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Fish Scales Produce Cortisol upon Stimulation with ACTH
Athanasios Samaras1, Michail Pavlidis1
1Department of Biology, University of Crete, Voutes University Campus, 70013 Heraklion, Greece.
Animals : an Open Access Journal From MDPI
|December 23, 2022
Summary
Fish scales can produce cortisol, a key stress hormone, directly within scale cells. This finding reveals a new mechanism for how fish scales indicate chronic stress.
Area of Science:
- Aquatic biology
- Endocrinology
- Fish physiology
Background:
- Cortisol in fish scales is a reliable indicator of chronic stress.
- Previous understanding suggested cortisol accumulation via circulation only.
- The de novo production of cortisol within fish scales remained uninvestigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the capacity of fish scales for de novo cortisol production.
- To determine if European sea bass scales can produce and release cortisol.
- To explore the role of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in scale cortisol synthesis.
Main Methods:
- In-vitro stimulation of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) scales with varying concentrations of ACTH.
- Co-incubation of scales with ACTH and metyrapone, a cortisol production inhibitor.
- Measurement of cortisol release from stimulated and inhibited scales.
Main Results:
- ACTH stimulation led to a dose-dependent increase in cortisol release from fish scales.
- Co-incubation with ACTH and metyrapone reversed the cortisol release increase.
- Evidence suggests cortisol is synthesized de novo within the scales.
Conclusions:
- Fish scales possess the intrinsic ability to produce cortisol.
- This study demonstrates de novo cortisol synthesis in fish scales, challenging previous assumptions.
- Scale cortisol production offers a novel pathway for understanding fish stress physiology.
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