ARS | Publication request: Bioenergetic phenotypes and metabolic stress responses in cells derived from ecologically and commercially important fish species

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 28, 2011
Publication Date: February 29, 2012
Citation: Beck, B.H., Fuller, S.A. 2012. Bioenergetic phenotypes and metabolic stress responses in cells derived from ecologically and commercially important fish species [abstract]. Book of Abstracts Aquaculture America 2012: Bringing all the Players to the Table. p.43.

Technical Abstract: Various stressors negatively affect wild and cultured fish and can result in metabolic disturbances that first manifest at the level of the cell. In the present study, we sought to further our understanding of cellular metabolism in fish by examining the stress responses of cells derived from three fish species: channel catfish (CCO), white bass (WBE), and fathead minnow (EPC). We used an instrument that detects minute changes in oxygen (O2) levels and pH within the media directly surrounding cells utilizing extracellular flux (EF) technology. By measuring the O2 consumption rate (OCR), an indicator of mitochondrial respiration, cells exhibited different aerobic phenotypes. Simultaneously, we measured the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR), an indicator of glycolysis, and found that amongst all cell lines the ECAR was generally low (<1 mpH/min/'g protein). Next, we performed a mitochondrial function protocol whereby compounds modulating different components of mitochondrial respiration were sequentially exposed to cells. This provided us with basal and maximal OCR, OCR dedicated to ATP production, OCR from ion movement across the mitochondrial inner membrane, the reserve respiratory capacity, and OCR independent of the electron transport chain. From these parameters we generated metabolic signatures for each cell type. After a heat shock, EPC and CCO cells significantly decreased OCR and all three cell lines modestly increased ECAR. After heat shock, the reserve capacity was relatively unaffected in EPC and CCO cells, but markedly decreased in WBE cells. These findings are the first description of EF technology employed on fish cell lines and provide key proof-of-concept data demonstrating the utility of fish cells as tools for modeling bioenergetics. We hope to extend these findings to develop assays predictive of how fish may cope with cellular insults encountered in production settings.