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.
Keywords: Ldh-c; Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; altitude; hypoxia; plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae).