Localization and Quantitative Assessment of Oxygen-Sensitive Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α in the Brain of the Mitten Crab Eriocheir Japonica in Normal Conditions and Acute Anoxia (an immunohistochemical study)

摘要

Western immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry methods were used to study the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in the brain of the mitten crab Eriocheir japonica in normal conditions and anoxia lasting 2, 4, 6, and 12 h using a water deprivation model. The number of immunopositive neurons was small in intact crabs, and increased with increases in the duration of anoxia. There was a particularly marked increase in the proportion of neurons expressing HIF-1α in cells of group 6. In group 9/11, the highest values were seen at 2-6 h of anoxia. In group 17, significant changes in the proportion of immunopositive cells were noted only at 2 h of anoxia. After anoxia lasting 6 h, the proportion of neurons expressing HIF-1α decreased in all cell groups, though the reaction appeared in hemocytes. It is suggested that the increase in the proportion of immunopositive neurons and the suppression of HIF-1α expression in brain hemocytes in anoxia play important roles in mediating compensatory and protective processes, increasing the adaptive potential of the mitten crab in conditions of hypoxic stress.