Work

Carbon monoxide-induced suspended animation protects against hypoxic damage in Caenorhabditis elegans

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: Oxygen deprivation is a major cause of cellular damage and death. Here we demonstrate that Caenorhabditis elegans embryos, which can survive both in anoxia (<0.001 kPa O(2)) by entering into suspended animation and in mild hypoxia (0.25-1 kPa O(2)) through a hypoxia-inducible factor 1-mediated response, cannot survive in intermediate concentrations of oxygen, between 0.01 and 0.1 kPa O(2). Moreover, we show that carbon monoxide can protect C. elegans embryos against hypoxic damage in this sensitive range. Carbon monoxide can also rescue the hypoxia-sensitive mutant hif-1(ia04) from lethality in hypoxia. This work defines the oxygen tensions over which hypoxic damage occurs in C. elegans embryos and demonstrates that carbon monoxide can prevent this damage by inducing suspended animation.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0403312101

Authors: Todd G. Nystul, Mark B. Roth

Institutions: University of Washington, Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Heme Oxygenase-1 and Carbon Monoxide

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences