A portable in vivo metabolic and blood analysis system for field and laboratory work

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Reduced oxygen availability (i.e., hypoxia) poses a difficult challenge to most vertebrates and is a central component of many clinically-relevant diseases and pathologies (e.g., heart attack, stroke, chronic pulmonary disorders, etc.). There are numerous hypoxic environments on earth and animals that live in these niches have evolved unique adaptations to meet the challenges of life in hypoxia. Unfortunately, our understanding of the systemic control and evolutionary origins of these adaptations in hypoxia-tolerant mammals is poor. Investigating physiological adaptations to hypoxia and their underlying control in a wide range of phylogenetically distinct mammals is critical to understanding the evolutionary origins of hypoxia-tolerance. To address this knowledge gap, the Pamenter laboratory studies naturally-evolved mechanisms of hypoxia-tolerance in mammals, with an emphasis on the brainstem control centers that regulate ventilation and metabolism in hypoxia. Critically, many of the most hypoxia-tolerant species are not commercially available and must be studied in the field, often in very remote locations. Conducting field work under these conditions requires specialized equipment.******The equipment requested in this RTI application comprises 1) a highly portable, durable, and self-contained (including power supply and data storage) gas detection system for the measurement of whole animal respiratory gases as an indirect but accurate measure of metabolic rate, and 2) an equally portable blood analyzer capable of measuring blood-gas properties, acid-base status, and other metabolites. With this system, HQP from the Pamenter laboratory will be able to test novel hypotheses regarding adaptations to hypoxia by studying rare and difficult to reach species that likely have unique adaptations to life in hypoxia but which have never been previously studied, such as those native to the Tibetan plateau and the plains of South Africa. ******The requested system represents the state of the art in portable metabolic investigations suitable for in vivo use in awake and freely behaving animals, and also offers considerable cost-savings relative to modular benchtop systems. More importantly, this system is durable and portable and is therefore suitable for use in both demanding field settings as well as in a classic university laboratory setting. The system will be maintained and supported by the operating grants of Dr. Pamenter and will be used immediately, and on a daily basis, by HQP from his group and other research groups at the University of Ottawa. It will also be critical to the development and expansion of several ongoing international collaborations. HQP-driven research supported by this equipment is expected to advance our knowledge of the mechanisms and evolutionary origins of mammalian adaptation to hypoxia, and also to inform clinical strategies for the treatment of hypoxia-related illnesses and pathologies.**