Effects of gonadotropins and adenocorticotropin on plasmatic steroids of the catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch).

The levels of some steroids in the plasma of female catfish were estimated following a single injection of porcine ACTH, ovine LH, or partially purified salmon gonadotropin (SG-G100) during the spawning and postspawning seasons. In the regressed catfish, injection of either LH or SG-G100 resulted in a three- to fourfold increase, compared to uninjected controls, in plasmatic cortisol for at least 1 hr. Injection of LH and ACTH resulted in two- and fourfold increases, respectively, of plasma cortisol levels as compared to saline-injected controls for both regressed and gravid fish. The concentration of plasma cortisol after ACTH treatment was higher than after LH or SG-G100. Gonadectomy did not influence the effect of LH on plasma cortisol concentration, and 20 min after injection, the cortisol concentration was identical to that of the intact fish. These results show that in the gravid catfish, as in the regressed ones, the increase in plasmatic cortisol after injection of LH or SG-G100 results principally from the activation of the interrenal. The concentrations of 11-deoxycortisol, 11-deoxycorticosterone, and 17α-hydroxy-20β-dihydroprogesterone were low in all samples and there was no evidence of an effect related to the injected hormone. Testosterone concentrations in the plasma of gravid fish injected with LH increased over the 1-hr sampling time and all values were higher than those recorded for saline- or ACTH-injected fish. Since the levels of cortisol and testosterone in the plasma of gravid catfish increase following gonadotropin administration, they may either singly or synergistically play a role in oocyte maturation.