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Cortisol safeguards oogenesis by promoting follicular cell survival

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Abstract

The role of glucocorticoids in oogenesis remains to be elucidated. cyp11c1 encodes the key enzyme involved in the synthesis of cortisol, the major glucocorticoid in teleosts. In our previous study, we mutated cyp11c1 in tilapia and analyzed its role in spermatogenesis. In this study, we analyzed its role in oogenesis. cyp11c1+/− XX tilapia showed normal ovarian morphology but poor egg quality, as indicated by the mortality of embryos before 3 d post fertilization, which could be partially rescued by the supplement of exogenous cortisol to the mother fish. Transcriptome analyses revealed reduced expression of maternal genes in the eggs of the cyp11c1+/− XX fish. The cyp11c1−/− females showed impaired vitellogenesis and arrested oogenesis due to significantly decreased serum cortisol. Further analyses revealed decreased serum E2 level and expression of amh, an important regulator of follicular cell development, and increased follicular cell apoptosis in the ovaries of cyp11c1−/− XX fish, which could be rescued by supplement of either exogenous cortisol or E2. Luciferase assays revealed a direct regulation of cortisol and E2 on amh transcription via GRs or ESRs. Taken together, our results demonstrate that cortisol safeguards oogenesis by promoting follicular cell survival probably via Amh signaling.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD0900202), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31972778, 31861123001, 31630082 and 31872556), the Chongqing Science and Technology Commission (cstc2018jscx-mszd0380 and cstc2018jcyjAX0283), and Yunnan Science and Technology project (2018IB019). We are indebted to Thomas D. Kocher from University of Maryland, USA, for correcting the English of the manuscript.

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  1. Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Hesheng Xiao, Zhen Xu, Xi Zhu, Jingrong Wang, Qiaoyuan Zheng, Qingqing Zhang, Chunmei Xu, Wenjing Tao & Deshou Wang

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Xiao, H., Xu, Z., Zhu, X. et al. Cortisol safeguards oogenesis by promoting follicular cell survival. Sci. China Life Sci. 65, 1563–1577 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-021-2051-0

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