Gene and protein expression analyses are powerful tools to investigate the responses of cnidarians to stress, providing information on both genetic and functional variation and capturing dynamic shift Show more
Gene and protein expression analyses are powerful tools to investigate the responses of cnidarians to stress, providing information on both genetic and functional variation and capturing dynamic shifts in organismal physiology. As the use of high throughput sequencing to understand responses of cnidarians to stressors is still relatively new, standard experimental protocols have not yet been established, which limits the ability to compare studies. We (1) systematically reviewed the literature of cnidarian gene and protein expression studies related to environmental stressors to determine how the laboratory experiments were designed and (2) investigated the consistency in responses of genes commonly used as biomarkers within stress experiments conducted on the five most-studied cnidarian genera. Duration of exposure to the stressor, acclimation period and intensity of stress varied greatly among experiments, and most studies did not sample during acclimation and recovery. Before designing experiments that aim to characterise molecular responses to a specific environmental stress, research efforts need to focus on understanding the plasticity of whole transcriptome responses, as gene expression can vary under different stress intensities and durations of exposure. Additionally, only seven genes that were tested in at least two different genera showed a consistent response under heat stress (CuZn-SOD, c-type lectin, FGFR1, MMP, Zn-MP, NF-κB and SLC26). These genes have the potential to standardise evaluations of temperature stress across experiments on cnidarians, and we suggest exploring their use as general cnidarian biomarkers of temperature stress (cBATS). Show less
High altitude is associated with hypobaric hypoxia, and metabolic modifications. In particular, alterations to lipoprotein-associated enzymes have been reported under hypoxia. To determine the associa Show more
High altitude is associated with hypobaric hypoxia, and metabolic modifications. In particular, alterations to lipoprotein-associated enzymes have been reported under hypoxia. To determine the association between paraoxonase 1 (PON-1) and Cholesteryl-ester transfer protein (CETP) activities and altitude in two groups of Argentinean Indigenous schoolchildren living at different altitudes. A cross-sectional study compared 151 schoolchildren from San Antonio de los Cobres (SAC), 3,750 m, with 175 schoolchildren from Chicoana (CH), 1,400 m. Anthropometric data, lipids, apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, apo B, plus PON-1 and CETP activities were determined. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was significantly lower in SAC than in CH. Z- BMI (0.3 vs 0.7), Apo A-I/Apo B (1.67 vs. 1.85) and PON-1 (170 vs. 243 nmol/mL.min) were significantly lower in SAC than in CH, respectively. Total cholesterol (156 vs 144 mg/dL), triglycerides (TG) (119 vs. 94 mg/dL), apo A-I (133 vs. 128 mg/dL), apo B (84 vs. 73 mg/dL), hematocrit (48 vs. 41%), transferrin (295 vs. 260 mg/dL) and CETP (181 vs. 150%/mL.h) were significantly higher in SAC than in CH. There was a significant univariate association between altitude and transferrin (r0.38), hematocrit (r0.75), TG (r0.24), apo B (r0.29), PON-1 (r-0.40), and CETP (r0.37). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that altitude was significantly associated with children's TG (β = 0.28, R SAC children presented a more atherogenic lipid profile, plus lower PON1 and higher CETP activities, than CH children. Show less