Neural modulation of salt secretion in teleostopercular epithelium by 2-adrenergic receptors and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate
Opercular epithelia from seawater-adapted killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) were dissected with the nerve intact, mounted in Ussing-style membrane chambers and bathed in symmetrical saline solutions. Nerve stimulation rapidly inhibited transepithelial current (a measure of Cl- secretion rate) by 27.3+/-3.3 % (N=22), and the effect could be sustained for more than 10 min using intermittent pulse trains at 10 Hz. The effect was blocked in a dose-dependent manner by yohimbine, but not by propranolol, atropine or tubocurarine, indicating mediation by <IMG src="/images/symbols/&agr ;.gif" WIDTH= "9" HEIGHT="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" NATURALSIZEFLAG="3">2-adrenergic receptors. The effect was also present, but significantly diminished, in opercular membranes from animals that had been transferred to sea water for 48 h (18+/-8.6 % inhibition, N=14). The resting current and the effect were absent in membranes from freshwater-adapted animals. The addition of clonidine (1.0 micromol l-1 serosal side) started to inhibit Cl- current after 40-60 s; immediately before this, at 30 s, there was a significant rise (P<0.05, N=14) in tissue inositol 1,4,5, -trisphosphate (InsP3) level, but no change at later times, compared with LiCl-treated control membranes and measured by radiolabeled receptor assay. The results indicate that seawater-adapted killifish can decrease their Cl- secretion rate through the action of the sympathetic nervous system, a response appropriate for the entry of estuarine fish to fresh water, and that the effect is mediated by <IMG src="/images/symbols/&agr ;.gif" WIDTH="9" HEIGHT="12" ALIGN="BOTTOM" NATURALSIZEFLAG="3">2-adrenoceptors via InsP3. The results imply that euryhaline fish entering fresh water can undergo an autonomic reflex reduction in salt secretion that does not require a stress response.
Marshall
WS
Department of Biology, St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada B2G 2W5 and Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 4416-4948, USA. bmarshal@stfx.ca.
Duquesnay
RM
Gillis
JM
Bryson
SE
Liedtke
CM