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Hypoxia 2009 Speakers
Thorsten Burmester
Institute of Zoology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Email: thorsten.burmester@uni-hamburg.de
Talk Title: Neuroglobin and Cytoglobin
Session: New Thoughts about Globins
Abstract: Neuroglobin (Ngb) and cytoglobin (Cygb) are two novel members of the globin superfamily that are ubiquitously present in vertebrates. Their exact physiological roles are still uncertain, but there is evidence that both are involved in oxygen-dependent metabolism. Ngb expression is confined to neurons and some endocrine tissues. The highest Ngb expression was observed in the retina. At the subcellular level, Ngb is associated with mitochondria, although it does not reside within these organelles. Hypoxia or ischemic insults do not significantly increase Ngb levels in the normal mammalian brain. This might be explained by the fact that most mammals are not adapted to low oxygen levels. In zebrafish, however, which live in an environment with changing oxygen conditions, Ngb mRNA and protein levels are dramatically increased under hypoxia in brain but not in eye. Moreover, we found that hypoxia-tolerant mammalian (e.g. the mole rat Spalax) and fish (goldfish) species have more Ngb in their brains than their sensitive relatives. These data suggest that Ngb may have a myoglobin-like role and supplies oxygen to the respiratory chain of the metabolically highly active neurons. Cygb is predominantly expressed in fibroblasts and related cell types, but also in distinct nerve cell populations. Cygb levels are significantly elevated at low oxygen levels in the fibroblast cell lineage, but likely not in neurons. Cell culture data suggest that in fibroblasts Cygb is involved in cell proliferation, possibly in collagen synthesis or hydroxylation. While Cygb is a cytoplasmic protein in fibroblasts, additional Cygb protein is present in the nuclei of neurons, pointing to a distinct role of Cygb.

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