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Hepatic insufficiency in spawning Pacific salmon

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Abstract

Examination of Pacific salmon (Oncorhyncus gorbuscha) on the spawning run revealed that the animal developed metabolic signs of hepatic insufficiency. In contrast to fish obtained in saline waters, salmon caught on the spawning beds had very low levels of liver microsomal azo-reductase activity. This may indicate a partial breakdown of hepatic detoxication function in the spawning fish. Experiments on the in vivo oxidation of free fatty acid demonstrated a progressive decline in the animals' ability to oxidize intravenously injected 14C-palmitic acid to 14CO2. These changes were interpreted as a progressive loss of liver function, which probably contributes to the inability of the species to survive at the end of one reproductive cycle.

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Author notes

  1. E. G. Trams

    Present address: Laboratory of Neurochemistry, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

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    1. E. G. Trams
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    Communicated by G. L. Voss, Miami

    Supported by the National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California (USA).

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    Trams, E.G. Hepatic insufficiency in spawning Pacific salmon. Mar. Biol. 4, 1–3 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00372160

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00372160

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