AUTHOR=Wang Wei , Zhu Hua , Tian ZhaoHui , Sun Ai , Dong Ying , Dong Tian , Hu HongXia 

TITLE=Effects of 11-Ketotestosterone on Development of the Previtellogenic Ovary in the Sterlet, Acipenser ruthenus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.00115

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2020.00115

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) is a non-aromatizable and the most potent androgen in a few teleost. It has been reported that 11-KT in serum had a high concentration and increased sharply before the period of yolk deposition in females of few fishes. The aim of this study was to analyze the role of 11-KT both <italic>in vivo</italic> and <italic>in vitro</italic> on ovarian development, related gene expression levels, Vitellogenin (Vtg) synthesis, and serum sex steroid concentrations in previtellogenic cultured sterlet (<italic>Acipenser ruthenus</italic>). Silastic strips embedded with 11-KT (5 or 25 mg/kg) were implanted <italic>in vivo</italic> for 30 days. Ovarian masculinization or sex reversal was not observed. Histological analysis showed that 11-KT promoted sterlet ovarian development in a dose-dependent manner. Vtg and testosterone (T) increased significantly, while 17β-estradiol (E2) decreased with no significant difference among groups. The expression of genes androgen receptor (<italic>ar</italic>), <italic>vtg</italic> and lipoprotein lipase (<italic>lpl</italic>) were significantly increased in liver. However, 11-KT had no effect on the expression of <italic>foxl2</italic> and <italic>cyp19a1</italic> in ovary. <italic>In vitro</italic>, after incubation with 11-KT (10 and 100 μM) for 5 days, both T and E2 concentrations increased in both hepatic explants and ovarian explants culture medium; the concentration of Vtg also increased in hepatic explants culture medium. The expression of <italic>ar, era, vtg</italic>, and <italic>lpl</italic> increased significantly in hepatic explants. However, only the expression of <italic>era</italic> significantly increased in cultured ovarian explants. Altogether, these results suggest that 11-KT induced ovarian development, as well as Vtg and lipid synthesis, and could be an important factor facilitating the initiation of Vtg synthesis in the liver of the previtellogenic sterlet.</p>