title: Effect of Hypoxia on Ldh-c Expression in Somatic Cells of Plateau Pika.
abstract: Sperm specific lactate dehydrogenases (LDH-C₄) is a lactate dehydrogenase that catalyzes the conversion of pyruvate to lactate. In mammals, Ldh-c was originally thought to be expressed only in testes and spermatozoa. Plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), which belongs to the genus Ochotona of the Ochotonidea family, is a hypoxia-tolerant mammal living 3000-5000 m above sea level on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, an environment which is strongly hypoxic. Ldh-c is expressed not only in testes and sperm, but also in the somatic tissues of plateau pika. To reveal the effect of hypoxia on pika Ldh-c expression, we investigated the mRNA and protein level of Ldh-c as well as the biochemical index of anaerobic glycolysis in pika somatic tissues at the altitudes of 2200 m, 3200 m and 3900 m. Our results showed that mRNA and protein expression levels of Ldh-c in the tissues of pika's heart, liver, brain and skeletal muscle were increased significantly from 2200 m to 3200 m, but had no difference from 3200 m to 3900 m; the activities of LDH and the contents of lactate showed no difference from 2200 m to 3200 m, but were increased significantly from 3200 m to 3900 m. Hypoxia up-regulated and maintained the expression levels of Ldh-c in the pika somatic cells. Under the hypoxia condition, plateau pikas increased anaerobic glycolysis in somatic cells by LDH-C₄, and that may have reduced their dependence on oxygen and enhanced their adaptation to the hypoxic environment.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture, Qinghai University, Xining 10743, China. weidengbang@163.com.|College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 10743, China. weidengbang@163.com.
authors.forename: Dengbang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 10743, China. weilinna92@163.com.
authors.forename: Linna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 10743, China. lixiao2234566@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 10743, China. yangwangmd@163.com.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Eco-Environmental Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining 10743, China. weilian5318@163.com.
authors.forename: Lian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000531:Altitude; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D006019:Glycolysis; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism*; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007793:Lagomorpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019344:Lactic Acid; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; C409673:lactate dehydrogenase C4; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Ldh-c; Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; altitude; hypoxia; plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae)