Hypoxia Under Stress
This portion of the project focuses on the effect of stress upon hypoxia processes. Deep-diving cetaceans possess the ability to sustain long periods in hypoxic (without oxygen) conditions. Human activity induces noise and stress in whales' environment​, which triggers the glucocorticoid signaling pathway. How this glucocorticoid pathway affects or is affected by the hypoxia pathways remains unclear.
Discovery
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To find out more about these biological interactions, we chose Cuvier’s beaked whale cells as our cetacean model and treated them with hydrocortisone, a chemical that stimulates the glucocorticoid pathway.
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After treatment, we ran a couple different assays to examine these molecular interactions. First, RNA-seq was performed to gain a comprehensive list of genes that were up- or down-regulated in the cells. No difference was found between the hydrocortisone and control groups in the first run, so this requires further testing (procedural issues are suspected). We also ran Western blots to look at protein expression due to this addition of hydrocortisone. Protein expression is especially useful since it links most directly to the actual execution of cells that make up the function of the body. Unfortunately, issues with running the Western blot have not yet yielded clear results, so continuing tests are needed.
Future Directions
We hope to continue delving further into these pathways. Once the Western blots and RNA-seq give us successful results, we hope to obtain results that illuminate the protein interactions between stress and hypoxia, and thereby gain a clearer understanding of how stress-inducing human activity might affect cetaceans’ ability to survive.
