PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C B Schreck

Publications and source records attributed to C B Schreck.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Cortisol effects on plasma electrolytes and thyroid hormones during smoltification in coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch.

Plasma concentrations of Na+, K+, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) and muscle water content were measured in yearling coho salmon. Oncorhynchus kisutch, after injection of cortisol in April, May, and June in fresh water (FW) and during acclimation to seawater (SW). Cortisol (17-21 micrograms/g), injected intraperitoneally in a melted cocoa butter suspension, suppressed the rise of plasma Na+ during SW acclimation in April but not in May or June. Muscle water content increased during SW acclimation in cortisol-treated fish in April and June. These observations suggest a hypoosmoregulatory function for cortisol during SW acclimation. Cortisol treatment also induced elevations of plasma K+ in FW (April only) and SW (April and May only). Cortisol treatment increased plasma T3 during SW acclimation in June and T4 in FW in May. The results suggest that cortisol may modify osmoregulatory processes and thyroid hormone activity during smoltification and acclimation to SW in yearling coho salmon.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Sex steroid profiles of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) during early development and sexual differentiation.

Sex steroids were measured by radioimmunoassay in whole-body extracts of coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, during early development and sexual differentiation. Profiles were developed for fish from the time of fertilization until 87 days postfertilization (dpf) for six steroids: testosterone (T), 11-ketotestosterone (KT), androstenedione (A), progesterone (P4), 17 alpha-hydroxy-20 beta-dihydroprogesterone (DHP), and 17 beta-estradiol (E2). Ovarian fluid was also examined for steroid content. Steroid profiles of unfertilized eggs essentially paralleled those of ovarian fluid. In one experiment, steroids in developing embryos declined precipitously after fertilization until 30 dpf; at hatching, all steroids increased slightly and then declined during yolk sac absorption. Results from a second experiment basically supported those of the first except that only testosterone increased at the time of hatching. Bimodality was evident in the data on steroid levels for fish collected between 42 and 56 dpf and again after 87 dpf. The hormone levels generally decreased or remained constant after the onset of exogenous feeding. Histological analyses during the first experiment showed the presence of undifferentiated gonads between hatching and 70 dpf, but by 77 dpf ovarian development was evident. In the second experiment, in which fish were more frequently sampled for histological analysis, undifferentiated gonads were present from hatching to 59 dpf. Development of oogonia was observed between 66 and 73 dpf and by 75 dpf ovarian development could be easily discerned. The sex of fish sampled at 101 dpf was determined by examining gonadal morphology, and steroid levels of those fish were determined. A sexual dimorphism was apparent in levels of T, KT, and A, but not of DHP or E2. The dynamics of steroid content of developing coho salmon at hatch, coupled with their bimodal distributions during yolk sac absorption, may suggest a role of sex steroids in the process of sexual differentiation apparent later in development. Changes in whole-body steroid levels at hatch may also be indicative of the onset of sexual differentiation even though no signs of gondal differentiation were histologically discernible at that time.

Androstenedione↗

Glucocorticoid receptors in leukocytes and gill of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).

We demonstrated that cytosol from the gill of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) had saturable, high affinity, low capacity binding to radiolabeled [3H]cortisol (Kd = 2.24 +/- 0.28 nM, mean +/- 1 SE; Nmax = 41.4 +/- 7.4 fmol/mg protein) and radiolabeled [3H]triamcinolone acetonide (TA; Kd = 0.38 +/- 0.03 nM, Nmax = 37.8 +/- 4.9 fmol/mg protein). Similarly, TA bound to cytosolic fractions of leukocytes harvested from spleen (Kd = 0.32 +/- 0.03 nM, Nmax = 8.3 +/- 2.0 fmol/mg protein) and anterior kidney (Kd = 0.37 +/- 0.03 nM, Nmax = 30.2 +/- 5.2 fmol/mg protein) and to whole leukocytes from spleen (Kd = 0.30 +/- 0.04 nM, Nmax = 445 +/- 57 sites/cell) and anterior kidney (Kd = 0.40 +/- 0.04 nM, Nmax = 1198 +/- 180 sites/cell). The competition hierarchies of steroid competitors were the same for both ligands and all tissues (TA greater than cortisol greater than 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone greater than cortisone greater than aldosterone greater than testosterone). The differences in ligand binding in leukocytes from spleen and anterior kidney are consistent with previously reported organ-dependent sensitivity of leukocytes to cortisol.

Animals↗

Stress alters immune function and disease resistance in chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

We examined the effects of acute stress on the immune system and disease resistance of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in laboratory and clinical trials. Immune function, as measured by the ability of lymphocytes from the anterior kidney to generate specific antibody-producing cells (APC) in vitro, was depressed 4 h after stress, when plasma cortisol levels were highest. At the same time, resistance to the fish pathogen, Vibrio anguillarum, was also depressed. Compared with controls, plasma cortisol and APC of stressed fish were unchanged after 24 h, and disease resistance was enhanced as evidenced by higher survival rate and longer mean time to death of mortalities. After 7 days, even though numbers of APC were depressed, plasma cortisol concentration and disease resistance did not differ from controls. This pattern was generally the same, independent of the type of stress applied: i.e. being held out of water in a dipnet for 30 s, manipulation during hatchery operations for 4 h, or transportation for 9 h. These and earlier findings suggest that similar endocrine-immune interactions operate in the mammalian and salmonid systems during acute stress.

Acute Disease↗

Spontaneous and ACTH-induced interrenal steroidogenesis in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch): effects of monovalent ions and osmolality in vitro.

We determined the in vitro effects of changes in extracellular monovalent ion levels and osmotic pressure on the spontaneous and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-stimulated interrenal activity of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). We used a perifusion system of incubation and monitored interrenal activity by measuring the effluent cortisol content with a radioimmunoassay. An increase in the medium osmolality with mannitol, from 206 to 290 or 353 mosmol, caused an increase in the spontaneous release of cortisol only slightly (compared with the much greater increase induced by porcine-ACTH). A similar minor increase was observed when NaCl was elevated from 130 to 180 mM. On the other hand, the spontaneous release of cortisol was not affected by increasing the KCl level from 3.2 to 9.6 mM, but was clearly increased when KCl was raised from 3.2 mM to a supraphysiological level of 27.2 mM. Ionic or osmolality changes, within the physiological range observed in coho salmon plasma, did not affect the characteristics of interrenal secretion of cortisol in response to porcine-ACTH. If our results with interrenal cells in vitro are representative of the basic functioning of the cells in vivo, then one would have to conclude that changes in concentrations of plasma monovalent ions or in osmotic pressure may not play a significant physiological role in the regulation of interrenal steroidogenesis or corticosteroid release in coho salmon.

Adrenal Glands↗

Interrenal secretion of corticosteroids and plasma cortisol and cortisone concentrations after acute stress and during seawater acclimation in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).

We determined the major corticosteroids secreted by interrenal tissue and those present in plasma of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Incubation medium of interrenal tissue, unstimulated or stimulated with exogenous ACTH in vitro, and plasma of resting or acutely stressed salmon were extracted and qualitatively analyzed for steroid composition using high-performance liquid chromatography. Concentrations of plasma cortisone and cortisol following an acute handling stress or exposure to seawater were quantitatively measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Cortisol was the only corticosteroid detected by HPLC in media after incubation of interrenal tissue in the absence or presence of ACTH in vitro. However, both cortisone and cortisol were detected by HPLC in plasma sampled 1 hr after fish were acutely stressed by handling. Stress and seawater acclimation produced marked elevations in plasma levels of both steroids as determined by RIA and also resulted in long-lasting changes in the plasma cortisone:cortisol ratios. In resting fish, cortisone concentrations were similar or higher than cortisol levels. We concluded that cortisol is the primary steroid secreted by the interrenal tissue of coho salmon, and that plasma cortisone arises primarily from the peripheral conversion of cortisol to cortisone. The relatively high levels of cortisone in resting fish and its increase following stress and seawater acclimation suggest the possibility of a biologically significant role for this hormone.

Acclimatization↗

Cortisol mediated suppression of salmonid lymphocyte responses in vitro.

The suppressive activity of cortisol on the in vitro induction of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) B cell activation was examined. Suppression was observed with splenic and pronephric (anterior kidney) derived lymphocytes. The kinetics of cortisol-induced suppression revealed distinct differences in the sensitivity of splenic and pronephric lymphocytes. Pronephric lymphocytes were only sensitive to cortisol early in the induction of the antibody response, whereas the splenic cells were sensitive to cortisol throughout the culture period. Addition of supernatants from antigen stimulated pronephric cultures completely restored the ability of pronephric lymphocytes to produce an antibody response, suggesting that this glucocorticoid-suppression may be mediated by inhibition of lymphokine production.

Animals↗

Profiles of plasma sex steroids and gonadotropin in coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, during final maturation.

The plasma concentrations of estradiol-17 alpha (E2), 17 mu-hydroxy-20 beta-dihydroprogesterone (DHP), progesterone, 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), testosterone (T), and gonadotropin (GtH) were measured in adult coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) concomitantly with advancing maturation of the gonads during the spawning season. Concentrations of E2 were higher in females with eggs showing central (premigrating) germinal vesicles, migrating germinal vesicles, or peripheral germinal vesicles than in fish in which the eggs had undergone germinal vesicle breakdown or ovulation. Conversely, plasma levels of DHP were low at central, migrating, and peripheral germinal vesicle stages and then increased dramatically at germinal vesicle breakdown and ovulation. Levels of 11-KT, T, and GtH generally increased with advancing maturity of the eggs. When time rather than degree of maturation was used as a variable, plasma E2 was high in females first returning from the ocean but then dropped off precipitously in fish sampled at the end of the run. Plasma DHP followed the opposite pattern, being low in fish sampled early in the run and high in fish sampled late in the run. No easily discernible patterns emerged from the profiles of the other steroids and GtH, although some significant variation in the concentrations occurred. Even though sampling was initiated at the time when the salmon first returned from the ocean, most of the hormones were not variable in males when viewed according to sampling date or predominant cell type in the testes, which indicates that the males were extremely close to final maturity during the sampling period. Plasma levels of DHP were higher in males that were producing milt than in any other group of males. Concentrations of 11-KT were higher than those of T in all males, but no patterns in the levels of either steroid emerged.

Animals↗

Adenylate cyclase activators and inhibitors, cyclic nucleotide analogs, and phosphatidylinositol: effects on interrenal function of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in vitro.

The role of cyclic AMP (cAMP) as mediator of ACTH action on interrenal steroidogenesis was evaluated in juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). Head kidneys (containing the interrenal cells) were incubated in the absence or presence of putative adenylate cyclase activators (forskolin and cholera toxin), ACTH combined with putative adenylate cyclase inhibitors (hydrolysis-resistant ATP analogs), dibutyryl cyclic (dbc) AMP, dbcGMP, or phosphatidylinositol. The cortisol content of the incubation medium was subsequently determined by radioimmunoassay. Forskolin markedly stimulated cortisol secretion by interrenal cells. Adenylate cyclase inhibitors depressed the steroidogenic response to ACTH. Dibutyryl cAMP, but not dbcGMP, enhanced steroid secretion. Thus, cAMP seems to be an important "second messenger" for ACTH action on salmon interrenal cells. In contrast to findings in mammalian adrenocortical cells, exogenous phosphatidylinositol and cholera toxin failed to stimulate corticosteroid secretion in salmon interrenal cells. However, it was unclear whether these negative findings were an artifact resulting from the use of kidney tissue fragments instead of isolated interrenal cells.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Sexual dimorphism of plasma sex steroid levels in juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, during smoltification.

Concentrations of plasma sex steroids, cortisol, and thyroxine were measured by radioimmunoassay in hatchery coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch during winter and early spring. Mean plasma 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) and estradiol levels fell into two distinct categories: 11-KT was 181-373% higher in males than in females, and estradiol was 109-143% higher in females than in males. No changes in plasma levels of estradiol in fish of both sexes, or in levels of 11-KT in males, were evident during spring when plasma thyroxine and cortisol were markedly elevated, indicating that the fish were undergoing smoltification. Although plasma 11-KT in females appeared to be lower in late April than in February, it showed no correlation with plasma thyroxine or cortisol in these individuals. Our finding of sexual dimorphism in 17 alpha-20 beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one was inconsistent between stocks of fish and among sampling dates, thus making interpretation of the results difficult. However, no relationship between this steroid and plasma thyroxine or cortisol was observed. Therefore, plasma levels of sex steroids do not seem to be related to the changes in plasma thyroxine or cortisol observed during smoltification of coho salmon.

Animals↗

Changes in plasma cortisol during stress and smoltification in coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch.

The cortisol stress response in juvenile coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, considered as the difference between resting and peak poststress cortisol levels, increased from 80 ng/ml in March to 166 ng/ml in July, the period when smoltification normally occurs. Resting plasma cortisol levels also continually increased from 4 ng/ml in March to a maximum of 39 ng/ml in May, but then declined again to 3 ng/ml in July. The results indicate that there is an increased interrenal responsiveness to stress during the period of smoltification in coho salmon.

Analysis of Variance↗

Clearance of plasma corticosteroids during smoltification of coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch.

The plasma clearance rate (PCR) of radioactivity after a single intracardial injection of 3H-cortisol was elevated during the spring in yearling coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch. Graphical analysis suggested a seasonal correlation between PCR and gill Na/K-ATPase activity. An explanation for this correlation is suggested. The major metabolite of 3H-cortisol in plasma was 3H-cortisone. It appeared rapidly following injection of the original radiotracer.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Cortisol and its effects on plasma thyroid hormone and electrolyte concentrations in fresh water and during seawater acclimation in yearling coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch.

Plasma cortisol, thyroxine (T4), and triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations increased during seawater (SW) acclimation in yearling coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch. Maximal concentrations of cortisol (220 ng/ml) occurred within 1.5 hr after the ambient water was changed from fresh water (FW) to SW; after 21 days in SW, cortisol levels were still slightly elevated (23 ng/ml) compared to those in FW fish (8 ng/ml). Plasma T4 concentrations peaked (14 ng/ml) at 12 and 72 hr after exposure to SW, and they were higher than those in FW fish (4 ng/ml) at all samples times. Maximal concentrations of T3 (8 ng/ml) occurred within 12 hr after exposure to SW, followed by a return to FW control levels (4 ng/ml) within 24 hr. Chronic treatment with cortisol significantly lowered plasma T3 concentrations in FW and during SW exposure, but it had no significant effect on T4 concentrations. Cortisol treatment lowered gill Na-K-ATPase activity in FW fish, but it did not affect plasma osmolarity, Na, K, Ca, or Mg in fish in FW or during SW acclimation.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Clearance of corticosteroids in yearling coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, in fresh water and seawater and after stress.

The metabolic clearance rate of corticosteroids determined after a single injection of [3H]cortisol was higher in fish acclimated to seawater (SW) than in those acclimated to fresh water (FW). Uptake and retention of corticosteroids in liver, gill filaments, and gall bladder bile were greater in SW than in FW fish. The stress of long-term (5 days), but not short-term (12 hr), continuous confinement apparently increased the clearance rate of corticosteroids in both FW and SW fish. Chronic, but not acute, administration of exogenous cortisol, yielding cortisol titers close to the physiological range, appeared to increase the clearance rate of corticosteroids in FW fish.

Acclimatization↗