Navigating oxygen deprivation: liver transcriptomic responses of the red eared slider turtle to environmental anoxia

Gene expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), HIF regulators, and putative HIF targets in ventricle and telencephalon of Trachemys scripta acclimated to 21 °C or 5 °C and exposed to normoxia, anoxia or reoxygenation

In anoxia-sensitive mammals, hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) promotes cellular survival in hypoxia, but also tumorigenesis. By comparison, anoxia-tolerant vertebrates likely need to circumvent a prolonged upregulation of HIF to survive long-term anoxia, making them attractive biomedical models for investigating HIF regulation. To lend insight into the role of HIF in anoxic Trachemys scripta ventricle and telencephalon, 21 °C- and 5 °C-acclimated turtles were exposed to normoxia, anoxia (24 h at 21 °C; 24 h or 14 d at 5 °C) or anoxia + reoxygenation and the gene expression of HIF-1α (hif1a) and HIF-2α (hif2a), two regulators of HIF, and eleven putative downstream targets of HIF quantified by qPCR. Changes in gene expression with anoxia at 21 °C differentially aligned with a circumvention of HIF activity. Whereas hif1a and hif2a expression was unaffected in ventricle and telencephalon, and BCL2 interacting protein 3 gene expression reduced by 30% in telencephalon, gene expression of vascular endothelial growth factor-A increased in ventricle (4.5-fold) and telencephalon (1.5-fold), and hexokinase 1 (2-fold) and hexokinase 2 (3-fold) gene expression increased in ventricle. At 5 °C, the pattern of gene expression in ventricle or telencephalon was unaltered with oxygenation state. However, cold acclimation in normoxia induced downregulation of HIF-1α, HIF-2α, and HIF target gene expression in telencephalon. Overall, the findings lend support to the postulation that prolonged activation of HIF is counterproductive for long-term anoxia survival. Nevertheless, quantification of the effect of anoxia and acclimation temperature on HIF binding activity and regulation at the protein level are needed to provide a strong scientific framework whereby new strategies for oxygen related pathologies can be developed.

Indirect evidence that anoxia exposure and cold acclimation alter transarcolemmal Ca2+ flux in the cardiac pacemaker, right atrium and ventricle of the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta)

We indirectly assessed if altered transarcolemmal Ca²⁺ flux accompanies the decreased cardiac activity displayed by Trachemys scripta with anoxia exposure and cold acclimation. Turtles were first acclimated to 21 °C or 5 °C and held under normoxic (21N; 5N) or anoxic conditions (21A; 5A). We then compared the response of intrinsic heart rate (f_H) and maximal developed force of spontaneously contracting right atria (F_max,RA), and maximal developed force of isometrically-contracting ventricular strips (F_max,V), to Ni²⁺ (0.1-10 mM), which respectively blocks T-type Ca²⁺ channels, L-type Ca²⁺ channels and the Na⁺-Ca²⁺-exchanger at the low, intermediate and high concentrations employed. Dose-response curves were established in simulated in vivo normoxic (Sim Norm) or simulated in vivo anoxic extracellular conditions (Sim Anx; 21A and 5A preparations). Ni²⁺ decreased intrinsic f_H, F_max,RA and F_max,V of 21N tissues in a concentration-dependent manner, but the responses were blunted in 21A tissues in Sim Norm. Similarly, dose-response curves for F_max,RA and F_max,V of 5N tissues were right-shifted, whereas anoxia exposure at 5 °C did not further alter the responses. The influence of Sim Anx was acclimation temperature-, cardiac chamber- and contractile parameter-dependent. Combined, the findings suggest that: (1) reduced transarcolemmal Ca²⁺ flux in the cardiac pacemaker is a potential mechanism underlying the slowed intrinsic f_H of anoxic turtles at 21 °C, but not 5 °C, (2) a downregulation of transarcolemmal Ca²⁺ flux may aid cardiac anoxia survival at 21 °C and prime the turtle myocardium for winter anoxia and (3) confirm that altered extracellular conditions with anoxia exposure can modify turtle cardiac transarcolemmal Ca²⁺ flux.

The Metabolomic Response of Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius) to Anoxia and Reoxygenation Differs between Tissues and Hints at Uncharacterized Survival Strategies

The anoxia-tolerant crucian carp (Carassius carassius) has been studied in detail for numerous years, with particular focus on unravelling the underlying physiological mechanisms of anoxia tolerance. However, relatively little work has been focused on what occurs beyond anoxia, and often the focus is a single organ or tissue type. In this study, we quantified more than 100 metabolites by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) in brain, heart, liver, and blood plasma from four experimental groups, being normoxic (control) fish, anoxia-exposed fish, and two groups that had been exposed to anoxia followed by reoxygenation for either 3 h or 24 h. The heart, which maintains cardiac output during anoxia, unexpectedly, was slower to recover compared to the brain and liver, mainly due to a slower return to control concentrations of the energy-carrying compounds ATP, GTP, and phosphocreatine. Crucian carp accumulated amino acids in most tissues, and also surprisingly high levels of succinate in all tissues investigated during anoxia. Purine catabolism was enhanced, leading to accumulation of uric acid during anoxia and increasing urea formation that continued into 24 h of reoxygenation. These tissue-specific differences in accumulation and distribution of the metabolites may indicate an intricate system of transport between tissues, opening for new avenues of investigation of possible mechanisms aimed at reducing the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and resultant tissue damage during reoxygenation.

mTOR Signaling in Metabolic Stress Adaptation

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of cellular homeostasis that integrates environmental and nutrient signals to control cell growth and survival. Over the past two decades, extensive studies of mTOR have implicated the importance of this protein complex in regulating a broad range of metabolic functions, as well as its role in the progression of various human diseases. Recently, mTOR has emerged as a key signaling molecule in regulating animal entry into a hypometabolic state as a survival strategy in response to environmental stress. Here, we review current knowledge of the role that mTOR plays in contributing to natural hypometabolic states such as hibernation, estivation, hypoxia/anoxia tolerance, and dauer diapause. Studies across a diverse range of animal species reveal that mTOR exhibits unique regulatory patterns in an environmental stressor-dependent manner. We discuss how key signaling proteins within the mTOR signaling pathways are regulated in different animal models of stress, and describe how each of these regulations uniquely contribute to promoting animal survival in a hypometabolic state.

Oxidative Damage? Not a Problem! The Characterization of Humanin-like Mitochondrial Peptide in Anoxia Tolerant Freshwater Turtles

Mitochondria was long thought to be an "end function" organelle that regulated the metabolic flux and apoptosis in the cell. However, with the discovery of the mitochondrial peptide (MDP) humanin (HN/MTRNR2), the cytoprotective and pro-survival applications of MDPs have taken the forefront of therapeutic and diagnostic research. However, the regulation of humanin-like MDPs in natural model systems that can tolerate lethal environmental and cytotoxic insults remains to be investigated. Red-eared sliders are champion anaerobes that can withstand three continuous months of anoxia followed by rapid bouts of oxygen reperfusion without incurring cellular damage. Freshwater turtles employ extensive physiological and biochemical strategies to combat anoxia, with metabolic rate depression and a global enhancement of antioxidant and cytoprotective pathways being the two most important contributors. The main aim of this study was to uncover and characterize the humanin-homologue in freshwater turtles as well as investigate the differential regulation of humanin in response to short and long-term oxygen deprivation. In this study we have used de novo and homology-based protein modelling to elucidate the putative structure of humanin in red-eared sliders as well as an ELISA and western immunoblotting to confirm the protein abundance in the turtle brain and six peripheral tissues during control, 5 h, and 20 h anoxia (n = 4/group). We found that a humanin-homologue (TSE-humanin) is present in red-eared sliders and it may play a cytoprotective role against oxidative damage.

Dynamic regulation of histone H3 lysine (K) acetylation and deacetylation during prolonged oxygen deprivation in a champion anaerobe

Trachemys scripta elegans can survive up to three months of absolute anoxia at 3 °C and recover with minimal cellular damage. Red-eared sliders employ various physiological and biochemical adaptations to survive anoxia with metabolic rate depression (MRD) being the most prominent adaptation. MRD is mediated by epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational mechanisms aimed at shutting down cellular processes that are not needed for anoxia survival, while reprioritizing ATP towards cell processes that are vital for anaerobiosis. Histone acetylation/deacetylation are epigenetic modifications that maintain a proper balance between permissive chromatin and restricted chromatin, yet very little is known about protein regulation and enzymatic activity of the writers and erasers of acetylation during natural anoxia tolerance. As such, this study explored the interplay between transcriptional activators, histone acetyltransferases (HATs), and transcriptional repressors, sirtuins (SIRTs), along with three prominent acetyl-lysine (K) moieties of histone H3 in the liver of red-eared sliders. Western immunoblotting was used to measure acetylation levels of H3-K14, H3-K18, and H3-K56, as well as protein levels of histone H3-total, HATs, and nuclear SIRTs in the liver in response to 5 h and 20 h anoxia. Global and nuclear enzymatic activity of HATs and enzymatic activity of nuclear SIRTs were also measured. Overall, a strong suppression of HATs-mediated H3 acetylation and SIRT-mediated deacetylation was evident in the liver of red-eared sliders that could play an important role in ATP conservation as part of the overall reduction in metabolic rate.

Protein lysine methylation in the regulation of anoxia tolerance in the red eared slider turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans

The red eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) is a champion vertebrate facultative anaerobe, capable of surviving for several months under conditions of exceptionally low oxygen availability. The ability of the turtle to facilitate this impressive tolerance to oxygen restriction is accomplished through a dramatic reduction in non-essential cellular processes. This is done in an attempt to conserve limited ATP stores and match demand in the anoxic state, with ATP supplied primarily through anaerobic glycolysis. Determining both the non-essential and the essential cellular processes that are deemed to be anoxia-responsive in the turtle has been an intense area of study over the past few decades. As a result, recent advancements have established the influence of global metabolic controls, such as post-transcriptional and post-translational regulation of gene expression in anoxia adaptation. A remaining question is whether or not epigenetic-level regulatory mechanisms are also utilized to allow for local control over gene expression. Recently, research has begun to document lysine methylation as an anoxia-responsive post-translational histone modification, as the activities of a number of methyl-lysine regulatory enzymes are extraordinarily sensitive to oxygen availability. As a result, oxygen-dependent methyl-lysine regulatory enzymes have been of particular interest to several recent studies of animal oxygen sensitivity, including the freshwater turtle. This review will introduce the concept of lysine methylation as an oxygen-sensitive protein modification as well as a prospectus on how this modification may contribute to anoxia tolerance in the turtle.