The fine structure of the caudal neurosecretory system in Raia batis

Immunohistochemical localization of urotensin I/corticotropin-releasing factor, urotensin II, and serotonin immunoreactivities in the caudal spinal cord of nonteleost fishes

Neurosecretory cells in the caudal spinal cord of fishes were first discovered in elasmobranches. However, most of the subsequent work on the caudal neurosecretory system has emphasized its morphology and function in teleosts. Two major peptides, urotensins I and II (UI and UII), have been isolated from this system in teleosts and their amino acid sequences have been determined. We have used immunohistochemical techniques to confirm and expand previous morphological and pharmacological findings regarding the phylogenetic occurrence and the anatomical organization of the caudal neurosecretory system and to localize putative neurohormonal products within its structural elements. UII-immunoreactive neuronal structures were found in the holocephalan, Hydrolagus collei; the elasmobranches, Squalus acanthias, Dasyatis sabina, and Raja binoculata; the dipnoan, Protopterus annectens; the brachiopterygian, Erpetoichthys calabaricus; the chondrostean, Polyodon spathula; and the holosteans Lepisosteus platyrhinchus and Amia calva. UI/corticotropin-releasing-factor immunoreactive elements were detected in the caudal spinal cords of Petromyzon marinus, Raja binoculata, Polydon spathula, Lepisosteus platyrhinchus, L. osseus, L. platostomus, and Amia calva. In addition, in several of these species, immunohistochemical techniques have provided evidence for serotoninergic input to the caudal neurosecretory system.

The caudal neurosecretory system of Poecilia sphenops (Poeciliidae)

The caudal neurosecretory system of the molly, Poecilia sphenops (Poeciliidae) was studied by light and electron microscopy. In this species the cell bodies form a focal nuclear group in the caudal spinal cord. The neurosecretory cells are in contact with glial elements, axon terminals, and the lumen of the central canal. The axons of the neurosecretory cells form a definitive tract, which leaves the spinal cord proper to penetrate a well defined neurohemal organ, the urophysis. The urophysis contains an abundance of neurosecretory granules within the neurosecretory axonal processes. This study is the first ultrastructural study of the caudal neurosecretory system in this family of fishes, which has been used as a neuroendocrine model. This species acclimates easily to the laboratory aquarium and may be most suitable for further studies on the effects of changes in external salinity on the caudal neurosecretory system.

Crystalline inclusions in the nuclear envelope and granular endoplasmic reticulum of the fish spinal cord

Crystalline inclusions were found in the nuclear envelope and granular endoplasmic reticulum of spinal cord oligodendroglia of the common guppy (Poecilia reticulata) and the lungfish (Polypterus enlicheri). A considerably increased incidence of these inclusions was noted in guppies with congenital and hereditary (sex-linked, recessive) lordosis. Identical crystalline inclusions were observed in protoplasmic and fibrous astrocytes, ependymal cells, and capillary endothelial cells of the spinal cord of the lordotic fish. The oligodendroglia in these fish also revealed a prominent alteration of the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, with the accumulation of dense (secretion?) granules and large amounts of electron-opaque material in markedly dilated sacs of the endoplasmic reticulum. The authors postulate that this alteration is caused by a genetic defect in the control mechanism governing the elaboration of this material in the lordotic guppy, with subsequent stasis and crystallization of this material.