Abstract
Although the involvement of β-endorphin (β-ERP) in vertebrate reproduction has been suggested, its role in testicular activity is not clear in fish. We describe the influence of β-ERP on spermatogenesis in a cichlid fish in the present paper. In comparison to the control group, the administration of β-ERP (3 µg) caused a significant increase in the number of spermatogonia-A and spermatids. Following treatment with β-ERP (6 µg), a significant increase in the number of spermatogonia-A was observed, whereas the numbers of all the other germ cells, excluding spermatogonia-B, significantly decreased in comparison to those in the control group. In addition, treatment of fish with 6 µg β-ERP resulted in a significant reduction in the dimensions of the lumen and seminiferous lobules, the level of immunopositive androgen receptor (AR) expression in Sertoli cells, and the percentage of luteinizing hormone (LH) immunolabeled in the pituitary compared to those in the control group or the group treated with 3 µg β-ERP. In contrast, the intensity of AR immunoreactivity and the percentage of LH immunolabeling were substantially increased in fish treated with 3 µg β-ERP compared to those in the control group. These findings reveal for the first time that a low dose of β-ERP stimulates the recruitment of spermatogonia as well as spermateleosis, whereas a high concentration affects the recruitment of germ cells prior to meiotic division in tilapia. These results suggest that β-ERP exerts modulatory effects at the testicular and hypophysial levels through alterations in AR expression and LH secretory activity, respectively, in teleosts.
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The data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The first author expresses gratitude towards Karnatak University, Dharwad, for conferring a University Research Scholarship (URS). The authors express their gratitude for the infrastructural assistance extended by the Science and Engineering Research Board–Department of Science and Technology (SERB–DST), New Delhi, India.
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This work was supported by a grant from UGC-SAP (No. 18/2015/DSA-I), New Delhi.
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D.S. conducted the experiment and performed data analysis. S.K.B. helped in the data analysis and preparation of manuscript draft. C.B.G. was responsible for conceptualization, acquisition of funding, and review and editing of the manuscript.
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Shinde, D., Bhat, S.K. & Ganesh, C.B. The opioid peptide β-endorphin interferes with the pituitary-testis axis in the Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus. Fish Physiol Biochem 50, 733–743 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-024-01302-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-024-01302-z