Background: Obesity during pregnancy is related to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Factors involved in these outcomes may include increased maternal insulin resistance, inflammation, oxidative stress, and nutrient mishandling. The placenta is the primary determinant of fetal outcomes, and its function can be impacted by maternal obesity. The aim of this study on mice was to determine the effect of obesity on maternal lipid handling, inflammatory and redox state, and placental oxidative stress, inflammatory signaling, and gene expression relative to female and male fetal growth. Methods: Female mice were fed control or obesogenic high-fat/high-sugar diet (HFHS) from 9 weeks prior to, and during, pregnancy. On day 18.5 of pregnancy, maternal plasma, and liver, placenta, and fetal serum were collected to examine the immune and redox states. The placental labyrinth zone (Lz) was dissected for RNA-sequencing analysis of gene expression changes. Results: the HFHS diet induced, in the dams, hepatic steatosis, oxidative stress (reduced catalase, elevated protein oxidation) and the activation of pro-inflammatory pathways (p38-MAPK), along with imbalanced circulating cytokine concentrations (increased IL-6 and decreased IL-5 and IL-17A). HFHS fetuses were asymmetrically growth-restricted, showing sex-specific changes in circulating cytokines (GM-CSF, TNF-α, IL-6 and IFN-γ). The morphology of the placenta Lz was modified by an HFHS diet, in association with sex-specific alterations in the expression of genes and proteins implicated in oxidative stress, inflammation, and stress signaling. Placental gene expression changes were comparable to that seen in models of intrauterine inflammation and were related to a transcriptional network involving transcription factors, LYL1 and PLAG1. Conclusion: This study shows that fetal growth restriction with maternal obesity is related to elevated oxidative stress, inflammatory pathways, and sex-specific placental changes. Our data are important, given the marked consequences and the rising rates of obesity worldwide.

Physical inactivity is a major health concern, associated with the development of several non-communicable diseases and with an increased mortality rate. Therefore, promoting active lifestyles has become a crucial public health necessity for enhancing overall health and quality of life. The WHO guidelines for physical activity (PA) present valuable contributions in this respect; however, we believe that greater specificity should be added or complemented towards physical exercise (PE) testing, prescription and programming in future recommendations. In this review article, we suggest simple and practical tools accessible to the entire population to improve the specificity of this approach, highlighting aspects of PE programming used by trained subjects. By adopting these suggestions, exercise professionals, clinicians and physical trainers can optimise the current general PA recommendations towards PE prescription to improve fitness status and encourage PE adherence in the general population.

More than 80 million people live and work (in a chronic or intermittent form) above 2500 masl, and 35 million live in the Andean Mountains. Furthermore, in Chile, it is estimated that 100,000 people work in high-altitude shifts, where stays in the lowlands are interspersed with working visits in the highlands. Acute exposure to high altitude has been shown to induce oxidative stress in healthy human lowlanders due to increased free radical formation and decreased antioxidant capacity. However, intermittent hypoxia (IH) induces preconditioning in animal models, generating cardioprotection. Here, we aim to describe the responses of a cardiac function to four cycles of intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (IHH) in a rat model. The twelve adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into two equal groups, a four-cycle of IHH and a normobaric hypoxic control. Intermittent hypoxia was induced in a hypobaric chamber in four continuous cycles (1 cycle = 4 days of hypoxia + 4 days of normoxia), reaching a barometric pressure equivalent to 4600 m of altitude (428 Torr). At the end of the fourth cycle, cardiac structural and functional variables were also determined by echocardiography; furthermore, cardiac oxidative stress biomarkers (4-Hydroxynonenal, HNE; nitrotyrosine, NT), antioxidant enzymes, and NLRP3 inflammasome panel expression are also determined. Our results show a higher ejection and a shortening fraction of the left ventricle function by the end of the fourth cycle. Furthermore, cardiac tissue presented a decreased expression of antioxidant proteins. However, a decrease in IL-1β, TNF-αn, and oxidative stress markers is observed in IHH compared to normobaric hypoxic controls. Non-significant differences were found in protein levels of NLRP3 and caspase-1. IHH exposure determines structural and functional heart changes. These findings suggest that initial states of IHH are beneficial for cardiovascular function and protection.

Pregnant women who were exposed to 14-wk aerobic exercise training intervention have increased miR-21-3p levels in plasma accompanied by an attenuation in the increase of burst incidence across pregnancy.

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) can lead to cardiac damage due to oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation in heart failure (HF). We tested the hypothesis that preoperative HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) subjected to CBP have higher levels of OS and NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3) in heart and plasma and in those that develop postoperative AF (pAF) as a clinical outcome. HF was categorized for preoperative left ventricular EF: preserved (HFpEF > 50%, n = 27) and reduced EF (HFrEF ≤ 40%, n = 25). Samples of atrial tissue, pericardial fluid, and plasma were collected at surgery to assess NLRP3 expression; 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), thiobarbituric acid reaction (TBARS), and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in atrial tissue; NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 expression in pericardial fluid; and antioxidant capacity, 8-isoprostanes, and malondialdehyde (MDA) in plasma. Reactive oxygen species, 3-NT, and NLRP3 in atrial tissue were determined by immunohistochemistry in a subset of pAF patients. Plasma and atrial tissue 3-NT and MDA were higher in HFrEF compared with HFpEF. Lipid peroxidation products were higher in both plasma and atrial tissue in pAF (n = 29), compared to sinus rhythm (SR) (n = 23). In HFrEF patients, the values of tissue ROS, 3-NT, and NLRP3 were higher than in HFpEF patients. In addition, the expression levels of NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 were higher in atrial tissue and pericardial fluid in HFrEF. Patients with preoperative HFrEF showed higher OS in plasma and the expression of NLRP3, ROS, and 3-NT in atrial tissue biopsies and pericardial fluid. This finding suggests a potential pharmacologic therapy for pAF and clinical complications due to CPB.

Aunque las investigaciones actuales indican que el modo activo de desplazamiento influye en la salud de los escolares, lo que se sabe sobre la relación entre la condición física autoinformada y su relación con la forma de desplazarse activamente hacia y desde la escuela (ACS, por sus siglas en inglés) se sabe menos. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron a) analizar la aptitud física autoinformada y la ACS, y b) determinar la asociación entre la aptitud física autoinformada con ACS a través de una encuesta realizada en el sur de Chile. Se realizó un diseño analítico transversal. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 733 escolares (de 10 a 16 años, 46,1% niñas) de colegios públicos chilenos. Se utilizó la International Fitness Scale (IFIS) para determinar la aptitud física autoinformada. Se evaluaron los modos de desplazamiento de los estudiantes a la escuela mediante preguntas separadas sobre ACS. Los principales resultados mostraron que los niños presentaron una mejor aptitud física autoinformada que las niñas, excepto en la autopercepción de flexibilidad (p= 0,041). Además, se observó asociación entre el tipo de ACS y la flexibilidad autoinformada (OR:1,53, p=0,022; OR:1,47, p= 0,036), asociación que se mantuvo al ajustar por sexo y la edad (OR:1,55, p=0,020; OR:1,50, p= 0,030), la velocidad y la agilidad autoinformada se asociaron sólo con el desplazamiento activo desde la escuela (OR:1,60, p=0,005), también después del modelo ajustado (OR:1,81, p=0,024). En conclusión, este estudio proporciona evidencia sobre la relación entre la aptitud física autoinformada y las formas de ACS. Para promover la salud en los escolares se deben buscar estrategias que favorezcan los ACS.