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Galli GLJ, Shiels HA, White E, Couturier CS, Stecyk JAW. The air-breathing Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis) suppresses brain mitochondrial reactive oxygen species to survive cold hypoxic winters. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 276:111355. [PMID: 36529208 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.111355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis) is the only air-breathing fish in the Arctic. In the summer, a modified esophagus allows the fish to extract oxygen from the air, but this behavior is not possible in the winter because of ice and snow cover. The lack of oxygen (hypoxia) and near freezing temperatures in winter is expected to severely compromise metabolism, and yet remarkably, overwintering Alaska blackfish remain active. To maintain energy balance in the brain and limit the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we hypothesized that cold hypoxic conditions would trigger brain mitochondrial remodeling in the Alaska blackfish. To address this hypothesis, fish were acclimated to warm (15 °C) normoxia, cold (5 °C) normoxia or cold hypoxia (5 °C, 2.1-4.2 kPa; no air access) for 5-8 weeks. Mitochondrial respiration, ADP affinity and H202 production were measured at 10 °C in isolated brain homogenates with an Oroboros respirometer. Cold acclimation and chronic hypoxia had no effects on mitochondrial aerobic capacity or ADP affinity. However, cold acclimation in normoxia led to a suppression of brain mitochondrial H202 production, which persisted and became more pronounced in the cold hypoxic fish. Overall, our study suggests cold acclimation supresses ROS production in Alaska blackfish, which may protect the fish from oxidative stress when oxygen becomes limited during winter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina L J Galli
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, 46 Grafton Street, Manchester M13 9NT, United Kingdom.
| | - Holly A Shiels
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, 46 Grafton Street, Manchester M13 9NT, United Kingdom
| | - Ed White
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Christine S Couturier
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States of America
| | - Jonathan A W Stecyk
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States of America
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Sparks K, Couturier CS, Buskirk J, Flores A, Hoeferle A, Hoffman J, Stecyk JAW. 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. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2022; 267:111167. [PMID: 35182763 PMCID: PMC8977064 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.111167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Sparks
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
| | - Christine S Couturier
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
| | - Jacob Buskirk
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
| | - Alicia Flores
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
| | - Aurora Hoeferle
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
| | - Jessica Hoffman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
| | - Jonathan A W Stecyk
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States.
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Stecyk JAW, Barber RG, Cussins J, Hall D. Indirect evidence that anoxia exposure and cold acclimation alter transarcolemmal Ca 2+ flux in the cardiac pacemaker, right atrium and ventricle of the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta). Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2021; 261:111043. [PMID: 34332046 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.111043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
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 (fH) and maximal developed force of spontaneously contracting right atria (Fmax,RA), and maximal developed force of isometrically-contracting ventricular strips (Fmax,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 fH, Fmax,RA and Fmax,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 Fmax,RA and Fmax,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 fH 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan A W Stecyk
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States of America.
| | - Riley G Barber
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States of America
| | - Jace Cussins
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States of America
| | - Diarmid Hall
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States of America
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Hypoxia Performance Curve: Assess a Whole-Organism Metabolic Shift from a Maximum Aerobic Capacity towards a Glycolytic Capacity in Fish. Metabolites 2021; 11:metabo11070447. [PMID: 34357341 PMCID: PMC8307916 DOI: 10.3390/metabo11070447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The utility of measuring whole-animal performance to frame the metabolic response to environmental hypoxia is well established. Progressively reducing ambient oxygen (O2) will initially limit maximum metabolic rate as a result of a hypoxemic state and ultimately lead to a time-limited, tolerance state supported by substrate-level phosphorylation when the O2 supply can no longer meet basic needs (standard metabolic rate, SMR). The metabolic consequences of declining ambient O2 were conceptually framed for fishes initially by Fry's hypoxic performance curve, which characterizes the hypoxemic state and its consequences to absolute aerobic scope (AAS), and Hochachka's concept of scope for hypoxic survival, which characterizes time-limited life when SMR cannot be supported by O2 supply. Yet, despite these two conceptual frameworks, the toolbox to assess whole-animal metabolic performance remains rather limited. Here, we briefly review the ongoing debate concerning the need to standardize the most commonly used assessments of respiratory performance in hypoxic fishes, namely critical O2 (the ambient O2 level below which maintenance metabolism cannot be sustained) and the incipient lethal O2 (the ambient O2 level at which a fish loses the ability to maintain upright equilibrium), and then we advance the idea that the most useful addition to the toolbox will be the limiting-O2 concentration (LOC) performance curve. Using Fry & Hart's (1948) hypoxia performance curve concept, an LOC curve was subsequently developed as an eco-physiological framework by Neil et al. and derived for a group of fish during a progressive hypoxia trial by Claireaux and Lagardère (1999). In the present review, we show how only minor modifications to available respirometry tools and techniques are needed to generate an LOC curve for individual fish. This individual approach to the LOC curve determination then increases its statistical robustness and importantly opens up the possibility of examining individual variability. Moreover, if peak aerobic performance at a given ambient O2 level of each individual is expressed as a percentage of its AAS, the water dissolved O2 that supports 50% of the individual's AAS (DOAAS-50) can be interpolated much like the P50 for an O2 hemoglobin dissociation curve (when hemoglobin is 50% saturated with O2). Thus, critical O2, incipient lethal O2, DOAAS-50 and P50 and can be directly compared within and across species. While an LOC curve for individual fish represents a start to an ongoing need to seamlessly integrate aerobic to anaerobic capacity assessments in a single, multiplexed respirometry trial, we close with a comparative exploration of some of the known whole-organism anaerobic and aerobic capacity traits to examine for correlations among them and guide the next steps.
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Morgenroth D, McArley T, Gräns A, Axelsson M, Sandblom E, Ekström A. Coronary blood flow influences tolerance to environmental extremes in fish. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.239970. [PMID: 33688058 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.239970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Approximately half of all fishes have, in addition to the luminal venous O2 supply, a coronary circulation supplying the heart with fully oxygenated blood. Yet, it is not fully understood how coronary O2 delivery affects tolerance to environmental extremes such as warming and hypoxia. Hypoxia reduces arterial oxygenation, while warming increases overall tissue O2 demand. Thus, as both stressors are associated with reduced venous O2 supply to the heart, we hypothesised that coronary flow benefits hypoxia and warming tolerance. To test this hypothesis, we blocked coronary blood flow (via surgical coronary ligation) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and assessed how in vivo cardiorespiratory performance and whole-animal tolerance to acute hypoxia and warming was affected. While coronary ligation reduced routine stroke volume relative to trout with intact coronaries, cardiac output was maintained by an increase in heart rate. However, in hypoxia, coronary-ligated trout were unable to increase stroke volume to maintain cardiac output when bradycardia developed, which was associated with a slightly reduced hypoxia tolerance. Moreover, during acute warming, coronary ligation caused cardiac function to collapse at lower temperatures and reduced overall heat tolerance relative to trout with intact coronary arteries. We also found a positive relationship between individual hypoxia and heat tolerance across treatment groups, and tolerance to both environmental stressors was positively correlated with cardiac performance. Collectively, our findings show that coronary perfusion improves cardiac O2 supply and therefore cardiovascular function at environmental extremes, which benefits tolerance to natural and anthropogenically induced environmental perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Morgenroth
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, PO Box 463, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Tristan McArley
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, PO Box 463, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Albin Gräns
- Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 532 23 Skara, Sweden
| | - Michael Axelsson
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, PO Box 463, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Erik Sandblom
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, PO Box 463, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Andreas Ekström
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, PO Box 463, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
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Gerber L, Clow KA, Katan T, Emam M, Leeuwis RHJ, Parrish CC, Gamperl AK. Cardiac mitochondrial function, nitric oxide sensitivity and lipid composition following hypoxia acclimation in sablefish. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 222:jeb.208074. [PMID: 31645375 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.208074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
In fishes, the effect of O2 limitation on cardiac mitochondrial function remains largely unexplored. The sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) encounters considerable variations in environmental oxygen availability, and is an interesting model for studying the effects of hypoxia on fish cardiorespiratory function. We investigated how in vivo hypoxia acclimation (6 months at 40% then 3 weeks at 20% air saturation) and in vitro anoxia-reoxygenation affected sablefish cardiac mitochondrial respiration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) release rates using high-resolution fluorespirometry. Further, we investigated how hypoxia acclimation affected the sensitivity of mitochondrial respiration to nitric oxide (NO), and compared mitochondrial lipid and fatty acid (FA) composition between groups. Hypoxia acclimation did not alter mitochondrial coupled or uncoupled respiration, or respiratory control ratio, ROS release rates, P 50 or superoxide dismutase activity. However, it increased citrate synthase activity (by ∼20%), increased the sensitivity of mitochondrial respiration to NO inhibition (i.e., the NO IC50 was 25% lower), and enhanced the recovery of respiration (by 21%) and reduced ROS release rates (by 25-30%) post-anoxia. In addition, hypoxia acclimation altered mitochondrial FA composition [increasing arachidonic acid (20:4ω6) and eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5ω3) proportions by 11 and 14%, respectively], and SIMPER analysis revealed that the phospholipid:sterol ratio was the largest contributor (24%) to the dissimilarity between treatments. Overall, these results suggest that hypoxia acclimation may protect sablefish cardiac bioenergetic function during or after periods of O2 limitation, and that this may be related to alterations in mitochondrial sensitivity to NO and to adaptive changes in membrane composition (fluidity).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Gerber
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Kathy A Clow
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Tomer Katan
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Mohamed Emam
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | - Robine H J Leeuwis
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
| | | | - Anthony K Gamperl
- Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
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Kubly KL, Stecyk JAW. Contractile performance of the Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis) ventricle: Assessment of the effects of temperature, pacing frequency, the role of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in contraction and adrenergic stimulation. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2019; 238:110564. [PMID: 31493554 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2019.110564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Revised: 08/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The air-breathing Alaska blackfish (Dallia pectoralis) experiences aquatic hypoxia, but restricted air-access in winter due to ice-cover. To lend insight into its overwintering strategy, we examined the effects of thermal acclimation (15 °C vs. 5 °C), acute temperature change (to 10 °C), increased pacing frequency, inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release and uptake and adrenaline (1000 nmol l-1) on the contractile performance of isometrically-contracting, electrically-paced ventricular strips. At routine pacing frequencies, maximal developed force (Fmax) was equivalent at 5 °C (2.1 ± 0.2 mN mm-2) and 15 °C (2.2 ± 0.3 mN mm-2), whereas contraction durations were 2.2- to 2.4-times longer and contraction rates 2.4- to 3.5-times slower at 5 °C. Maximum contraction frequency was reduced by decreased temperature, being 0.91 ± 0.04 Hz at 15 °C, 0.35 ± 0.02 Hz at 5 °C and equivalent between acclimation groups at 10 °C (~0.8 Hz). 15 °C and 5 °C strips were insensitive to SR inhibition at routine stimulation frequencies, but SR function supported high contraction rates at 10 °C and 15 °C. Adrenaline shortened T0.5R and increased relaxation rate by 18-40% at 15 °C, whereas at 5 °C, adrenaline augmented Fmax by 15-25%, in addition to increasing contraction kinetics by 22-82% and decreasing contraction duration by 20%. Overall, the results reveal that ventricular contractility is suppressed in cold-acclimated Alaska blackfish largely by acute and perhaps direct effects of decreased temperature, which effectively preconditions the tissue for low energy supply during winter hypoxia. Additionally, the level of cardiac performance associated with maintained activity in winter is supported by enhanced inotropic responsiveness to adrenaline at 5 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerry L Kubly
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, AK, United States
| | - Jonathan A W Stecyk
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, AK, United States.
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The expression of genes involved in excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission in turtle (Trachemys scripta) brain during anoxic submergence at 21 °C and 5 °C reveals the importance of cold as a preparatory cue for anoxia survival. COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY D-GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS 2019; 30:55-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbd.2018.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Harter TS, Brauner CJ. The O 2 and CO 2 Transport System in Teleosts and the Specialized Mechanisms That Enhance Hb–O 2 Unloading to Tissues. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.fp.2017.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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