Functional dynamics of claudin expression in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes): Response to environmental salinity

Salinity regulation of 13 claudin paralogs was investigated in osmoregulatory organs of euryhaline Japanese medaka. They were identified by blast-search in the medaka genome database based on representation in osmoregulatory organs of other teleosts. Our hypothesis was that, because of their sequence similarities to mammalian orthologs previously characterized as barrier- and ion-selective channel-forming proteins, these paralogs would respond to salinity according to expected modulation of osmoregulatory function. Cldn10c, -10d, -10e, -10f, -27a, -28a, -28b and -30c had 4- to 100-fold higher expression in gill than other examined organs. Two splice variants of cldn10b were predominantly expressed in kidney, while cldn15a, -15b and -25 were found mainly in intestine. In gills, cldn27a, -28a, -28b and -30c did not change between fresh water (FW) and seawater (SW)-acclimated fish, while cldn10c, -10d, -10e, and -10f were most abundant in SW. Short-term SW transfer induced up-regulation of cldn10 gill paralogs after 1 day, decrease in cldn28b and no difference for cldn27a, -28a and -30c. The reverse pattern was observed after FW transfer of SW medaka. Intestinal cldn15a and -25 did not differ between FW and SW fish. However, cldn15b was 10-fold higher in FW than SW, suggesting a role in functional modulation of the intestine related to water and salt transport. In kidney, cldn10bs were elevated in SW fish, suggesting a role in paracellular ion transport in the marine nephron. Based on in silico analysis, most gill Cldn10s were predicted to form cation pores, whereas Cldn27a, 28a, 28b and 30c may increase epithelial resistance.