Tracking the ancestral functions of erythropoietin: neuroprotection & mitochondria

It has long been thought that erythropoietin (Epo) is exclusively involved in erythropoiesis; now, it is known that EPO in mammal's brain plays key roles in the development, maintenance, protection, and repair of the nervous system. Also, EPO in mammals contributes to the efficient use of oxygen through the regulation of mitochondrial bioenergetic. Remarkably, a similar neuroprotective impact of recombinant human EPO (rhEPO) has been found in the brain of grasshoppers, raising questions about the evolutive origin of the EPO and its generic molecular function. The objective of this study is to show that the neuroprotective effect of rhEPO in insects involves the regulation of mitochondrial functions. The experiments were performed in crickets (Acheta domesticus). These insects were exposed under normoxia and hypoxia (5 days; 6% O2) conditions. Before experimentation, the animals were treated with EPO (30 IU/ml - intra-lymphatic injection) or PBS, as a control. The brains of the crickets were removed, and then we determined the mitochondrial respiration and production of mitochondrial ROS using our system oxygraphy - 2K (ORORBOROS). Our results show that compares to normoxia; hypoxia significantly reduces mitochondrial respiration of complexes 1 and 1&2. On the other hand, the treatment of EPO in hypoxia, despite significantly increasing these parameters, does not recover the levels of mitochondrial respiration under normoxic conditions. In addition, the activity of complex IV (an indicator of the number of mitochondria) does not vary significantly between any of the treatments. Furthermore, we observed that while hypoxia did not significantly affect H2 O2 production, the treatment with EPO increased ROS production under normoxic but not hypoxic conditions. Our data suggest that rhEPO regulates in some way the mitochondrial respiration and ROS production in the brain of crickets. Considering that insects appeared during a geological period (Cambrian explosion) in which the atmospheric O2 was increasing, which could cause great oxidative stress due to the change in the metabolism of these animals, this molecule would have appeared as a regulator of mitochondrial functions. © FASEB.