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The role of cortisol in amino acid mobilization and metabolism following exhaustive exercise in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum)

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Abstract

The role of cortisol in the mobilization and metabolism of amino acids following exhaustive exercise in rainbow trout (Onorhynchus mykiss) was investigated. Plasma cortisol levels were elevated for 4h following exercise and 6, of a total of 22 amino acids, showed significant responses. In white muscle, alanine and glutamine were elevated immediately after exercise through to 4h, whereas glutamate, and the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), isoleucine, leucine and valine, all decreased over this time. In plasma all of these amino acids increased from 2-4h post-exercise, while in liver, alanine and glutamine increased, glutamate did not change and the BCAAs declined over this time. Blockade of the post-exercise elevation in plasma cortisol with either metyrapone (cortisol synthesis inhibitor) or dexamethasone (cortisol release blocker) prevented the changes in tissue amino acid levels. This study demonstrates that cortisol can act rapidly (within minutes to hours) to alter amino acid metabolism in fish. A model is presented to explain the action of cortisol on amino acid metabolism.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7

    C. L. Milligan

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Milligan, C.L. The role of cortisol in amino acid mobilization and metabolism following exhaustive exercise in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum). Fish Physiol Biochem 16, 119–128 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00004669

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