The feedback regulation of pituitary GTH-II secretion in male African catfish (Clarias gariepinus): Participation of 11-ketotestosterone.

11-ketotestosterone (OT) is a typical androgen of male teleost fish, but information on the question if it is involved in the feedback regulation of pituitary gonadotropin II (GTH-II) secretion is controversial. We have therefore studied the effects of OT on gonadotropin releasing-hormone (GnRH) stimulated GTH-II secretion in male African catfish Clarias gariepinus). In vivo experiments were carried out with intact and castrated fish. OT plasma levels were increased by implantation of silastic capsules containing 11-ketoandrostenedione (OA) which is converted to OT in both intact and castrated fish. When intact males received OA- or blank-capsules, treatment with salmon gonadotropin releasing-hormone analogue (Des-Gly(10)-D-Arg(6)-sGnRH-NEt; 0.2 μg sGnRHa/kg body weight) elevated the plasma GTH-11 levels in both groups. However, the levels were about 2 times higher in blank- than in OA-implanted fish. When castrated fish received either blank-or OA-capsules, sGnRHa treatment led to plasma GTH levels significantly higher than in sham-operated fish. However, there was no difference between the blank- or OA-implanted castrates, though OA implantation led to a restoration of OT plasma levels. This suggests that replacement ofOT is insufficient to reverse castration-induced effects. In vitro experiments were carried out with pituitary tissue fragments using a static culture system. The tissue remained sensitive to sGnRHa (5 × 10(-9)M) for 4 days after the beginning of incubation. Preincubation of pituitary tissue for 24 hours with 25 ng OT/ml medium (80 nM) completely abolished the stimulatory effect of sGnRHa on GTH-II secretion. Tritiated OT was not metabolized by pituitary tissue during 6 hours of incubation. We conclude that 11-ketotestosterone, a quantitatively prominent and non-aromatizeable circulating androgen participates, at least in part by direct action on the pituitary, in the negative feedback regulation of GnRH-stimulated GTH-II secretion in male African catfish.