Antioxidant defense response during hibernation and arousal in Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis juveniles

Zhong-Hua Tang; Bo-Jian Chen; Cui-Juan Niu

doi:10.1016/j.cryobiol.2021.01.015

Antioxidant defense response during hibernation and arousal in Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis juveniles

Cryobiology. 2021 Apr:99:46-54. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2021.01.015. Epub 2021 Jan 30.

Authors

Zhong-Hua Tang¹, Bo-Jian Chen², Cui-Juan Niu³

Affiliations

¹ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
² Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200082, China.
³ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. Electronic address: cjniu@bnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33524338
DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2021.01.015

Abstract

Antioxidant defense is essential for animals to cope with homeostasis disruption during hibernation. The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant defense response of juvenile soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis during hibernation and following arousal. Turtle brain, liver, and kidney samples were collected at pre-hibernation (17 °C mud temperature; MT), during hibernation (5.8 °C MT) and after arousal (20.1 °C MT) in the field. Transcript levels of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) decreased significantly during hibernation and recovered after arousal in all tissues. Cerebral and nephric copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase 3 (GPx3) and nephric GPx4 mRNA showed similar changing patterns as Nrf2. Cerebral Mn SOD, GPx1 and nephric GPx1 up-regulated after arousal. Hepatic Cu/Zn SOD, GPx1 and GPx3 mRNA kept stable, except hepatic GPx4 increased during hibernation. Hepatic Mn SOD and CAT increased after arousal. In the GSH system, mRNA levels of glutathione synthetases (GSs) kept stable during hibernation and up-regulated after arousal in most tissues except nephric GS2 mRNA remained unchanged. Gene expressions of glutathione reductase (GR) exhibited a tissue specific changing pattern, while those of glutathione-S-Transferase (GST) shared a similar pattern among tissues: remained stable or down-regulated during hibernation then recovered in arousal. In contrast to these diverse responses in gene expressions, most of the antioxidant enzyme activities maintained high and stable. Overall, no preparation for oxidative stress (POS) strategy was found in enzymatic antioxidant system in P. sinensis juveniles during hibernation, the Chinese soft-shelled turtles were able to stay safe from potential oxidative stress during hibernation by maintaining high level activities/concentrations of the antioxidant enzymes/antioxidants.

Keywords: Enzymatic antioxidant system; GSH; Hibernation; Oxidative stress; Soft-shelled turtle.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antioxidants
Arousal
Catalase / genetics
Catalase / metabolism
China
Cryopreservation / methods
Hibernation*
Oxidative Stress
Superoxide Dismutase / genetics
Superoxide Dismutase / metabolism
Turtles* / genetics

Substances

Antioxidants
Catalase
Superoxide Dismutase