title: Sex-dependent effects of microcystin-LR on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis and gametogenesis of adult zebrafish.
abstract: While microcystins (MCs) have been reported to exert reproductive toxicity on fish with a sex-dependent effect, the underlying mechanism has been rarely investigated. In the present study, zebrafish were exposed to 1, 5 and 20 μg/L MC-LR for 30 d. The gonad-somatic index declined in all treated males. 17β-estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), 11-keto testosterone (11-KT) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels increased in serum from all treated females, while T, FSH and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels changed in all treated males. Histomorphological observation showed that MC-LR exposure evidently retarded oogenesis and spermatogenesis. Transcriptional changes of 22 genes of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis exhibited sex-specific responses, and the relationship between gene transcriptions and gametogenesis was evaluated by principle component analysis (PCA). Major contributors to PC1 (gnrh2, gnrhr3, ar, lhr, hmgra, hmgrb and cyp19a) were positively correlated with the number of post-vitellogenic oocytes, while PC1 (gnrh2, lhβ, erβ, fshr, cyp11a and 17βhsd) were positively correlated with the number of spermatozoa. The protein levels of 17βHSD and CYP19a were affected in both females and males. In conclusion, this study first investigated the sex-dependent effects of microcystins on fish reproduction and revealed some important molecular biomarkers related to gametogenesis in zebrafish suffered from MC-LR.
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wanjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chuanyue
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Donghu Experimental Station of Lake Ecosystems, State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jienan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Atufa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawan
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xuezhen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D000458:Cyanobacteria; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008387:Marine Toxins; D052998:Microcystins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D008387:Marine Toxins; D052998:Microcystins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C057862:cyanoginosin LR