Hypoxia signaling and resistance in C. elegans

Abstract

In normal development and homeostasis and in many disease states, cells and tissues must overcome the challenge of oxygen deprivation (hypoxia). The nematode C. elegans is emerging as an increasingly powerful system in which to understand how animals adapt to moderate hypoxia and survive extreme hypoxic insults. This review provides an overview of C. elegans responses to hypoxia, ranging from adaptation and arrest to death, and highlights some of the recent studies that have provided important insights into hypoxia signaling and resistance. Many of the key genes and pathways are evolutionarily conserved, and C. elegans hypoxia research promises to inform our understanding of oxygen-sensitive signaling and survival in mammalian development and disease.