Exposure of the fetal sheep to moderate to severe hypoxic stress results in both increased cortical blood flow and decreased metabolic rate. Using intravenous infusion of 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX), a selective adenosine A1 receptor antagonist that is permeable to the blood brain barrier, we examine the role of adenosine A1 receptors in mediating cortical blood flow and metabolic responses to moderate hypoxia. The effects of DPCPX blockade are compared to controls as well as animals receiving intravenous 8-(p-sulfophenyl)-theophylline) (8-SPT), a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist which has been found to be blood brain barrier impermeable. Laser Doppler flow probes, tissue PO2, and thermocouples were implanted in the cerebral cortices of near-term fetal sheep. Catheters were placed in the brachial artery and sagittal sinus vein for collection of samples for blood gas analysis. Three to seven days later responses to a 30-min period of fetal hypoxemia (arterial PO2 10-12 mmHg) were studied with administration of 8-SPT, DPCPX, or vehicle. Cerebral metabolic rate was determined by calculation of both brain heat production and oxygen consumption. In response to hypoxia, control experiments demonstrated a 42 +/- 7 % decrease in cortical heat production and a 35 +/- 10 % reduction in oxygen consumption. In contrast, DPCPX infusion during hypoxia resulted in no significant change in brain heat production or oxygen consumption, suggesting the adenosine A1 receptor is involved in lowering metabolic rate during hypoxia. The decrease in cerebral metabolic rate was not altered by 8-SPT infusion, suggesting that the response is not mediated by adenosine receptors located outside the blood brain barrier. In response to hypoxia, control experiments demonstrated a 35 +/- 7 % increase in cortical blood flow. DPCPX infusion did not change this increase in cortical blood flow, however 8-SPT infusion attenuated increases in flow, indicating that hypoxic increases in cerebral blood flow are mediated by adenosine but not via the A1 receptor. In summary, adenosine appears to play a key role in fetal hypoxic defences, acting to increase O2 delivery via adenosine A2 receptors and to decrease metabolic rate via A1 receptors inside the blood brain barrier. These data show for the first time in the mammalian fetus that the adenosine A1 receptor is an important mediator of brain metabolic rate during moderate hypoxia.