HIF-1 and SKN-1 Coordinate the Transcriptional Response to Hydrogen Sulfide in C. elegans
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ABSTRACT: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has dramatic physiological effects on animals that are associated with improved survival in changing conditions. C. elegans grown in H2S are long-lived and thermotolerant (1). To begin to identify mechanisms by which adaptation to H2S effects fundamental physiological functions, we have defined transcriptional changes associated with the response to H2S. Using microarray analysis we observe rapid changes in the abundance of specific mRNAs. The number and magnitude of transcriptional changes increased with the duration of H2S exposure. Functional annotation suggests that genes associated with protein homeostasis are upregulated upon prolonged exposure to H2S. Previous work has shown that the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor, HIF-1, is required for survival in H2S (2). We show that hif-1 is required for all early transcriptional changes in H2S. However, our data suggest that other factors may also regulate transcriptional effects of H2S exposure, and we demonstrate that SKN-1, the C. elegans homologue of NRF2, is also required for some H2S-dependent changes in transcription. Moreover, we have found that, like hif-1, skn-1 is essential to survive exposure to H2S. Our results support a model in which HIF-1 and SKN-1 coordinate a broad transcriptional response to H2S, with the end result to affect a global reorganization of protein homeostasis networks. We propose that these transcriptional responses contribute to the effects of adaptation to H2S on lifespan and thermotolerance.
ORGANISM(S): Caenorhabditis elegans
PROVIDER: GSE25199 | GEO | 2011/11/15
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA134311
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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