ABSTRACT
The fetal-neonatal transition during birth is a period of important biochemical changes and vulnerability for the fetus (1), especially concerning the energy metabolism (2). Perinatal maturation of mitochondrial activities, such as complexes of the respiratory chain, the adenine nucleotide translocator (ANT), and active respiration, is well documented in brain and other organs (3-5). A close relationship between the perinatal development of ADP-stimulated respiration and the ANT protein has been described for liver and brain (5,6) that plays an important role in the onset of oxidative phosphorylation after birth.
