RUI: Molecular and Biochemical Physiology of H+ Excretion in the Gills of Marine Fish

[808141]克莱本鱼的鳃是一个多用途的器官。与陆地动物的肺类似，鳃允许鱼类呼吸氧气并排出二氧化碳。此外，鳃执行肾脏的功能，因为它们可以消除动物体内有毒的代谢酸。克莱本博士假设，咸水鱼可能使用鳃内的钠氢交换蛋白（NHE）家族来排泄酸。这些蛋白质最初是在哺乳动物中发现的，但我们的初步数据表明，它们也存在于鱼类等更原始的动物中。该项目将研究两种不同海洋物种——石斑鱼和鳉鱼——鳃中NHEs的基因调控和蛋白质表达。这将为鳃酸碱和离子调节的生理学提供新的见解，并为脊椎动物之间的进化关系提供新的线索。此外，由于已知鳃内的细胞机制与目前正在哺乳动物肾脏中研究的细胞机制相似，因此也可能实现对肾脏和其他器官生理学的新理解。

9808141 Claiborne The fish gill is a multi-purpose organ. Analogous to the lungs in land-dwelling animals, the gills allow the fish to breathe oxygen and excrete carbon-dioxide. Further, the gills perform functions of the kidneys as they eliminate toxic metabolic acid from the animal. Dr. Claiborne has hypothesized that saltwater fish may excrete acid using a family of sodium hydrogen exchanger proteins (NHE) within the gills. These proteins were first discovered in mammals but our preliminary data indicate that they are also present in more primitive animals like fish. The PI will investigate the genetic regulation and protein expression of the NHEs in the gills of two different marine species - the sculpin and the killifish. This should provide new insight into the physiology of gill acid-base and ion regulation and shed new light on evolutionary relationships between the vertebrates. Further, since it is known that the cellular mechanisms within the gills are similar to those currently being studied in the mammalian kidney, a new understanding of the physiology of the kidney and other organs may also be achieved.