Severe acute dehydration in a desert rodent elicits a transcriptional response that effectively prevents kidney injury

Abstract

Animals living in desert environments are forced to survive despite severe heat, intense solar radiation, and both acute and chronic dehydration. These animals have evolved phenotypes that effectively address these environmental stressors. To begin to understand the ways in which the desert-adapted rodent survives, reproductively mature adults were subjected to 72 h of water deprivation, during which they lost, on average, 23% of their body weight. The animals reacted via a series of changes in the kidney, which included modulating expression of genes responsible for reducing the rate of transcription and maintaining water and salt balance. Extracellular matrix turnover appeared to be decreased, and apoptosis was limited. In contrast to the canonical human response, serum creatinine and other biomarkers of kidney injury were not elevated, suggesting that changes in gene expression related to acute dehydration may effectively prohibit widespread kidney damage in the cactus mouse.

Characterizing the reproductive transcriptomic correlates of acute dehydration in males in the desert-adapted rodent,Peromyscus eremicus

“…Our previous work with the male reproductive transcriptome of cactus mouse found evidence for positive selection in two additional solute carrier proteins: Slc15a3 and Slc47a1 [33]. A recent differential gene expression study in cactus mouse kidneys found that Slc2A1 and Slc8A1 also showed responses to acute dehydration [35]. Therefore, our current findings that two solute carrier proteins are lower expressed in the DRY treatment group is consistent with previous research in the kidney and male reproductive transcriptomes for this species.…”

“…Research in another desert-adapted rodent, Peromyscus eremicus (cactus mouse), has followed a somewhat different trajectory; however, it too has only pursued survival oriented physiological mechanisms (but see [33][34][35]). The ecology, physiology and behaviors of the cactus mouse in comparison with other Peromyscus species were summarized in 1968 [36], and the relationships between basal metabolic rate, body mass, and evaporative water loss were reviewed several decades later [37].…”

“…Known desert adaptations for cactus mouse include nocturnality and torpor (reviewed in [38,39]); however, the cactus mouse does not possess the same elaborate kidney structures responsible for renal adaptations in kangaroo rats [40,35]. The physiological renal adaptations in P. eremicus have not been described in detail, despite considerable explorations of other aspects of this species' biology (reviewed in [38,39]).…”

“…To this end, MacManes and Eisen [41] conducted a comparative analysis to find genes expressed in the kidney tissue of cactus mouse that were under positive selection relative to other mammals. MacManes [35] also recently conducted differential gene expression analyses on cactus mouse kidneys subjected to acute dehydration to explore transcriptomic renal responses. However, the transcriptomic resources available for this species extend considerably beyond renal tissue; transcripts from cactus mouse (as well as numerous other Peromyscus species) have been heavily utilized to pursue questions related to multiple aspects of evolutionary biology (reviewed in [5,7]).…”

“…However, the transcriptomic resources available for this species extend considerably beyond renal tissue; transcripts from cactus mouse (as well as numerous other Peromyscus species) have been heavily utilized to pursue questions related to multiple aspects of evolutionary biology (reviewed in [5,7]). Current investigations into cactus mouse desert-adaptive renal physiology include transcriptomic analyses [35]; however, we extended this genetic approach by shifting the focus from adaptions for survival to include physiological adaptations for reproductive success [33]. The cactus mouse is an ideal system for investigating dehydration effects on reproduction, as well as potential reproductive adaptations for drought, given decades of study of reproductive biology, as well as the more recent development of transcriptomic resources that include male reproductive tissues.…”