Effect of maternal exercise on biochemical parameters in rats submitted to neonatal hypoxia-ischemia

Abstract Pregnancy is a critical period for brain metabolic programming, being affected by individual environment, such as nutrition, stress, and physical exercise. In this context, we previously reported a cerebral antioxidant upregulation and mitochondrial biogenesis in the offspring delivered from exercised mothers, which could provide neuroprotection against neonatal insults. Hypoxia-ischemia (HI) encephalopathy is one of the most studied models of neonatal brain injury; disrupting motor, cognitive, and learning abilities. Physiopathology includes oxidative stress, allied to mitochondria energy production failure, glutamatergic excitotoxicity, and cell death. In this study we evaluated the effect of maternal swimming during pregnancy on offspring׳s brain oxidative status evaluated fourteen days after HI stablishment. Swimming exercise was performed by female adult rats one week before and during pregnancy, in controlled environment. Their offspring was submitted to HI on postnatal day 7, and the brain samples for biochemical assays were obtained in the weaning. Contrary to our expectations, maternal exercise did not prevent the oxidative alterations observed in brain from HI-rats. In a general way, we found a positive modulation in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, measured two weeks after HI, in hippocampus, striatum, and cerebellum of pups delivered from exercised mothers. Reactive species levels were modulated differently in each structure evaluated. Considering the scenery presented, we concluded that HI elicited a neurometabolic adaptation in both brain hemispheres, particularly in hippocampus, parietal cortex, and cerebellum; while striatum appears to be most damaged. The protocol of aerobic maternal exercise was not enough to fully prevent HI-induced brain damages.