Thermal stress and cellular signaling processes in hemocytes of native (Mytilus californianus) and invasive (M. galloprovincialis) mussels: cell cycle regulation and DNA repair.

In a previous study using hemocytes from native and invasive congeners of Mytilus (Mytilus californianus and Mytilus galloprovincialis, respectively) we showed that DNA damage and cell signaling transduction processes related to the cellular stress response and apoptosis were induced by acute temperature stress. The present study extends this work by examining effects of acute heat- and cold stress on total hemocyte counts (THCs) and expression of key regulatory molecules involved in responding to stress: tumor suppressor factor (p53), cell cycle arrest activator (p21), and a DNA base excision repair enzyme (apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease (APE)). Hyperthermia (28 °C, 32 °C) led to significant decreases of THCs in both species. The extent of decrease in THC was temperature-, time-, and species-dependent; lower THC values were found in M. californianus, the more cold-adapted species. Western blot analyses of hemocyte extracts with antibodies specific for p53 protein, several site-specific phosphorylation states of p53, p21 protein, and APE indicated that heat- and cold (2 °C) stress induced a time-dependent activation of stress-related proteins in response to DNA damage; these stress-induced changes could govern cell cycle arrest or DNA damage repair. Our results show that the downstream regulatory response to temperature-induced cell damage may play an important role in deciding cellular fate following heat- and cold stress. Compared to M. californianus, the more warm-adapted M. galloprovincialis appears to have a higher temperature tolerance due to a lesser reduction in THC, faster signaling activation and transduction, and stronger DNA repair ability following heat stress.