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Temperature modulates the osmosensitivity of tilapia prolactin cells
Tharindu Malintha Gardi Hewage1, Daniel W Woo1, Fritzle T Celino-Brady1
1University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.
Research Square
|March 13, 2023
Summary
Temperature significantly influences how fish like tilapia sense and respond to changes in water salinity. Rising temperatures amplify prolactin (Prl) release in freshwater acclimation, while also affecting Prl receptor and gene expression in saltwater environments.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Physiology
- Endocrinology
- Osmoregulation
Background:
- Prolactin (Prl) is crucial for freshwater acclimation in euryhaline fish.
- Prolactin cells in Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) act as osmoreceptors and are thermosensitive.
- Understanding temperature's effect on osmoreception is key to fish adaptation.
Approach:
- Tilapia acclimated to freshwater (FW) or seawater (SW) had their Prl cells incubated under various temperature (20, 26, 32°C) and osmolality (280, 330, 420 mOsm/kg) conditions.
- Measured Prl isoform release (Prl188, Prl177) and gene expression (prl, prlr1, prlr2, trpv4, transcription factors) in response to osmotic and thermal challenges.
- Investigated cellular mechanisms underlying temperature-modulated osmoreception.
Key Points:
- Prl release increased with decreasing osmolality and rising temperature, with some temperature-dependent inhibition observed.
- In SW fish, Prl gene expression showed temperature-dependent regulation, and Prl receptors and TRPV4 channels were inhibited at higher temperatures.
- Key transcription factors regulating Prl were downregulated at 32°C in SW-acclimated fish.
Conclusions:
- Osmoreception in tilapia is modulated by temperature.
- Both thermal and osmotic responses of Prl cells vary significantly with acclimation salinity.
- Cellular mechanisms exist to compensate for temperature-induced changes in Prl release and osmoreception.
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