Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α as a biomarker for individuals under hypoxia duration and pattern in fat greenling Hexagrammos otakii

Background: One common environmental stressor in fisheries is hypoxia stress, which frequently causes significant fish mortality and financial losses. This study aimed to examine the potential utility of serum concentrations of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) as a biomarker in fat greenlings, Hexagrammos otakii, under hypoxic stress. Methods: The phylogenetic analysis of HIF-1α was carried out. Then, fat greenlings (Hexagrammous otakii) were subjected to hypoxia (DO: 2.2 ± 0.2 mg/L) for 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h. Upon admission under hypoxia stress, serum HIF-1α concentrations were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The outcomes of the laboratory tests were collected. Then, correlation analysis and regression equation fitting were performed. Results: In this study, HoHIF-1α was determined by bioinformatics analysis. The relative expression of hemoglobinβ2 (HBβ2), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), endoplasmic reticulum oxidase-1α (ERO-1α), and HIF-1α and the level of HB, LA, ERO-1α and HIF-1α were increased significantly. The hypoxia stress group had considerably greater serum HIF-1α concentrations in comparison to the control group. Furthermore, compared to lactate concentrations, HIF-1α concentrations were linked to a superior predictive capacity for hypoxia stress diagnosis. Then, the correlation analysis result showed that HIF-1α was positively correlated with hemoglobin (HB), ERO-1α, and lactic acid (LA). Meanwhile, HIF-1α has a good linear relationship with HB, ERO-1α, and LA respectively. The HIF-1α concentrations increase of more than 30.27 pg/mL indicates severe hypoxia stress in the H. otakii. Conclusions: HIF-1α was positively correlated with HB, ERO-1α, and LA in H. otakii under hypoxia stress. Serum HIF-1α concentrations are a valuable indicator for hypoxia stress diagnosis and H. otakii recovery status prediction.