or HX during postnatal life between days 30 and 133. Body mass (g) was measured periodically and body mass growth rate (BMGR, g/d) was estimated between days 33 and 65 of postnatal life. Results can be summarized as follows: 1) BM was significantly higher in NX than in HX rats at weaning; 2) BMGR was not significantly different between NX-NX and HX-NX rats, and between HX-HX and NX-HX animals; and 3) BMGR was significantly higher in rats living under NX conditions than in those living under HX conditions during postnatal life. Data suggest that that hypobaric hypoxia during gestational and early postnatal development of rats does not alter the regulation of body mass growth in rats when compared to that seen under sea-level conditions.

Failure of polycythemia-induced increase in arterial oxygen content to suppress the anorexic effect of simulated high altitude in the adult rat

The anorexic effect of exposure to high altitude may be related to the reduction in the arterial oxygen content (Ca(O2)) induced by hypoxemia and possibly the associated decreased convective oxygen transport (COT). This study was then performed to evaluate the effects of either transfusion-induced polycythemia or previous acclimation to hypobaria with endogenously induced polycythemia on the anorexic effect of simulated high altitude (SHA) in adult female rats. Food consumption, expressed in g/d/100 g body weight, was reduced by 40% in rats exposed to 506 mbar for 4 d, as compared to control rats maintained in room air. Transfusion polycythemia, which significantly increased hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, Ca(O2), and COT, did not change the anorexic response to the exposure to hypobaric air. Depression of food intake during exposure to SHA also occurred in rats fasted during 31 h before exposure and allowed to eat ad libitum for 2 h during exposure. Body mass loss was similar in 48-h fasted rats that were either hypoxic or normoxic. Body mass loss was similar in normoxic and hypoxic rats, the former eating the amount of food freely eaten by the latter. Hypoxia-acclimated rats with endogenously induced polycythemia taken to SHA again had diminished food intake and lost body mass at rates that were very close to those found in nonacclimated ones. Exposure to SHA also led to a decrease in food consumption, body weight, and plasma leptin in adult female mice. Analysis of data suggest that body mass loss that accompanies SHA-induced hypoxia is due to hypophagia and that experimental manipulation of the blood oxygen transport capacity cannot ameliorate it. Leptin does not appear to be an inducer of the anorexic response to hypoxia, at least in mice and rats.