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17Beta-Estradiol Triggers Postspawning in Spermatogenically Active Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) Males¹

Department of Cell Biology,³ Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain Department of Biology,⁴ Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Cádiz, 11510 Cádiz, Spain Andalusian Institute for Marine Sciences,⁵ Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain

ABSTRACT

The testis is a tightly controlled dynamic tissue. In mammals, there is growing evidence that estrogen plays a role in the regulation of testicular functions. In teleosts, high levels of 17beta-estradiol (E₂) in serum correlate with the end of spermatogenesis, spawning, and the initiation of postspawning stages when spermatogonia are the main cell types in the testis. Moreover, E₂ modulates leukocyte functions in several teleost species. We hypothesized, therefore, that E₂ would induce the infiltration of acidophilic granulocytes and cause a resumption of testicular cell proliferation in spermatogenically active gilthead seabream males. Several studies of this species have reported that supraphysiological doses of E₂ are needed to induce histological and developmental changes in males. In fact, as gilthead seabream is a protandrous hermaphrodite teleost, long exposures (6–14 wk) to high doses of E₂ result in feminization of the males. Taking all this into account, we sharply increased E₂ levels during short times by i.p. injecting E₂ diluted in coconut oil as the vehicle and sampled the fish after 7, 13, and 18 days to assess the effects that E₂ had on spermatogenesis. It was observed that E₂ levels in plasma increased, while 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) and testosterone (T) levels remained unaltered. However, 11-KT and T levels strongly increased in control fish 18 days postinjection. The most relevant result of our study was that E₂ accelerates the final events of spermatogenesis, inhibits the proliferation of spermatogonia in early stages, and induces some of the processes that usually occur during postspawning, such as the infiltration of acidophilic granulocytes and the apoptosis of primary spermatogonia. Strikingly, neither the shedding of spermatozoa nor an increase in the proliferative rate of spermatogonia stem cells was observed, probably because of the lack of other necessary stimuli, such as the increase in T levels that takes place during normal postspawning.

acidophilic granulocytes, estradiol, immunology, male sexual function, postspawning, seasonal reproduction, spermatogenesis, teleosts, testis

¹The present study was supported by Fundación Séneca, Coordination Centre for Research, CARM (grant PI-51/00782/FS/01 to A.G.-A.) and University of Murcia (postdoctoral contract to E.C.-P.) and Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología Spain (grant BFU2004-0439-CO2-01/BFI to J.M.M.).

Correspondence: ² FAX: 34 968 363963; e-mail: agayala{at}um.es

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