Chronic prenatal hypoxia increased Gαi in the embryonic chicken, whereas  Gαs was increased in the juveniles. This  demonstrates that chronic prenatal hypoxia continues to have an effect on the heart of the chicken 5 weeks after hatching, despite being reared in normoxic conditions. These changes in Gαs levels in the treated juveniles are evidence of the long lasting effects prenatal hypoxia has on cardiac function and health in the adult, as increased  Gαs has been associated with increased chances of developing cardiovascular disease.

This dissociation between Gα subunit expression and receptor sensitivity implies that the rate limiting is further downstream in the signalling cascade, others have suggested that different isoforms of adenylyl cyclase are differentially affected by Gα subunits. 

These results also suggest a secondary function for these Gα subunits, and indeed Gαi is reported to mediate cell survival, and an increase in its expression would be likely in response to hypoxia, as it induces pro-apoptotic signalling.