Fruit Fly Gene Enables Oxygen-Deprived Cell Survival

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Main Category: Genetics
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry;  Respiratory / Asthma;  Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 18 Oct 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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An gene has been identified in fruit flies that can help oxygen-deprived cells live longer, according to an article released on October 17, 2008 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

Oxygen-deprivation in cells, called hypoxia, occurs in many critical situations, including heart attack, stroke, and other neurological and respiratory conditions. In these situations, cells in vital tissues and organs may die or be damaged. While many life forms are able to suppress non-essential activity, to survive the lack of oxygen, but the mechanism behind this shift was not known.

Scientists often use fruit flies to perform studies because their cellular mechanisms are similar to humans' cellular processes. To investigate hypoxia in fruit flies, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine examined a strain that had developed tolerance to severely oxygen depleted conditions. The flies' genes were then compared to examined the normal fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster genome for differences in gene expression.

The researchers narrowed the possibilities to one regulatory gene: “A transcriptional suppressor, called hairy, is crucial for reducing the mismatch between supply and demand of oxygen,” said Dan Zhou, first author on the study. The principal investigator, Gabriel G. Haddad, expounded on the mechanism used: “We discovered that the hairy gene binds to and shuts off, or suppresses, activation of many genes.” He continued: “When hairy is activated, it puts the brakes on various signaling pathways in the cell, enabling the cells to become resistant to the low-oxygen environment.” This transcriptional "switch" allows the cells to minimize their cellular processes in a "brown out," saving energy for more critical functions in the cell. Haddad added: "While there are multiple pathways that contribute to the ability of this strain of flies to tolerate hypoxia, our study demonstrates that hairy-mediated metabolic suppression plays a critical role.”

By gaining a deeper understanding of the Drosphilia cell mechanism, the scientists hope to help human cells and tissues adapt and survive in low-oxygen situations.

Mechanisms Underlying Hypoxia Tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster: hairy as a Metabolic Switch.
Zhou D, Xue J, Lai JCK, Schork NJ, White KP, et al.
PLoS Genet 4(10): e1000221.
doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000221
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Anna Sophia McKenney
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