Effect of Cortisol on Aquaporin Expression in the Esophagus of the European Eel, Anguilla anguilla
Abstract: Long-term cortisol infusion into freshwater (FW)-adapted eels induced a significant increase in aquaporin-1 (AQP1) mRNA expression within the esophageal epithelium of migratory silver eels, but not in nonmigratory, immature yellow eels. Cortisol treatment had no significant effect on the mRNA abundance of a second aquaporin-1 isoform, termed AQP1dup, which exhibited a highly variable expression profile among individual members of all fish groups. These results suggest that cortisol, at plasma concentrations similar to that found during FW/seawater (SW) acclimation, induces upregulation in AQP1 expression and thus increases esophageal water permeability during the migration of eels to the SW environment.
cortisol aquaporin esophagus european eel seawater (sw) acclimation