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Immunohistochemical evidence identifying the site of androgen production in the ovary of the protogynous grouper Epinephelus merra

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Abstract

Androgen plays an important role in the developing ovaries of female fish. However, little is known regarding either the sites of production of androgen or its functional roles. In the present study, we investigated immunohistochemically the localization of cholesterol-side-chain-cleavage (P450scc) and cytochrome P45011β-hydroxylase (P45011β) with antibodies P450scc and P45011β in the ovary of the female honeycomb grouper Epinephelus merra during its reproductive cycle. Clusters of strongly immunopositive cells, with 100–1000 cells in each cluster, against both P450scc and P45011β, were observed throughout the annual reproductive cycle in tissue near blood vessels in the tunica ovary surrounding the outer periphery of the ovary. The ultrastructural characteristics of these cells showed that they were steroid-producing cells. In contrast, immunopositive cells against P450scc but not against P45011β were localized in the theca layer surrounding the outer periphery of oocytes. These results suggest that two distinct steroid biosynthesis sites exist in the ovary and that cells at the two sites differ functionally. The only cells that biosynthesize 11-ketotestosterone are found in clusters in the vicinity of blood vessels; they possibly play a physiological role in oocyte growth and gonadal restructuring during the sex change of individuals of this species.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Yoshitaka Nagahama and Tohru Kobayashi, National Institute for Basic Biology, for giving us the P450scc and P45011β antibodies. We are indebted to Masaya Morita for his kind help with Western blotting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Sesoko 3422, Motobu, Okinawa, 905-0227, Japan

    Mohammad Ashraful Alam, Hiroki Komuro, Shigeo Nakamura & Masaru Nakamura

  2. Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585, Aichi, Japan

    Ramji Kumar Bhandari

  3. Marine Research Institute, Nagasaki University, 1551-7 Taira-machi, Nagasaki, 851-2213, Japan

    Kiyoshi Soyano

  4. CREST, JST, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-0002, Japan

    Masaru Nakamura

Authors
  1. Mohammad Ashraful Alam
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  2. Hiroki Komuro
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  3. Ramji Kumar Bhandari
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  4. Shigeo Nakamura
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  5. Kiyoshi Soyano
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  6. Masaru Nakamura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Ashraful Alam.

Additional information

CREST, JST (Japan Science and Technology Corporation), and the Takeda Science Foundation provided grants supporting this work. This study was also partially supported by a grant for the 21st century COE project entitled, “The Comprehensive Analyses of Biodiversity in Coral Reef and Island Ecosystems in Asian and Pacific Regions”. We also gratefully acknowledge a Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship.

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Alam, M.A., Komuro, H., Bhandari, R.K. et al. Immunohistochemical evidence identifying the site of androgen production in the ovary of the protogynous grouper Epinephelus merra. Cell Tissue Res 320, 323–329 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-004-1037-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-004-1037-9

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