title: Maternal programming of offspring hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal axis in wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka).
abstract: In fishes, maternal exposure to a stressor can influence offspring size and behavior. However, less is known about how maternal stress influences physiological processes in offspring, such as function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis. We examined the impact of chronic maternal exposure to an acute chase stressor on the stress response/HPI activity of progeny in wild sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). Resting plasma cortisol and brain preoptic area (POA) corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA levels did not vary between offspring reared from undisturbed, control females and offspring reared from females exposed to the stressor. However, resting levels of POA glucocorticoid receptors (GR1 and GR2), and head kidney melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), and cytochrome P450 side chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) were elevated in offspring reared from stressor-exposed females. Offspring reared from stressor-exposed females had lower plasma cortisol levels 1-h after an acute chase stressor compared to cortisol levels in offspring reared from control females. In offspring reared from chased females, mRNA levels of genes associated with cortisol biosynthesis were reduced in the head kidney post-chase. In offspring reared from control females, mRNA levels in the head kidney did not vary pre- to post-chase. Together, the results of the present study suggest maternal programming of progeny with respect to baseline and stressor-induced mediators of HPI axis activity.
authors.affiliation: Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Electronic address: sopinka@uwindsor.ca.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Sopinka
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Jeffrey
authors.affiliation: Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Science Branch, Pacific Region, Cooperative Resource Management Institute, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gilmour
authors.affiliation: Pacific Salmon Ecology and Conservation Laboratory, Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hinch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D060226:Head Kidney / Q000502:physiology*; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000502:physiology*; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D044103:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 2; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D012474:Salmon / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D000098682:Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein
chemical_list: D010750:Phosphoproteins; D044103:Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 2; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D000098682:Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: CRF; Cortisol; Fish; Glucocorticoid receptor; Head kidney; Stress