Antistarvation Strategies of E. Sinensis: Regulatory Networks under Hepatopancreas Consumption

Crustaceans have a more persistent starvation tolerance than mammals, birds, reptiles, and even fish. This study is aimed at assessing the survival strategy and regulatory mechanism of crustaceans in response to starvation through an animal model using Eriocheir sinensis. In the 42-day starvation experiment, the hepatopancreas was found to become the target organ, which was characterized by atrophy of the thin wall in the hepatic tubules and expansion of the lumen. During short-term starvation, E. sinensis activates lipid and glycogen metabolism in the hepatopancreas with lipid metabolism dominating. In lipid metabolism, there was a significant decline in triglyceride, whereas cholesterol did not change significantly. Meanwhile, the fatty acid metabolism pathway was inhibited, but autophagy increased in the hepatopancreas, which may be the selective pathway for the decomposition of intracellular substances. However, under long-term starvation, the stored energy in the hepatopancreas was depleted, and E. sinensis selects to consume hepatopancreatic cells and maintain energy metabolism through apoptosis, which was triggered by both the death receptor pathway and the mitochondrial pathway. In addition, cell proliferation was blocked to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.