Genome assembly and gene expression in the American black bear provides new insights into the renal response to hibernation.
The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is rising worldwide and 10-15% of the global population currently suffers from CKD and its complications. Given the increasing prevalence of CKD there is an urgent need to find novel treatment options. The American black bear (Ursus americanus) copes with months of lowered kidney function and metabolism during hibernation without the devastating effects on metabolism and other consequences observed in humans. In a biomimetic approach to better understand kidney adaptations and physiology in hibernating black bears, we established a high-quality genome assembly. Subsequent RNA-Seq analysis of kidneys comparing gene expression profiles in black bears entering (late fall) and emerging (early spring) from hibernation identified 169 protein-coding genes that were differentially expressed. Of these, 101 genes were downregulated and 68 genes were upregulated after hibernation. Fold changes ranged from 1.8-fold downregulation (RTN4RL2) to 2.4-fold upregulation (CISH). Most notable was the upregulation of cytokine suppression genes (SOCS2, CISH, and SERPINC1) and the lack of increased expression of cytokines and genes involved in inflammation. The identification of these differences in gene expression in the black bear kidney may provide new insights in the prevention and treatment of CKD.
['Srivastava|Anuj|A|', 'Kumar Sarsani|Vishal|V|', 'Fiddes|Ian|I|', 'Sheehan|Susan M|SM|', 'Seger|Rita L|RL|', 'Barter|Mary E|ME|', 'Neptune-Bear|Selena|S|', 'Lindqvist|Charlotte|C|', 'Korstanje|Ron|R|']
D000818:Animals D005260:Female D020869:Gene Expression Profiling D005786:Gene Expression Regulation D016678:Genome D006605:Hibernation D008297:Male D000070817:Nogo Receptor 2 D012621:Seasons D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA D050826:Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling Proteins D001503:Ursidae
genome assembly black bear hibernation kidney RNA-Seq