Evidence of anoxia-induced channel arrest in the brain of the goldfish (Carassius auratus)

The common goldfish (Carassius auratus) is extremely anoxia tolerant and here we provide evidence that “channel arrest” in the brain of these fish contributes to ATP conservation during periods of anoxia. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of slices taken from the telencephalon indicated that the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, an ionotropic glutamate receptor and Ca2+-channel, underwent a 40–50% reduction in activity during 40 min of acute anoxia. This is the first direct evidence of channel arrest in an anoxia-tolerant fish. Because goldfish produce ethanol as a byproduct of anaerobic metabolism we then conducted experiments to determine if the observed reduction in NMDA receptor current amplitude was due to inhibition by ethanol. NMDA receptor currents were not inhibited by ethanol (10 mmol L− 1), suggesting that channel arrest of the receptor involved other mechanisms. Longer-term (48 h) in vivo exposure of goldfish to anoxic conditions (less than 1% dissolved O2) provided indirect evidence that a reduction in Na+/K+-ATPase activity also contributed to ATP conservation in the brain but not the gills. Anoxia under these conditions was characterized by a decrease in brain Na+/K+-ATPase activity of 30–40% by 24 h. Despite 90% reductions in the rates of ventilation, no change was observed in gill Na+/K+-ATPase activity during the 48-h anoxia exposure, suggesting that branchial ion permeability was unaffected. We conclude that rapid “channel arrest” of NMDA receptors likely prevents excitotoxicity in the brain of the goldfish, and that a more slowly developing decrease in Na+/K+-ATPase activity also contributes to the profound metabolic depression seen in these animals during oxygen starvation.