Protection of C. elegans from anoxia by HYL-2 ceramide synthase.

Abstract

Oxygen deprivation is rapidly deleterious for most organisms. However, Caenorhabditis elegans has developed the ability to survive anoxia for at least 48 hours. Mutations in the DAF-2/DAF-16 insulin-like signaling pathway promote such survival. We describe a pathway involving the HYL-2 ceramide synthase that acts independently of DAF-2. Loss of the ceramide synthase gene hyl-2 results in increased sensitivity of C. elegans to anoxia. C. elegans has two ceramide synthases, hyl-1 and hyl-2, that participate in ceramide biogenesis and affect its ability to survive anoxic conditions. In contrast to hyl-2(lf) mutants, hyl-1(lf) mutants are more resistant to anoxia than normal animals. HYL-1 and HYL-2 have complementary specificities for fatty acyl chains. These data indicate that specific ceramides produced by HYL-2 confer resistance to anoxia.

• Authors: Vincent Menuz, Kate S Howell, Sébastien Gentina, Sharon Epstein, Isabelle Riezman, Monique Fornallaz-Mulhauser, Michael O Hengartner, Marie Gomez, Howard Riezman, Jean-Claude Martinou
• Journal: Science (New York, N.Y.) (Science) Vol. 324 Issue 5925 Pg. 381-4 (Apr 17 2009) ISSN: 1095-9203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 19372430 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
• Ceramides
• Sphingomyelins
• Oxidoreductases
• HYL-2 ceramide synthase, C elegans
• dihydroceramide desaturase
• DAF-2 protein, C elegans
• Receptor, Insulin
• Oxygen

Topics

• Animals
• Apoptosis
• Caenorhabditis elegans (cytology, genetics, physiology)
• Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Cell Hypoxia
• Ceramides (biosynthesis, physiology)
• Gene Deletion
• Genes, Helminth
• Mutation
• Oxidoreductases (genetics, metabolism)
• Oxygen (physiology)
• Receptor, Insulin (genetics, metabolism)
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae (genetics, growth & development, physiology)
• Sphingomyelins (biosynthesis, physiology)
• Substrate Specificity
• Transformation, Genetic
• Transgenes