The genetic adaptation of Plateau residents to hypoxia of low-pressure has been the hot spot for study. In terms of physiology, the adaptation involves the regulation responses of blood vessels, the changes in blood cells, antioxidant capacity and energy metabolism, as well as the hypoxia-induced changes in nuclear transcription. Physiological adaptation is heritable, so people who have already adapted themselves to high altitude are bound to be different, in regard to gene level, from the crowd who have not yet adapted themselves to high altitude environment. For this reason, researchers have studied a great deal of gene related-enzymes, the receptors, polypeptide, as well as transcription factors in body, and they found a number of the DNA polymorphism sites in the people who have adapted themsevles to high altitude being different from those in the people who do not get acclimatized. In this paper is reviewed the newest advance in research of these gene polymorphisms. The data could serve as references for further study of hypoxia genetic adaptation to high altitude.
Acclimatization ; genetics ; Adaptation, Physiological ; genetics ; Altitude ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; genetics

We designed two types of pre-adaption plans for this study. One was a pre-adaption training with progressive intermittent hypoxia, with a constant lower pressure oxygen tank used in the plain before arriving at the plateau (PG). The other was by progressively increasing the time of exposure to hypoxia with oxygen supplied in stages after radical plateau (RG). By testing the blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate (HR), and quality of sleep after arriving at the 3800 m high plateau, results showed that the pre-acclimatization and radical groups performed better than the control group (CG). Both strategies were equivalent in terms of effects and principles in providing more flexible choices for acclimatization.
Acclimatization ; Adaptation, Physiological ; Environment ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypoxia ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Oxygen ; metabolism

In order to obtain salt-tolerant calli of Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber), calli were induced from leaf explants of Dandelion on Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 6-benzyladenine and 0.5 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophen oxyacetic acid With 1.5% NaCl as selection pressure, most calli became brown and dead, whereas some new cell clusters appeared at the edge of the brown calli after 2 to 3 weeks. The survived cells were picked out and sub-cultured every 3 weeks onto the fresh selection medium and salt-tolerant calli were finally obtained through 4 continuous selections on the selection medium supplemented with 1.5% NaCl. Salt-tolerant calli increased steadily under a fixed NaCl stress though their relative growth rate decreased with increased NaCl concentration whereas the control calli which were sub-cultured by 4 continus selections on salt free medium ceased to grow under the same condition. This result indicated that the salt-tolerance of the selected calli is improved and this character is stable. Compared with the control, the SDS-PAGE pattern of the salt-tolerant calli had a unique 34 kD protein band. Its 30 kD and 18 kD protein bands were up-regulated. Further more, within the NaCl stress range up to 1.5%, the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as super oxidase dimutase, peroxidase and catalase, and the proline contents of the salt-tolerant calli were higher than those of the control. The results indicated that the selected calli with improved and stable salt tolerance were cell variants. The accumulation of the organic compatible solutes including proteins and the enhanced antioxidant capabilities in the salt tolerant calli are the two ways for them to regulate their osmotic homeostasis and alleviate the secondary reactive oxygen spexies damage respectively.
Adaptation, Physiological ; Cell Culture Techniques ; methods ; Drug Tolerance ; physiology ; Salt-Tolerant Plants ; genetics ; growth & development ; physiology ; Sodium Chloride ; pharmacology ; Stress, Physiological ; Taraxacum ; genetics ; growth & development ; physiology

Adaptation, Physiological ; genetics ; Animals ; Body Temperature ; physiology ; Caenorhabditis elegans ; genetics ; metabolism ; physiology ; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are well associated with the desiccation tolerance in organisms. LEA proteins are categorized into at least seven groups by virtue of similarities in their deduced amino acid sequences. Most of the LEA proteins have the characteristics of high hydrophilicity and thermo-stability. The LEA proteins are in unstructured conformation in aqueous solution. However, they adopted amphiphilic alpha-helix structure during desiccation condition. LEA proteins are localized to the different organelles in the cells, i.e. cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and nucleus. The multi-functional capacity of LEA proteins are suggested, as protein stabilization, protection of enzyme activity, membrane association and stabilization, antioxidant function, metal-ion binding or DNA protection, etc. Here, we review the structural and functional characteristics of LEA proteins to provide a reference platform to understand their protective mechanisms during the adaptive response to desiccation in organisms.
Adaptation, Physiological ; Dehydration ; Desiccation ; Droughts ; Plant Physiological Phenomena ; Plant Proteins ; physiology ; Stress, Physiological

Adaptation, Physiological ; physiology ; Humans ; Hypothermia ; Physical Examination ; Transition Temperature ; Water

AIMThe purpose of this experiment was to investigate the cardiac physiological characteristics for adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia in chickens.

METHODSTibetan, Dwarf Recessive White and Shouguang chickens were fed at low-and high-altitude, and measurements were made in heart weights, lactic acid (LA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) at the age of 10 weeks.

RESULTSThe results showed that Tibetan chickens at high-altitude had lower heart weight and LA content, and similar LDH activity, and higher SDH activity when compared to Dwarf Recessive White and Shouguang chickens.

CONCLUSIONIt was concluded that the cardiac mechanisms of high-altitude hypoxic adaptation in Tibetan chickens were increasing neither heart weight, nor level of anaerobic metabolism, but the higher SDH activity was significant to the adaptation. The SDH was a symbol enzyme for hypoxic adaptation in Tibetan chicken.

Adaptation, Physiological ; Altitude ; Animals ; Chickens ; physiology ; Heart ; physiology ; Hypoxia ; veterinary

In industrial fermentation processes, bacteria have to adapt environmental stresses. Sometimes, such a self-adaption does not work and will cause fermentation failures, although such adaptation also can generate unexpected positive effects with improved fermentation performance. Our review introduces cell self-adaption to environmental variations or stress, process optimization based on such self-adaptions, with heterologous proteins production by Pichia pastoris and butanol fermentation as examples. Our review can sever as reference for fermentation optimization based on cell self-adaption.
Adaptation, Physiological ; Butanols ; metabolism ; Environment ; Fermentation ; Pichia ; cytology ; metabolism

PURPOSE: This study sought to develop the Breastfeeding Adaptation Scale-Short Form(BFAS-SF) for use at 4 weeks postpartum, to test its validity and reliability, and to examine its measurement invariance. The latent mean score of the BFAS-SF across multiple groups was also compared. METHODS: This methodological research study was conducted to develop a short form of the BFAS and to test its psychometric properties and measurement invariance. Data were collected twice for measurement invariance testing. The sample included 431 and 272 breastfeeding mothers at 2 weeks and 4 weeks postpartum, respectively. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis supported six dimensions of the BFAS-SF at 4 weeks postpartum. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis revealed evidence for invariance of the BFAS-SF according to employment status, parity, delivery mode, and the postpartum period. There were statistically significant latent mean differences. Mothers who were unemployed and who had a vaginal delivery showed significantly higher scores for breastfeeding confidence, sufficient breast milk, and baby's satisfaction with breastfeeding. CONCLUSION: The BFAS-SF is valid, reliable, and an appropriate instrument for assessing mothers' breastfeeding adaptation. It can be used to compare mean scores according to employment status and delivery mode.
Adaptation, Physiological ; Adaptation, Psychological ; Breast Feeding ; Breast ; Employment ; Female ; Humans ; Milk, Human ; Mothers ; Parity ; Postpartum Period ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results

AIMTo verify the hypothesis that repeated body position change training can improve human head-down tilt (HDT) tolerance.

METHODSSix young healthy subjects were trained with repeated position change for 9 times and 11 days according to protocol of alternative head-down and head-up tilts, each time of training lasted for about 35 min. Their HDT tolerance (- 30 degrees/30 min) were determined before and after training.

RESULTS(1) Compared with the data before training, subjects' symptom scores during HDT test after training decreased significantly (6.00 +/- 3.79 vs 1.00 +/- 0.63, P < 0.05), magnitude of the decreased heart rate increased significantly (-0.6 +/- 2.5 vs -4.4 +/- 3.6, P < 0.01). (2) Before training, blood flow volume of internal jugular vein (IJV) during HDT decreased significantly and that of internal carotid artery (ICA) increased significantly at the beginning period of HDT compared with pre-HDT (P < 0.01), while blood flow volume of the common carotid artery (CCA) presented increasing trend. After training, there was no significant difference in blood flow volume of IJV between during HDT and pre-HDT, that of ICA and CCA presented decreasing trend in the final period of HDT compared with Pre-HDT.

CONCLUSIONRepeated body position change training can improve human head-down tilt tolerance. And its main causation is that headward shift of blood volume is restrained to some extend during HDT after training.

Adaptation, Physiological ; physiology ; Adolescent ; Astronauts ; Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena ; Head-Down Tilt ; Humans ; Male ; Posture ; physiology ; Weightlessness Simulation ; Young Adult