Morphological evidence for a direct neuroendocrine GABAergic control of the anterior pituitary in teleosts

Summary The anterior pituitary of teleosts is unique among vertebrates in receiving a direct innervation which represents the morphological support of the neuroendocrine control of pars distalis functions. The participation of GABAergic fibers in this innervation was studied by means of immunocytochemistry at the light and electron microscopic levels, using antibodies against GABA. Immunoreactive fibers, characterized by the presence of small clear and dense cored vesicles, were detected in all parts of the gland. Immunopositive terminals were found in close, sometimes synaptic-like, contact with most glandular cell types in the anterior lobe. The data strongly suggest that in teleosts, as in mammals, GABA is involved in the neuroendocrine control of anterior pituitary functions.     

鱼类免疫因子Prx 1和Prx 2的研究进展

Peroxiredoxin 1(Prx 1)和Peroxiredoxin 2(Prx 2)是脊椎动物中一种保守的免疫因子,在鱼类的非特异性免疫中扮演重要角色,也叫作自然杀伤增强因子(Natural killer enhancing factor,NKEF A/B)。两类蛋白的N端和C端各含有一个活性半胱氨酸位点。Prx 1和Prx 2能清除机体活性氧(ROS)如H2O2,同时还参与鱼体的抗病免疫。本文对鱼类Prx 1和Prx 2的结构、抗氧化机制、生物学功能进行综述性介绍。     

Biochemical and environmental perspectives on nitrogen metabolism in fishes

Catabolism of nitrogen-containing substances makes a major contribution to the oxidative metabolism in teleostean fishes. In this review, we focus on aspects of the formation, transport, detoxification and excretion of the two most important nitrogenous products of fishes: ammonia (NH₃ plus NH ₄ ⁺ ) and urea. While NH ₄ ⁺ makes up the bulk of nitrogenous waste, it is in equilibrium with the highly toxic NH₃. Ammonia is generated in the liver and excreted through branchial, surface and renal routes. Innocuous urea is derived through hepatic uricolysis or argininolysis and voided through kidney, gill, skin or faeces. Under conditions hampering the release of ammonia, such as exposure to exogenous ammonia, water limitation, or alkaline conditions, some teleosts detoxify ammonia through synthesis of urea by the ornithine-urea cycle in liver. Ammonia and possibly alanine are the prevalent vehicles of internal nitrogen transport. Glutamine is immaterial to interorgan nitrogen transport in fishes, but plays a transient role in the detoxification of ammonia by brain glutamine synthetase.     

Primitive actimoterigian fishes can synthesize ascorbic acid

Amphibians and reptiles evolved with the capacity to synthesize ascorbic acid. Some higher vertebrates, like bats, guinea pigs, primates, and humans have lost the microsomal enzyme gulonolactone oxidase, and in cases of ascorbic acid deficiency suffer from symptoms of scurvy. The question of whether the capacity to synthesize ascorbate is also present in lower vertebrates could throw light on the evolution of this pathway. In order to find out whether ascorbic acid synthesis took place in two primitive Actinopterigian fish, the paddlefish (Polydon spathula) and the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) were fed with a scorbutogenic diet or diet(s) supplemented with a graded level of ascorbic acid. We found no growth depression nor external symptoms of scurvy, which would be pronounced in modern bony fishes (Teleostei) under similar conditions. The tissue level of ascorbate in both these primitive species indicated that vitamin C in intestine and liver is not depleted when fed a scorbutogenic diet. Gulonolactone oxidase activity was found in the kineys of the Actinopterigian fishes. Thus, I question the accepted evolutionary pathway for ascorbic acid biosynthesis in lower vertebrates and suggest that the modern bony fishes,Teleostei, lost their ability to express the gulonolactone oxidase genes after they had separated during the Silurian from their common ancestor with the coelacanths (Latimeria) and Dipnoi.     

几种硬骨鱼纲、鸟纲动物血红蛋白与人血红蛋白氯仿沉淀试验的比较研究

采用淀粉-琼脂糖混合凝胶电泳的方法分析了硬骨鱼纲动物(鲤鱼、鲫鱼、泥鳅)、鸟纲动物(家鸽、家鸡、家鸭)和人的血红蛋白在氯仿沉淀试验中的稳定性,发现在泥鳅和家鸭的血红蛋白组分中存在对氯仿不稳定的成分,而在鲤鱼、鲫鱼、家鸽、家鸡的血红蛋白中未发现这种不稳定性.人血红蛋白A和血红蛋白A2对氯仿处理也表现稳定.研究结果提示硬骨鱼纲动物、鸟纲动物及人的血红蛋白对氯仿沉淀试验有不同表现,可能存在血红蛋白稳定多态性现象.