Animal evolutionary adaptation and the Endangered Species Conservation Discipline Group published a paper in Cell Reports to reveal a new mechanism for the adaptation of plateau pika to the low-oxygen environment of the Tibetan Plateau

The structure and composition of mammalian pulmonary surfactant (PS) play an important role in maintaining lung gas exchange and body immunity, and abnormal composition and structural changes of pulmonary surfactant are closely related
to respiratory diseases such as plateau pulmonary edema, various respiratory syndromes and asthma 。 Ochotona curzoniae is a small mammal endemic to the Tibetan Plateau, a key species for maintaining the stability of the plateau ecosystem, widely distributed in alpine meadows and grasslands at altitudes of 3200-5200m, and the average oxygen content in its habitat atmosphere is about 172.
6 g/^m3, which has a strong adaptability
to severe hypoxic environment.

Recently, the Zhang Tongzuo Research Group of the Northwest Plateau Biology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Wei Dengbang Research Group of Qinghai University and the Shi Peng Research Group of the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published a title in Cell Reports (IF=9.
99).
A homotetrameric hemoglobin expressed in alveolar epithelial cell increases blood oxygenation in high-altitude plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) Research paper, which found a high content of homotetramer hemoglobin in the pulmonary surfactant of the plateau pika, identified the coding gene of the protein, the expression characteristics and levels in lung tissue, the cells synthesized and secreted by the protein and its relative content in pulmonary surfactant, and the function
played in lung tissue 。 The results showed that homotetramer hemoglobin in the lung tissue of highland pika was synthesized by HBD (δ) and was specifically expressed in the lung tissue of highland pika rabbit, and hypoxia significantly upregulated the expression of HBD.
Specifically expressed in alveolar epithelial type I and II cells of the plateau pika and secreted into the alveolar cavity through lamellar bodies, becoming the main component of pulmonary surfactant protein; Inhibition of the expression of HBD in lung tissue led to the hyperplasia of red blood cells in highland pika rabbits, the increase of hemoglobin and blood viscosity, and the concentration of lactate in the blood was significantly increased, which played an important role
in the oxygen acquisition of oxygen from the low-oxygen environment of highland pika rabbits.
The results of the study make an important supplement to the theory of the composition and function of pulmonary surfactant protein components; Fixed the ancient concept that "hemoglobin is only expressed in red blood cells"; It strongly supports the theory of "non-red fine expression and non-synergistic expression of
hemoglobin".

Dr.
An Zhifang and Dr.
Wei Linna of Qinghai University and Dr.
Bo Xu of the Institute of Northwest Plateau Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are the co-first authors of this paper, and Professor Wei Dengbang of Qinghai University, Tongzuo Zhang, researcher of the Institute of Northwest Plateau Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and researcher Shi Peng of the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences are co-corresponding authors
。 The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.
31860606), the Second Comprehensive Scientific Expedition and Research Program of the Tibetan Plateau (No.
2019QZKK0501), the Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Province (No.
2020-ZJ-959Q) and Sanjiangyuan National Park Joint Research Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.
1000).
LHZX-2020-01) and other projects
.

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