Chapter 12 Adrenal toxicology: Environmental pollutants and the HPI axis

doi:10.1016/S1873-0140(05)80015-3

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Fishes

Volume 6, 2005, Pages 331-363

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1873-0140(05)80015-3 Get rights and content

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This chapter presents many of the findings and mechanisms on the hypothalamo–pituitary–interrenal/adrenal (HPI/HPA). The response of the organism, referred to as the stress response, activates the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and results in the release of catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine) and adrenal steroid hormones from the adrenal tissue. The term “interrenal” rather than adrenal has been traditionally used in teleosts to describe the location of the steroid and catecholamine-producing tissue within the head kidney rather than superior to the kidney as in mammals. This chapter explains structural and functional organization of teleost interrenals, the role of the HPI axis in responses to pollutants, and diagnosis of interrenal impairment in teleosts. It also discusses adrenotoxicants and their mechanisms of action, comparative endocrine toxicology of the HPI axis, effects of impaired corticosteroidogenesis on physiological fitness of fish, and importance of mechanism-based toxicological evaluation in environmental risk assessment.

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A 4-week trial was conducted to investigate the influence of food deprivation on the growth, body composition, biochemical and hematological parameters in juvenile great sturgeon (Huso huso) as well as physiological responses to acute handling stress. Fish with an average weight of 78.27 ± 0.2 g (mean ± S.E) were assigned to two feeding regimes: fed (control) and starved groups. The final weight in the fed group (159.5 ± 1.8 g) was 2.5-fold higher than that of the starved group (63.9 ± 0.7 g). Other growth indices (e.g. condition factor, body weight increase, specific growth rate, hepatosomatic and viscerosomatic indices) in the starved group were significantly lower than those measured in the fed group. Plasma biochemical parameters (cholesterol, triacylglycerol, total protein, glucose, and lactate) and cortisol levels considerably declined after 4 weeks of starvation. Starvation had significant effects on the proximate composition of muscle and liver, and also resulted in a significant reduction in oxygen consumption. The structure of the liver was affected by starvation after 4 weeks, but no structural changes were observed in the mucosa of intestinal wall. At the termination of the rearing experiment, both groups were subjected to 60-s aerial emersion in a net and blood samples were collected at 0 (resting time), 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 h after handling. Although a noticeable rise in plasma cortisol occurred within 1 h in the fed group, it was almost constant in the starved group throughout the sampling times. The highest concentrations of plasma glucose were observed at 3 h (44.2 ± 0.5 mg dL⁻¹) and 6 h (87.5 ± 7.1 mg dL⁻¹) after handling in the starved and fed groups, respectively. Lactate levels were considerably higher in the fed group than those in the starved fish in most sampling times. Hemoglobin values increased significantly by 24 h post handling in both experimental groups. Lymphopenia and neutrophilia were also observed in the starved fish 9 h following 60 sec net handling. These findings suggest that nutritional status considerably influences energy storage and subsequent stress and metabolic responses, so that starvation mitigated the responses of great sturgeon to an acute handling stress.
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Chapter 12 Adrenal toxicology: Environmental pollutants and the HPI axis

Publisher Summary

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Annu. Rev. Fish Dis.

Cell Calcium.

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Toxicol. Appl Pharmacol.

Comp. Biochem. Physiol

Cell Biol Toxicol

Toxicology

Mol Cell. Endocrinol.

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.

Aquat. Toxicol.

Brain Res.

Toxicology

Toxicology

Toxicology

Mol. Cell. Endocrinol.

J. Biol Chem.

Toxicol Appl Pharmacol

Aquat. Toxicol

Free Radic. Biol. Med.

Mol Cell. Endocrinol

Mol Cell Endocrinol

Mol. Cell. Endocrinol

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol

Ecotoxicol Environ. Saf.

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.

Toxicol Appl. Pharmacol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Aquat. Toxicol.

Chemosphere

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Toxicol Appl. Pharmacol.

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Ontogeny of the cortisol stress response in larval rainbow trout

Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.

Stress in finfish: past, present and future - a historical perspective

Adrenocorticotrophin- and cyclic adenosine 3′-5′-monophosphate-stimulated cortisol secretion in interrenal tissue of rainbow trout exposed in vitro to DDT compounds

Environ. Toxicol Chem.

Loss of capacity to elevate plasma cortisol in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) treated with a single injection of o,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane

Environ. Toxicol. Chem.

Comparative Vertebrate Endocrinology

Quantitative structure-activity relationships for poly chlorinated hydroxybiphenyl estrogen receptor binding affinity: an assessment of conformational flexibility

Environ. Toxicol. Chem.

Comparative studies on adrenocorticolytic DDT-metabolites

Ambio.

Impaired cortisol secretion in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from lakes contaminated by heavy metals: in vivo and in vitro assessment

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.