Physiological function of the dynamic oxygen signaling pathway at the maternal-fetal interface

Oxygen is vital for the normal function of cells and is transported to all parts of the body through red blood cells in the vasculature. Abnormal oxygen concentrations can lead to many complications, and reestablishing oxygen balance is essential for cell biological functions. Mammalian cells have evolved to adapt to hypoxia and sense oxygen levels during hypoxia to maintain and coordinate different biological responses. The best mechanism for studying the hypoxia response involves hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), which control the expression of many hypoxia-inducible genes. Recent studies have found that other epigenetic modifier enzymes and metabolite signaling pathways can also sense dynamic changes in oxygen. The mammalian intrauterine oxygen concentration and the mechanisms controlling oxygen homeostasis affect placental development, structure and function. In this review, we focus on how mammalian cells sense oxygen levels and produce anoxic-dependent adaptive responses and explore the relationship between hypoxia and placental development during early pregnancy.