Abstract
Endocrine cells (ECs) act as a luminal surveillance system responding to either the presence or absence of food in the gut through the secretion of peptide hormones. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of feeding and fasting on the EC peptide-specific distribution along the intestine of Nile tilapia. We assessed the density of ECs producing gastrin (GAS), cholecystokinin-8 (CCK-8), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in nine segments of the intestine using immunohistochemistry. Our results show that ECs immunoreactive to CCK-8, GAS, NPY, and CGRP can be found along all the intestinal segments sampled, from the midgut to hindgut, although differences in their distribution along the gut were observed. Regarding nutrient status, we found that the anterior segments of the midgut seem to be the main site responding to luminal changes in Nile tilapia. The NPY+ and CGRP+ EC densities increased in the fasted group, while the amount of CCK-8+ ECs were higher in the fed group. No effects of fasting or feeding were found in the GAS+ EC densities. Changes in ECs density were found only at the anterior segments of the intestine which may be due to the correlation between vagus nerve anatomy, EC location, and peptide turnover. Lastly, ECs may need to be considered an active cell subpopulation that may adapt and respond to different nutrient status as stimuli. Due to the complexity of the enteroendocrine system and its importance in fish nutrition, much remains to be elucidated and it deserves closer attention.
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Abbreviations
- DNES:
-
Diffuse neuroendocrine system
- GAS:
-
Gastrin
- CCK-8:
-
Cholecystokinin-8
- NPY:
-
Neuropeptide Y
- CGRP:
-
Calcitonin gene-related peptide
- ECs:
-
Endocrine cells
- +ECs mm−2 :
-
Immunoreactive endocrine cells per square millimeter of mucosal epithelium
- S1–S9:
-
First to ninth segment of intestine
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a cooperative project between Brazil and Argentina (Process No. CAPG030 CAPES). We thank the financial support given to Priscila Vieira Rosa (grants Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, CAPES, Brazil) and to Fabricio A. Vigliano (grants PICT 2014-1858 from Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica and 2010-169-14 from Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva de Santa Fe). We also thank the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Minas Gerais, FAPEMIG, for the research funding granted to Priscila Vieira Rosa (PPM 00227/12) and the Ph.D. scholarship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq, granted to Raquel T. Pereira (No. 153616/2012-1), which made possible the accomplishment of this work. The technical training in gastrointestinal morphology and immunohistochemistry given to Raquel T. Pereira at Cátedra de Histología y Embriología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina, is also gratefully acknowledged. We thank Vanessa Seiko Sugihara for the schematic drawing of the Nile tilapia digestive tract.
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Pereira, R.T., de Freitas, T.R., de Oliveira, I.R.C. et al. Endocrine cells producing peptide hormones in the intestine of Nile tilapia: distribution and effects of feeding and fasting on the cell density. Fish Physiol Biochem 43, 1399–1412 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-017-0380-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-017-0380-1