title: Environmental stress-induced testis differentiation: androgen as a by-product of cortisol inactivation.
abstract: This review deals with the gonadal masculinization induced by thermal stress in fish with focus on the action of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) as this mechanism key transducer. High temperatures have been reported to produce male-skewed sex ratios in several species with TSD (temperature-dependent sex determination), and in some of them, this process was reported to be associated with high levels of cortisol, the hormone-related stress in vertebrates, during early gonad development. In addition, in pejerrey larvae reared at high-masculinizing temperatures, 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), the main and most potent androgen in fish, was also detected at high levels. In testicular explants, cortisol induced the synthesis of 11-KT, suggesting that its synthesis could be under the control of the stress axis at the time of gonadal fate determination. 11β-HSD is one of the enzymes shared by the glucocorticoid and androgen pathways; this enzyme converts cortisol to cortisone and also participates in the finals steps of the synthesis of the 11-oxigenated androgens. Based on these data and literature information, here we propose that the masculinization induced by thermal stress can be considered as a consequence of cortisol inactivation and the concomitant synthesis of 11-KT and discussing this as a possible mechanism of masculinization induced by different types of environmental stressors.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas-Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina. Electronic address: fernandino@intech.gov.ar.
authors.forename: Juan I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Fernandino
authors.forename: Ricardo S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hattori
authors.forename: Omar D
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Moreno Acosta
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Strüssmann
authors.forename: Gustavo M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Somoza
mesh_terms: D042842:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000378:metabolism; D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D005399:Fishes; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D013737:Testis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D042842:11-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases
keywords: 11β-HSD; Environmental sex determination; Masculinization; Stress