Effect of 11-Deoxycorticosterone in the Transcriptomic Response to Stress in Rainbow Trout Skeletal Muscle

Participation of membrane-initiated cortisol effects on the rapid acclimation of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to increased salinity

Cortisol, a fundamental slow-acting hormone in teleosts, plays a crucial role in acclimating to changes in saline environments. Cortisol effects are associated with its interaction with intracellular glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR) receptors, which subsequently regulate gene expression through the cortisol-receptor complex. This mechanism is known as a genomic cortisol signaling and has been studied extensively. However, recent studies have begun to explore a membrane-initiated cortisol pathway that is initiated on the cellular surface, revealing its critical role in the initial metabolic adjustments during the physiological stress response. Nevertheless, the role of this novel membrane-mediated cortisol action during acclimatization to saline environments remain to be elucidated. To investigate this, an in vivo assay was performed in which juvenile rainbow trout were maintained in freshwater (FW) (0.1 ppt), intraperitoneally injected with vehicle, cortisol or cortisol-BSA (three hours of treatment), and transferred to saline water (15 ppt) for one additional hour. Samples of blood and gills were obtained from each fish in order to measure the plasma cortisol, glucose and chloride concentrations, as well as the expression levels of the gr1, gr2, mr, and key osmoregulatory genes. Membrane-initiated cortisol action increased plasma glucose and chloride levels in fish after one hour of saline transfer in comparison with the vehicle group. Furthermore, cortisol exerts a novel regulatory influence on the expression of gr2, as well as tight junction proteins claudin10e and cldn30 in the gills. In contrast, other osmoregulation-related genes, such as cftr and nkcc1, are exclusively mediated by genomic cortisol signaling. These results suggest that membrane-initiated cortisol action plays a significant role in the rapid acclimation of fish to changes in salinity environments.

Early metabolic and transcriptomic regulation in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver by 11-deoxycorticosterone through two corticosteroid receptors pathways

Cortisol hormone is considered the main corticosteroid in fish stress, acting through glucocorticoid (GR) or mineralocorticoid (MR) receptor. The 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) corticosteroid is also secreted during stress and could complement the cortisol effects, but this still not fully understood. Hence, we evaluated the early transcriptomic response of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver by DOC through GR or MR. Thirty juvenile trout were pretreated with an inhibitor of endogenous cortisol synthesis (metyrapone) by intraperitoneal injection in presence or absence of GR (mifepristone) and MR (eplerenone) pharmacological antagonists for one hour. Then, fish were treated with a physiological DOC dose or vehicle (DMSO-PBS1X as control) for three hours (n = 5 per group). We measured several metabolic parameters in plasma, together with the liver glycogen content. Additionally, we constructed cDNA libraries from liver of each group, sequenced by HiseqX Illumina technology and then analyzed by RNA-seq. Plasma pyruvate and cholesterol levels decreased in DOC-administered fish and only reversed by eplerenone. Meanwhile, DOC increased liver glycogen contents depending on both corticosteroid receptor pathways. RNA-seq analysis revealed differential expressed transcripts induced by DOC through GR (448) and MR (1901). The enriched biological processes to both were mainly related to stress response, protein metabolism, innate immune response and carbohydrates metabolism. Finally, we selected sixteen genes from enriched biological process for qPCR validation, presenting a high Pearson correlation (0.8734 average). These results describe novel physiological effects of DOC related to early metabolic and transcriptomic responses in fish liver and differentially modulated by MR and GR.

11-Deoxycorticosterone (DOC)'s Action on the Gill Osmoregulation of Juvenile Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

In aquaculture, stress can negatively affect fish growth. For years, the cortisol hormone has been thought to play both glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid functions. Nevertheless, recent research has suggested that 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) released during stress could contribute to cortisol actions, though this process is still misunderstood. Here, we evaluated the DOC effects on physiological and early transcriptional responses by RNA-seq. Juvenile rainbow trout were treated with DOC and/or glucocorticoids (mifepristone) or mineralocorticoid (eplerenone) receptor antagonists. Subsequently, plasma was collected, and cDNA libraries were generated from the gills of vehicle (control), DOC, mifepristone, mifepristone with DOC, eplerenone, and eplerenone with DOC groups. Calcium and phosphate levels in plasma were changed. Results revealed 914 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) induced by DOC compared with control, mainly associated with sodium ion transmembrane transport, gluconeogenesis, negative regulation of transmembrane transport, and activation of innate immune response. DOC versus eplerenone with DOC comparison displayed 444 DETs related to cell-cell junction organization, canonical glycolysis, positive regulation of immune response, and potassium ion transport. Conversely, no DETs were detected in DOC versus mifepristone with DOC comparison. These data suggest that DOC has a relevant role in gill stress response and ion transport, which is differentially regulated by mineralocorticoid receptors.