Induction of XY sex reversal by estrogen involves altered gene expression in a teleost, tilapia

To clarify the importance of endogenous estrogens during sex differentiation in a teleost fish, the Nile tilapia, we examined the target events for endogenous estrogens and their role during gonadal sex differentiation. The expression of CYP19a (P450arom) precedes any morphological gonadal sex differentiation. Further to these findings, the treatment of XX fry with non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI), Fadrozole, from seven to 14 days after hatching caused complete sex reversal to functional males. The XX sex reversal induced by AI was rescued completely with simultaneous estrogen treatment. We also found that XY fry treated with estrogen, before the appearance of morphological sex differences, caused complete sex reversal from males to females. Taken together, these results suggest that endogenous estrogens are required for ovarian differentiation. To identify the down-stream gene products of estrogen during ovarian differentiation, we performed subtractive hybridization using mRNA derived from normal and estrogen treated XY gonads. Two out of ten gene products were expressed in germ cells, whereas the others were expressed in somatic cells.     

Molecular cloning and gene expression of Foxl2 in the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

A Foxl2 cDNA was cloned from the Nile tilapia ovary by RT-PCR and subsequent RACE. Alignment of known Foxl2 sequences from vertebrates confirmed the conservation of the Foxl2 open reading frame and protein sequences, especially the forkhead domain and C-terminal region, while some homopolymeric runs of amino acids are found only in mammals but not in non-mammalian vertebrates. RT-PCR revealed that Foxl2 is expressed in the tilapia brain (B), pituitary (P), gill, and gonads (G), with the highest level of expression in the ovary, reflecting the involvement of Foxl2 in B-P-G axis. Northern blotting and in situ hybridization also revealed an evident sexual dimorphic expression pattern in the gonads. Foxl2 mRNA was mainly detected in the granulosa cells surrounding the oocytes. The ovarian expression of Foxl2 in tilapia begins early during the differentiation of the gonads and persists until adulthood, implying the involvement of Foxl2 in fish gonad differentiation and the maintenance of ovarian function.     

性类固醇激素对胡子鲇性分化的影响

研究采用组织学和荧光实时定量PCR方法,检测17-甲基睾酮（17-MT）和17-雌二醇（17-E2）对胡子鲇（Clarias fuscus）性腺组织学、性别比率以及性分化前后脑型芳香化酶基因（Cyp19a1b）和翼状螺旋/叉头转录因子2（Foxl2）基因表达的影响。结果表明:在出膜后230日龄,17-MT （50、100和200 g/L）浸浴、17-E2（100、200和300 g/g）投喂处理对成活率无显著影响,但中、高剂量（100和200 g/L）17-MT显著抑制卵巢发育,促进精巢发育,卵巢腔出现时间分别推迟4d和6d,初级卵母细胞出现时间分别推迟8d和9d,而初级精母细胞出现时间则分别提前3d和5d,且雄性率分别达70%和76%,显著高于50 g/L组和对照组（P0.05）。相反,中、高剂量17-E2（200和300 g/g）处理使卵巢腔出现时间分别提前2d和3d,初级卵母细胞出现时间分别提前1d和3d,初级精母细胞出现时间分别推迟3d和7d,而雌性率分别达74%和78%,显著高于100 g/g组和对照组（P0.05）。此外,在性腺分化期,17a-MT促进Cyp19a1b但抑制Foxl2的表达,而17-E2促进Cyp19a1b和 Foxl2的表达。结果显示Cyp19a1b不是引起胡子鲇性分化的直接因素,但可能通过下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴对胡子鲇性分化过程产生间接影响;而Foxl2直接参与胡子鲇的性分化,即17a-MT和17-E2分别通过抑制和促进Foxl2的表达来影响雌激素的生物合成,从而调控胡子鲇性分化的方向。       

Dax1 suppresses P450arom expression in medaka ovarian follicles

Dax1 is a member of an unusual orphan nuclear receptor family, and is known to regulate P450arom in mammals and is involved in sex differentiation in some vertebrates. To investigate whether Dax1 is involved in the regulation of the steroidogenic pathway for estrogen biosynthesis in medaka ovarian follicles, we isolated Dax1 cDNA from adult medaka ovaries and analyzed its expression pattern in medaka gonads. In adult ovaries, Dax1 mRNA was detected only in postvitellogenic follicles and was not detected in previtellogenic and vitellogenic follicles. In adult testis, Dax1 mRNA was not detected. We compared the expression pattern of Dax1 with that of Foxl2, Ad4BP/Sf-1, P450c17, and P450arom by in situ hybridization using adjacent sections. In contrast to Dax1 expression, these genes were co-expressed in vitellogenic follicles but were not detected in postvitellogenic follicles. Thus, in medaka ovarian follicles, Dax1 did not show any overlapping expression patterns against Foxl2, Ad4BP/Sf-1, P450c17, and P450arom. Moreover, co-transfection experiments demonstrated that Dax1 inhibits Ad4BP/Sf-1- and Foxl2-mediated P450arom expression. On the other hand, during early sex differentiation, Dax1 mRNA was not detected in both males and females. Our results suggest that Dax1 down-regulates Ad4BP/Sf-1- and Foxl2-mediated P450arom expression in medaka ovarian follicles.     

Seabream GnRH immunoreactivity in brain and pituitary of XX and XY Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus during early development

Seabream gonadotropin-releasing hormone (sbGnRH)-the chief preoptic area-hypothalamus (POA-H) form of GnRH in tilapia is involved in sexual maturation. In this study, we investigated the qualitative changes in ontogeny of sbGnRH immunoreactivity (ir-), between sexes to understand its impending role during sex differentiation. For this, the differences in immunocytochemical localization of sbGnRH in genetically male (XY) and female (XX) fish were studied from 1 day after hatching (dah), through the critical period of sex differentiation (7-21 dah) to 40 dah and mature Nile tilapia. Specific antisera against sbGnRH were used for immunolocalization. SbGnRH ir- neurons were observed in POA-H as early as 5 and 15 dah in XY fish and XX fish, respectively. Higher ir- was detected in the POA-H of XY tilapia compared with XX population till 10 dah. There was a qualitative drop in sbGnRH ir- neurons/cell bodies in POA-H around 20 dah till 30 dah in XY population compared with other durations. SbGnRH ir- cells were detected in pituitary of XX fish by 15 dah and in XY fish around 10 dah but seemed to drop down by 20 dah in XY whereas it continued to remain steady in XX fish. The sbGnRH ir- in XY fish showed a rise from 35 dah and thence till 40 dah. This study revealed subtle differences in POA-H and pituitary sbGnRH ir- during early development between genetic male and female fish with possible implications in sex differentiation.     

稀有鮈鲫脑芳香化酶cDNA片段的克隆与表达分析

芳香化酶（P450arom）是雌激素合成过程中的关键酶,在性别分化中起重要作用。鱼类存在卵巢性和脑型两种芳香化酶,分别由Cyp19a和Cyp19b编码。稀有鮈鲫作为我国特有的实验动物,尚无其芳香化酶的有关资料,其性别分化机制亦不清楚。本研究采用RT-PCR的方法以简并引物扩增了稀有鮈鲫脑型芳香化酶基因Cyp19b的部分序列,其长度为1070 bp, 编码357个氨基酸残基,具有典型的芳香化酶结构域。RT-PCR分析发现该基因主要在稀有鮈鲫的脑中表达,在性腺、肠、肾中也有表达;其在雌、雄脑中的表达差异不显著。在胚胎发育阶段,Cyp19b的表达从囊胚期开始,至神经胚期达到较高水平,随后下降,孵化期又有所增强,孵化10天后维持在高水平。这些结果说明Cyp19b以脑中表达为主,可能在稀有鮈鲫神经系统发育和脑的性别分化中有重要作用。     

Efficacy of exemestane,a new generation of aromatase inhibitor,on sex differentiation in a gonochoristic fish

We report the first use of exemestane (EM), a steroidal aromatase inhibitor (AI) commercially known as aromasin, in studies of sex differentiation in fish. The effectiveness of EM was examined in two different age groups of the gonochoristic fish, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Untreated control fish (all female) showed normal ovarian differentiation through 120 days after hatching (dah), whereas fish treated with EM at 1000 and 2000 µg/g of feed from 9 dah through 35 dah, the critical period for sex differentiation, exhibited complete testicular differentiation; all stages of spermatogenic germ cells were evident and well developed efferent ducts were present. Fish treated with EM at 1000 µg/g of feed from 70 dah through 100 dah significantly suppressed plasma estradiol-17β level and increased level of 11-ketotestosterone. Furthermore, untreated control fish showed strong gonadal expression of the steroidogenic enzymes P450 cholesterol-side chain-cleavage enzyme (P450scc), 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD), and cytochrome P450 aromatase (P450arom). In contrast, EM-treated fish showed immunopositive reactions against P450scc and 3β-HSD but not against P450arom in interstitial Leydig cells. These results indicate that treatment of tilapia juveniles with EM during sex differentiation leads to the development of testes, apparently by a complete suppression of aromatase activity.     

Real-time PCR analysis of ovary- and brain-type aromatase gene expression during Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) development

Two forms of cytochrome P450 aromatase, acting in both the brain and the ovary, have been implicated in controlling ovarian development in fish. To better understand the expression of these two enzymes during sexual differentiation in Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), real-time PCR was used to quantify the mRNA levels of ovary- (cyp19a) and brain-type cytochrome P450 aromatase (cyp19b) genes in the gonad and brain during gonadal development. Both enzymes showed high levels of expression in both tissues in developmental stages prior to histologically detectable ovarian differentiation (38 mm fork length), with increased expression occurring slightly earlier in the brain than the gonad. Cyp19a showed a second peak of expression in later stages (> 48 mm) in the gonad, but not the brain. Cyp19b expression was generally higher in the brain than the gonad. These results suggest that sexual differentiation may begin in the brain prior to gonadal differentiation, supporting the idea that steroid hormone expression in the brain is a key determinant of phenotypic sex in fish. In an examination of sexually immature adults, cyp19a was highly expressed in female gonad while cyp19b was very highly expressed in the pituitary of both sexes. The ratio of cyp19a to cyp19b expression was much higher in ovaries than in testes in the adult fish, so this ratio was analyzed in the developing gonads of juvenile halibut in an attempt to infer their sex. This was only partially successful, with about half the fish in later developmental stages showing apparently sex-specific differences in aromatase expression.     

Liver receptor homologue-1 (LRH-1) activates the promoter of brain aromatase (cyp19a2) in a teleost fish, the medaka, Oryzias latipes

The medaka, Oryzias latipes, like other fish, have two distinct aromatase genes, the ovarian (cyp19a1) and brain (cyp19a2) forms. We previously reported that Ad4BP/SF-1, a member of the NR5A subfamily, plays an important role in the regulation of cyp19a1 expression in medaka ovarian follicles during vitellogenesis. In the present study, we investigated whether liver receptor homologue-1 (LRH-1), another NR5A subfamily member, is involved in the regulation of cyp19a2 expression in the medaka brain. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that LRH-1 was expressed in the hypothalamus, where it colocalized with aromatase (cyp19a2). We then showed by transient transfection assays that LRH-1 was able to increase expression of a cyp19a2 reporter gene in various mammalian cell lines, and that mutation of a putative LRH-1 binding site within the cyp19a2 promoter abolished this effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that LRH-1 plays a role in regulating cyp19a2 expression in the medaka brain. This is the first to demonstrate in vitro the activation of brain aromatase by LRH-1 in the vertebrate brain.