Lactate Dehydrogenase and Na+/K+ ATPase Activity in Leiostomus xanthurus (Spot) in Response to Hypoxia Betsy E. Brinson with David Huffman, Matthew M. Shaver, Rebecca U. Cooper, and Lisa M. Clough East Carolina University Faculty Mentor: Mary A. Farwell East Carolina University ABSTRACT The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of hypoxic environments on two main enzymes in Leiostomus xanthurus (spot). The spot were placed in containers containing low dissolved oxygen contents for varying time periods. Soon after, tissue samples were taken to study lactate dehydro- genase (LDH) and sodium-potassium ATPase (i.e, sodium potassium pump) activity. Our results showed quite a bit of inter-individual variation among samples. Regarding LDH activity, enzyme activity appeared to increase initially in muscle tissue, but it did not remain elevated over time. In gill tissue, LDH activity decreased over time, possibly due to a shut-off of metabolic activity after low oxygen exposure. ATPase activity also showed an increase in activity in liver tissue, but like with LDH activity in muscle, this did not maintain over time. Overall, this experiment was successful in studying the effects of hypoxia on enzyme activity in spot, however, more experiments should be conducted in order to decrease the inter-individual variation we found. INTRODUCTION spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, because like many quatic environments can pose a vari- estuarine organisms, they are moderately A ety of stresses to resident organisms. hypoxia-tolerant (1). A major stress that aquatic organisms of- Anaerobic respiration can be measured ten encounter is hypoxia, or a reduced by an enzyme known as lactate dehydro- dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration. A genase (LDH). LDH catalyzes the conver- hypoxic environment is defined as one con- sion of pyruvate (the product of glycolysis) taining less than 2 mg/L DO (1). Estuarine to lactate with concomitant conversion of fish who live in the regions between rivers NADH to NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine di- and oceans encounter the lowest dissolved nucleotide), which can be measured spec- oxygen concentrations when temperatures trophotometrically. It is therefore hypoth- are high (during the summer) and at night- esized that lactate dehydrogenase activity time. Given that hypoxia is a major stress will increase after prolonged exposure to to estuarine organisms, we are interested in hypoxic conditions. In fact, one study per- how it affects their physiology, specifically formed in vascular smooth muscle cells of metabolic respiration. We chose to look at rats concluded that cells exposed to hypoxia 22 Betsy Brinson for 24 hours had a two-fold increase in LDH into six of the tanks via a gas mixer to a dis- activity (2). Another study performed in solved oxygen concentration of ~2 mg/L liver tissue of the killfish Fundulus heteroclitus or 25% oxygen saturation. These tanks also concluded a two-fold increase in LDH were to serve as experimental tanks. Air activity, this time after two days of hypoxia was introduced into two of the tanks to a (3). In this study we report an initial in- concentration of 8-9 mg/L oxygen (100% crease in LDH activity, but this increase is saturation) to serve as control tanks. Three inconsistent over time. fish were placed in each of the six experi- Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the major mental tanks. Sizes and weights were simi- energy currency of the cell, is hydrolyzed lar between fish used. One fish from each by Na+/K+ ATPase, otherwise known as tank was removed at periods of 24, 48, and the sodium potassium pump. This mem- 72 hours, dissected, and gill, muscle, and brane-bound enzyme uses energy from liver tissue removed for homogenization ATP hydrolysis to pump three Na+ ions out and assay analysis. Three fish were placed of the cell and two K+ ions into the cell. in each of two control tanks and removed These gradients are necessary for sustain- at the same time periods. In addition, six ing membrane potential, cell volume, and fish were removed from the holding tank at secondary transport of solutes. The Na+/ time zero. K+ pump alone accounts for approximately Tissues were suspended in 50 mM Tris- 30% of ATP consumption in the cell (4- HCl buffer with 0.1% Triton, 0.1mM 6). It was therefore hypothesized that the phenylmetylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) activity of this pump is decreased with and 0.5mM EDTA (pH 7.5). The tissues prolonged exposure to hypoxic conditions were placed in homogenization tubes and to preserve ATP concentrations within homogenized on ice with a Virtishear the cell. Using ouabain-sensitive Na+/K+ Cyclone I.Q. homogenizer. After homog- ATPase, the absorbance of p-nitrophenol enization, the samples were centrifuged in produced from the reaction of the ATPase an Eppendorf microcentrifuge at 11,250 with p-nitrophenylphosphate was used as revolutions per minute for thirty minutes indicator of ATPase activity. Previous ex- and then a protein dilution of each super- periments have shown the activity of Na+/ natant was made. Supernatant and protein K+ ATPase to decrease after acute deoxy- dilutions were then frozen at -80°C for fu- genation, particularly in hepatocytes (liver ture use. cells) and alveolar epithelial cells (4), while For LDH analysis, homogenized muscle others show only a decrease in Na+/K+ and gill samples were thawed and centri- ATPase activity in alveolar epithelial cells fuged for five minutes to clear. Ten-fold di- after prolonged exposure with no response lutions of muscle and five-fold dilutions of to acute hypoxia (6). In this experiment, gill were made in 50 mM potassium phos- we report an initial increase in Na+/K+ phate buffer pH 7, 2.5 mM EDTA and kept ATPase activity after 24 hours of exposure, on ice. A small amount of homogenate followed by a decrease at 48 and 72 hours (between 5-20 µL) was combined with 0.4 in liver samples. milliliters of 50 mM imidazole/1.0 mM potassium cyanide (pH 7.5) along with 0.5 PROCEDURE milliliters of 50 mM Imidazole/0.15 mM For each of three experiments, eight NADH. Absorbance was recorded in trip- eleven-liter tanks were filled with water con- licate to serve as the control. Next, 0.1 mil- taining Instant Ocean® to 5.7% salinity. A liliters of 5 mM pyruvate was added to each mixture of nitrogen and air was introduced solution and change in absorbance over a 23 Explorations | Biological, Earth, and Physical Sciences one minute time frame was immediately the p-nitrophenol absorbance of Solution recorded. This rate was then converted to A, giving the Na+/K+ ATPase activity re- LDH activity by multiplying by a factor of ported in nmoles min-1 mg-1 of protein. -0.1660 based on the extinction coefficient The absorption coefficient of p-nitrophe- of NADH (7). Dilutions and sample vol- nol is 13,200 M-1 cm-1. ume were then used to determine LDH activity per milliliter of sample. Protein RESULTS AND DISCUSSION activity of each tissue sample, which was previously calculated, was then used to find LDH Analysis in Muscle and Gill the LDH activity per milligram protein. When oxygen supply is low, many organ- For Na+/K+ ATPase analysis, homog- isms switch from aerobic metabolism to enized liver samples were thawed and cen- anaerobic metabolism in order to main- trifuged for five minutes at 13,000 rpm to tain their function. Because LDH is an settle fat from the samples. Five-fold di- enzyme used under anaerobic conditions, lutions of liver were made in 1.0 M Tris- we expected that the LDH activity in spot HCl buffer pH 7.5, and kept on ice. The would increase after being exposed to hy- assay consisted of two solutions, A and poxic conditions. Data were evaluated us- B. Solution A, which contained 50 mM ing ANOVA statistical analysis and graphs Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 5 mM MgCl2, 10 mM are shown below. The exposed fish can be p-nitrophenylphosphate (p-NPP), and 25 compared to the time-zero fish. It appears mM KCl was used to determine the total that LDH activity initially increases after ATPase. Solution B, which contained 50 24 hours and then decreases after 48 and mM Tris-HCl pH 7.5, 5 mM MgCl2, 10 72 hours (shown in panels A and C). We mM p-NPP, and 3 mM ouabain was used concluded that spot exposed to hypoxia to measure total ATPase minus Na+/K+ show an initial increase in the activity of ATPase. Twenty microliters of the diluted LDH (and possibly other enzymes) in mus- liver homogenate were pipetted into the cle tissue, but activity level does not remain appropriate wells in a Microlite® plate, fol- elevated after 48 hours. lowed by 120 microliters of solution A or Panels D through F show the average B. The reaction between each homogenate LDH activity occurring in the gill tissue of sample and each solution was carried out spot. The LDH activity in gill tissue is sig- in triplicate. After incubating at 25°C for nificantly lower than the activity in muscle ten minutes, the reactions were stopped by tissue (approximately 1/10 the activity). In the addition of 80 microliters of 1 M so- panels D and E, it appears that LDH activ- dium hydroxide (NaOH). The absorben- ity decreases over time, specifically after 24 cies of the samples were then taken using and 48 hours. One hypothesis is that there a SpectraMAX 250 microplate spectro- is a shut-down of specific metabolic activi- photometer running SOFT MAX Pro 2.1 ties in gill after hypoxia exposure. Alias software. Blank NaOH absorbance Due to a large amount of inter-indi- was subtracted from the total absorbance vidual variation among the spot, we were to give absorbance of p-nitrophenol.