A method for measuring brain partial pressure of oxygen in unanesthetized unrestrained subjects: The effect of acute and chronic hypoxia on brain tissue PO2

The level of tissue oxygenation provides information related to the balance between oxygen delivery, oxygen utilization, tissue reactivity and morphology during physiological conditions. Tissue partial pressure of oxygen (PtO2) is influenced by the use of anesthesia or restraint. These factors may impact the absolute level of PtO2. In this study we present a novel fiber optic method to measure brain PtO2. This method can be used in unanesthetized, unrestrained animals, provides absolute values for PO2, has a stable calibration, does not consume oxygen and is MRI compatible. Brain PtO2 was studied during acute hypoxia, as well as before and after 28 days of high altitude acclimatization. A sensor was chronically implanted in the frontal cortex of eight Wistar rats. It is comprised of a fiber optic probe with a tip containing material that fluoresces with an oxygen dependent lifetime. Brain PtO2 declines by 80% and 76% pre- and post-acclimatization, respectively, when the fraction of inspired oxygen declines from 0.21 to 0.08. In addition, a linear relationship between brain PtO2 and inspired O2 levels was demonstrated r2 = 0.98 and r2 = 0.99 (pre- and post-acclimatization). Hypoxia acclimatization resulted in an increase in the overall brain PtO2 by approximately 35%. This paper demonstrates the use of a novel chronically implanted fiber optic based sensor for measuring absolute PtO2. It shows a very strong linear relationship in awake animals between inspired O2 and tissue O2, and shows that there is a proportional increase in PtO2 over a range of inspired values after exposure to chronic hypoxia.

Research highlights▶ We show a novel implanted fiber optic based sensor for measuring absolute tissue PO2. ▶ Brain tissue PO2 is linearly related to inspired O2 over a wide range in awake rats. ▶ After hypoxia acclimation, brain tissue PO2 is elevated for a given inspired O2.