Molecular characterization of betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase 1 from the liver, and effects of aestivation on its expressions and homocysteine concentrations in the liver, kidney and muscle, of the African lungfish, Protopterus annectens

Water deprivation-induced hypoxia and oxidative stress physiology responses in respiratory organs of the Indian stinging fish in near coastal zones

Background

Water deprivation-induced hypoxia stress (WDIHS) has been extensively investigated in numerous fish species due to their adaptation with accessory respiratory organs to respire air but this has not been studied in Indian stinging fish Heteropneustes fossilis. Data regarding WDIHS-induced metabolism in accessory respiratory organ (ARO) and gills and its relationship with oxidative stress (OS) in respiratory organs of air-breathing fish H. fossilis, are limited. So, this study aimed to investigate the effects of WDIHS (0, 3, 6, 12, and 18 h) on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as reactive oxygen species (ROS), OS, redox regulatory enzymes, and electron transport enzymes (ETC) in ARO and gills of H. fossilis.

Methods

Fish were exposed to air for different hours (up to 18 h) against an appropriate control, and ARO and gills were sampled. The levels of oxygen saturation in the body of the fish were assessed at various intervals during exposure to air. Protein carbonylation (PC) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were used as OS markers, H2O2 as ROS marker, and various enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), along with the assessment of complex enzymes (I, II, III, and V) as well as the levels of ascorbic acid (AA) and the reduced glutathione (GSH) were quantified in both the tissues.

Results

Discriminant function analyses indicate a clear separation of the variables as a function of the studied parameters. The gills exhibited higher levels of GSH and H2O2 compared to ARO, while ARO showed elevated levels of PC, TBARS, AA, SOD, CAT, and GPx activities compared to the gills. The activities of GR and ETC enzymes exhibited similar levels in both the respiratory organs, namely the gills, and ARO. These organs experienced OS due to increased H2O2, TBARS, and PC levels, as observed during WDIHS. Under WDIHS conditions, the activity/level of CAT, GPx, GR, and GSH decreased in ARO, while SOD activity, along with GR, GSH, and AA levels decreased in gills. However, the activity/level of SOD and AA in ARO and CAT in gills was elevated under WDIHS. Complex II exhibited a positive correlation with WDIHS, while the other ETC enzymes (complex I, III, and V) activities had negative correlations with the WDIHS.

Discussion

The finding suggests that ARO is more susceptible to OS than gills under WDIHS. Despite both organs employ distinct redox regulatory systems to counteract this stress, their effectiveness is hampered by the inadequacy of small redox regulatory molecules and the compromised activity of the ETC, impeding their ability to effectively alleviate the stress induced by the water-deprivation condition.

Aestivation in Nature: Physiological Strategies and Evolutionary Adaptations in Hypometabolic States

Aestivation is considered to be one of the "purest" hypometabolic states in nature, as it involves aerobic dormancy that can be induced and sustained without complex factors. Animals that undergo aestivation to protect themselves from environmental stressors such as high temperatures, droughts, and food shortages. However, this shift in body metabolism presents new challenges for survival, including oxidative stress upon awakening from aestivation, accumulation of toxic metabolites, changes in energy sources, adjustments to immune status, muscle atrophy due to prolonged immobility, and degeneration of internal organs due to prolonged food deprivation. In this review, we summarize the physiological and metabolic strategies, key regulatory factors, and networks utilized by aestivating animals to address the aforementioned components of aestivation. Furthermore, we present a comprehensive overview of the advancements made in aestivation research across major species, including amphibians, fish, reptiles, annelids, mollusks, and echinoderms, categorized according to their respective evolutionary positions. This approach offers a distinct perspective for comparative analysis, facilitating an understanding of the shared traits and unique features of aestivation across different groups of organisms.

Apical and mechanistic effects of 6PPD-quinone on different life-stages of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPD-quinone) is an emerging contaminant of concern that is generated through the environmental oxidation of the rubber tire anti-degradant 6PPD. Since the initial report of 6PPD-quinone being the cause of urban runoff mortality syndrome of Coho salmon, numerous species have been identified as either sensitive or insensitive to acute lethality caused by 6PPD-quinone. In sensitive species, acute lethality might be caused by uncoupling of mitochondrial respiration in gills. However, little is known about effects of 6PPD-quinone on insensitive species. Here we demonstrate that embryos of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) are insensitive to exposure to concentrations as great as 39.97 μg/L for 168 h, and adult fathead minnows are insensitive to exposure to concentrations as great as 9.4 μg/L for 96 h. A multi-omics approach using a targeted transcriptomics array, (EcoToxChips), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) was used to assess responses of the transcriptomes and metabolomes of gills and livers from adult fathead minnows exposed to 6PPD-quinone for 96 h to begin to identify sublethal effects of 6PPD-quinone. There was little agreement between results of the EcoToxChip and metabolomics analyses, likely because genes present on the EcoToxChip were not representative of pathways suggested to be perturbed by metabolomic analysis. Changes in abundances of transcripts and metabolites in livers and gills suggest that disruption of one‑carbon metabolism and induction of oxidative stress might be occurring in gills and livers, but that tissues differ in their sensitivity or responsiveness to 6PPD-quinone. Overall, several pathways impacted by 6PPD-quinone were identified as candidates for future studies of potential sublethal effects of this chemical.

Aestivation induces widespread transcriptional changes in the African lungfish

Aestivation is a special ability possessed by some animals to cope with hot and dry environments utilizing dormancy. At a macroscopic level, dormant animals stop moving and eating. At the microscopic level, the expression of a large number of genes in these animals is strictly controlled. However, little is known about what changes occur during aestivation, especially in fish. In this study, we used transcriptome analysis to examine what changes occur in the gills and lungs of the African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) during the maintenance phase of aestivation and speculated on their causes. We found that aestivating transcriptomes were highly similar between gills and lungs. We also found that some genes showed differential expression or alternative splicing, which may be associated with different organs. In addition, differential expression analysis revealed that the lungs maintained significantly higher bioactivity during aestivation, which suggests that the main respiratory organ in aestivating lungfish can transform. Our study provides a reference point for studying the relationship between aestivation and hibernation and further increases understanding of aestivation.

Zone of Interaction Between the Parasite and the Host: Protein Profile of the Body Cavity Fluid of Gasterosteus aculeatus L. Infected with the Cestode Schistocephalus solidus (Muller, 1776)

PURPOSE

During infection, the host and the parasite "communicate" with each other through various molecules, including proteins. The aim of this study was to describe the excretory-secretory proteins from the helminth Schistocephalus solidus and its intermediate host, the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus L., which are likely to be involved in interactions between them.

METHODS

Combined samples of washes from the G. aculeatus sticklebacks cavity infected with the S. solidus, and washes from the parasite surface were used as experimental samples, while washes from the uninfected fish body cavity were used as control. The obtained samples were analyzed using mass-spectrometry nLC-MS/MS.

RESULTS

As a result of mass-spectrometry analysis 215 proteins were identified. Comparative quantitative analysis revealed significant differences in LFQ intensity between experimental and control samples for 20 stickleback proteins. In the experimental samples, we found an increase in the content of serpins, plasminogen, angiotensin 1-10, complement component C9, and a decrease in the content of triosephosphate isomerase, creatine kinase, fructose-biphosphate aldolase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidoxin-1, homocysteine-binding and fatty acid-binding proteins, compared to uninfected fish samples. In the experimental group washes, 30 S. solidus proteins were found, including malate dehydrogenase, annexin family proteins, serpins, peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase and fatty acid-binding protein.

CONCLUSIONS

Thus, the protein composition of washes from the helminth S. solidus surface and the body cavity of infected and uninfected stickleback G. aculeatus were studied. As a result, it was shown that various components of the immune defense system predominated in the washes of infected fish and helminths.

Adaptive physiological water conservation explains hypertension and muscle catabolism in experimental chronic renal failure

Aim

We have reported earlier that a high salt intake triggered an aestivation‐like natriuretic‐ureotelic body water conservation response that lowered muscle mass and increased blood pressure. Here, we tested the hypothesis that a similar adaptive water conservation response occurs in experimental chronic renal failure.

Methods

In four subsequent experiments in Sprague Dawley rats, we used surgical 5/6 renal mass reduction (5/6 Nx) to induce chronic renal failure. We studied solute and water excretion in 24‐hour metabolic cage experiments, chronic blood pressure by radiotelemetry, chronic metabolic adjustment in liver and skeletal muscle by metabolomics and selected enzyme activity measurements, body Na⁺, K⁺ and water by dry ashing, and acute transepidermal water loss in conjunction with skin blood flow and intra‐arterial blood pressure.

Results

5/6 Nx rats were polyuric, because their kidneys could not sufficiently concentrate the urine. Physiological adaptation to this renal water loss included mobilization of nitrogen and energy from muscle for organic osmolyte production, elevated norepinephrine and copeptin levels with reduced skin blood flow, which by means of compensation reduced their transepidermal water loss. This complex physiologic‐metabolic adjustment across multiple organs allowed the rats to stabilize their body water content despite persisting renal water loss, albeit at the expense of hypertension and catabolic mobilization of muscle protein.

Conclusion

Physiological adaptation to body water loss, termed aestivation, is an evolutionary conserved survival strategy and an under‐studied research area in medical physiology, which besides hypertension and muscle mass loss in chronic renal failure may explain many otherwise unexplainable phenomena in medicine.

Molecular characterization of three Rhesus glycoproteins from the gills of the African lungfish, Protopterus annectens, and effects of aestivation on their mRNA expression levels and protein abundance

African lungfishes are ammonotelic in water. They can aestivate for long periods on land during drought. During aestivation, the gills are covered with dried mucus and ammonia excretion ceases. In fishes, ammonia excretion through the gills involves Rhesus glycoproteins (RhGP/Rhgp). This study aimed to obtain the complete cDNA coding sequences of rhgp from the gills of Protopterus annectens, and to determine their branchial mRNA and protein expression levels during the induction, maintenance and arousal phases of aestivation. Three isoforms of rhgp (rhag, rhbg and rhcg) were obtained in the gills of P. annectens. Their complete cDNA coding sequences ranged between 1311 and 1398 bp, coding for 436 to 465 amino acids with estimated molecular masses between 46.8 and 50.9 kDa. Dendrogramic analyses indicated that Rhag was grouped closer to fishes, while Rhbg and Rhcg were grouped closer to tetrapods. During the induction phase, the protein abundance of Rhag, but not its transcript level, was down-regulated in the gills, suggesting that there could be a decrease in the release of ammonia from the erythrocytes to the plasma. Furthermore, the branchial transcript levels of rhbg and rhcg decreased significantly, in preparation for the subsequent shutdown of gill functions. During the maintenance phase, the branchial expression levels of rhag/Rhag, rhbg/Rhbg and rhcg/Rhcg decreased significantly, indicating that their transcription and translation were down-regulated. This could be part of an overall mechanism to shut down branchial functions and save metabolic energy used for transcription and translation. It could also be regarded as an adaptive response to stop ammonia excretion. During the arousal phase, it is essential for the lungfish to regain the ability to excrete ammonia. Indeed, the protein abundance of Rhag, Rhbg and Rhcg recovered to the corresponding control levels after 1 day or 3 days of recovery from 6 months of aestivation.

Aestivation Induces Changes in the mRNA Expression Levels and Protein Abundance of Two Isoforms of Urea Transporters in the Gills of the African Lungfish, Protopterus annectens

The African lungfish, Protopterus annectens, is ammonotelic in water despite being ureogenic. When it aestivates in mucus cocoon on land, ammonia is detoxified to urea. During the maintenance phase of aestivation, urea accumulates in the body, which is subsequently excreted upon arousal. Urea excretion involves urea transporters (UT/Ut). This study aimed to clone and sequence the ut isoforms from the gills of P. annectens, and to test the hypothesis that the mRNA and/or protein expression levels of ut/Ut isoforms could vary in the gills of P. annectens during the induction, maintenance, and arousal phases of aestivation. Two isoforms of ut, ut-a2a and ut-a2b, were obtained from the gills of P. annectens. ut-a2a consisted of 1227 bp and coded for 408 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 44.7 kDa, while ut-a2b consisted of 1392 bp and coded for 464 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 51.2 kDa. Ut-a2a and Ut-a2b of P. annectens had a closer phylogenetic relationship with Ut/UT of tetrapods than Ut of fishes. While the mRNA expression pattern of ut-a2a and ut-a2b across various tissues of P. annectens differed, the transcript levels of ut-a2a and ut-a2b in the gills were comparable, indicating that they might be equally important for branchial urea excretion during the initial arousal phase of aestivation. During the maintenance phase of aestivation, the transcript level of ut-a2a increased significantly, but the protein abundance of Ut-a2a remained unchanged in the gills of P. annectens. This could be an adaptive feature to prepare for an increase in the production of Ut-a2a upon arousal. Indeed, arousal led to a significant increase in the branchial Ut-a2a protein abundance. Although the transcript level of ut-a2b remained unchanged, there were significant increases in the protein abundance of Ut-a2b in the gills of P. annectens throughout the three phases of aestivation. The increase in the protein abundance of Ut-a2b during the maintenance phase could also be an adaptive feature to prepare for efficient urea excretion when water becomes available.

Molecular Characterization of Aquaporin 1 and Aquaporin 3 from the Gills of the African Lungfish, Protopterus annectens, and Changes in Their Branchial mRNA Expression Levels and Protein Abundance during Three Phases of Aestivation

African lungfishes can undergo long periods of aestivation on land during drought. During aestivation, lungfishes are confronted with desiccation and dehydration, and their gills become non-functional and covered with a thick layer of dried mucus. Aquaporins (Aqps) are a superfamily of integral membrane proteins which generally facilitate the permeation of water through plasma membranes. This study aimed to obtain the complete cDNA coding sequences of aqp1 and aqp3 from the gills of Protopterus annectens, and to determine their branchial mRNA and protein expression levels during the induction, maintenance and arousal phases of aestivation. Dendrogramic analyses of the deduced Aqp1 and Aqp3 amino acid sequences of P. annectens revealed their close relationships with those of Latimeria chalumnae and tetrapods. During the induction phase, there were significant decreases in the transcript levels of aqp1 and aqp3 in the gills of P. annectens, but the branchial Aqp1 and Aqp3 protein abundance remained unchanged. As changes in transcription might precede changes in translation, this could be regarded as an adaptive response to decrease the protein abundance of Aqp1 and Aqp3 in the subsequent maintenance phase of aestivation. As expected, the branchial transcript levels and protein abundance of aqp1/Aqp1 and aqp3/Aqp3 were significantly down-regulated during the maintenance phase, probably attributable to the shutdown of branchial functions and the cessation of volume regulation of branchial epithelial cells. Additionally, these changes could reduce the loss of water through branchial epithelial surfaces, supplementing the anti-desiccating property of the dried mucus. Upon arousal, it was essential for the lungfish to restore branchial functions. Indeed, the protein abundance of Aqp1 recovered partially, with complete recovery of mRNA expression level and protein abundance of Aqp3, in the gills of P. annectens after 3 days of arousal. These results provide insights into how P. annectens regulates branchial Aqp expression to cope with desiccation and rehydration during different phases of aestivation.

Differential gene expression in the liver of the African lungfish, Protopterus annectens, after 6 months of aestivation in air or 1 day of arousal from 6 months of aestivation

The African lungfish, Protopterus annectens, can undergo aestivation during drought. Aestivation has three phases: induction, maintenance and arousal. The objective of this study was to examine the differential gene expression in the liver of P. annectens after 6 months (the maintenance phase) of aestivation as compared with the freshwater control, or after 1 day of arousal from 6 months aestivation as compared with 6 months of aestivation using suppression subtractive hybridization. During the maintenance phase of aestivation, the mRNA expression of argininosuccinate synthetase 1 and carbamoyl phosphate synthetase III were up-regulated, indicating an increase in the ornithine-urea cycle capacity to detoxify ammonia to urea. There was also an increase in the expression of betaine homocysteine-S-transferase 1 which could reduce and prevent the accumulation of hepatic homocysteine. On the other hand, the down-regulation of superoxide dismutase 1 expression could signify a decrease in ROS production during the maintenance phase of aestivation. In addition, the maintenance phase was marked by decreases in expressions of genes related to blood coagulation, complement fixation and iron and copper metabolism, which could be strategies used to prevent thrombosis and to conserve energy. Unlike the maintenance phase of aestivation, there were increases in expressions of genes related to nitrogen, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and fatty acid transport after 1 day of arousal from 6 months aestivation. There were also up-regulation in expressions of genes that were involved in the electron transport system and ATP synthesis, indicating a greater demand for metabolic energy during arousal. Overall, our results signify the importance of sustaining a low rate of waste production and conservation of energy store during the maintenance phase, and the dependence on internal energy store for repair and structural modification during the arousal phase, of aestivation in the liver of P. annectens.

Aestivation induces changes in transcription and translation of coagulation factor II and fibrinogen gamma chain in the liver of the African lungfish, Protopterus annectens

This study aimed to sequence and characterize two pro-coagulant genes, coagulation factor II (f2) and fibrinogen gamma chain (fgg), from the liver of the African lungfish Protopterus annectens, and to determine their hepatic mRNA expression levels during three phases of aestivation. The protein abundances of F2 and Fgg in the liver and plasma were determined by immunoblotting. Results indicated that F2 and Fgg of P. annectens were phylogenetically closer to those of amphibians than those of teleosts. Three days of aestivation resulted in an up-regulation in the hepatic fgg mRNA expression level, while 6 days of aestivation led to a significant increase (3-fold) in the protein abundance of Fgg in the plasma. Hence, there could be an increase in the blood clotting ability in P. annectens during the induction phase of aestivation. By contrast, the blood clotting ability in P. annectens might be reduced in response to decreased blood flow and increased possibility of thrombosis during the maintenance phase of aestivation, as 6 months of aestivation led to significant decreases in mRNA expression levels of f2 and fgg in the liver. There could also be a decrease in the export of F2 and Fgg from the liver to the plasma so as to avert thrombosis. Upon 3-6 days of arousal from 6 months of aestivation, the protein abundances of F2 and Fgg recovered partially in the plasma of P. annectens, and a complete recovery of the transcription and translation of f2/F2 in the liver might occur only after refeeding.