Hypoxia exposure blunts angiogenic signaling and upregulates the antioxidant system in endothelial cells derived from elephant seals

Elephant seals exhibit extreme hypoxemic tolerance derived from repetitive hypoxia/reoxygenation episodes they experience during diving bouts. Real-time assessment of the molecular changes underlying protection against hypoxic injury in seals remains restricted by their at-sea inaccessibility. Hence, we developed a proliferative arterial endothelial cell culture model from elephant seals and used RNA-seq, functional assays, and confocal microscopy to assess the molecular response to prolonged hypoxia. Seal and human endothelial cells exposed to 1