Protein digestion and ion concentrations in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdnerii Rich.) digestive tract in sea- and fresh water

The role of environmental salinity on Na+-dependent intestinal amino acid uptake in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Na⁺/K⁺-ATPases (NKA) in the basolateral membrane of the intestinal enterocytes create a Na⁺-gradient that drives both ion-coupled fluid uptake and nutrient transport. Being dependent on the same gradient as well as on the environmental salinity, these processes have the potential to affect each other. In salmonids, L-lysine absorption has been shown to be higher in freshwater (FW) than in seawater (SW) acclimated fish. Using electrophysiology (Ussing chamber technique), the aim was to explore if the decrease in L-lysine transport was due to allocation of the Na⁺-gradient towards ion-driven fluid uptake in SW, at the cost of amino acid transport. Intestinal NKA activity was higher in SW compared to FW fish. Exposure to ouabain, an inhibitor of NKA, decreased L-lysine transport. However, exposure to bumetanide and hydrochlorothiazide, inhibitors of Na⁺, K⁺, 2Cl^--co-transporter (NKCC) and Na⁺, Cl^--co-transporter (NCC) respectively, did not affect the rate of intestinal L-lysine transport. In conclusion, L-lysine transport is Na⁺-dependent in rainbow trout and the NKA activity and thus the available Na⁺-gradient increases after SW acclimation. This increased Na⁺-gradient is most likely directed towards osmoregulation, as amino acid transport is not compromised in SW acclimated fish.

Freshening effect on the osmotic response of the Antarctic spiny plunderfish Harpagifer antarcticus

Global warming is having a significant impact around the world, modifying environmental conditions in many areas, including in zones that have been thermally stable for thousands of years, such as Antarctica. Stenothermal sedentary intertidal fish species may suffer due to warming, notably if this causes water freshening from increased freshwater inputs. Acute decreases in salinity, from 33 down to 5, were used to assess osmotic responses to environmental salinity fluctuations in Antarctic spiny plunderfish Harpagifer antarcticus, in particular to evaluate if H. antarcticus is able to cope with freshening and to describe osmoregulatory responses at different levels (haematological variables, muscle water content, gene expression, NKA activity). H. antarcticus were acclimated to a range of salinities (33 as control, 20, 15, 10 and 5) for 1 week. At 5, plasma osmolality and calcium concentration were both at their lowest, while plasma cortisol and percentage muscle water content were at their highest. At the same salinity, gill and intestine Na⁺ -K⁺ -ATPase (NKA) activities were at their lowest and highest, respectively. In kidney, NKA activity was highest at intermediate salinities (15 and 10). The salinity-dependent NKA mRNA expression patterns differed depending on the tissue. Marked changes were also observed in the expression of genes coding membrane proteins associated with ion and water transport, such as NKCC2, CFTR and AQP8, and in the expression of mRNA for the regulatory hormone prolactin (PRL) and its receptor (PRLr). Our results demonstrate that freshening causes osmotic imbalances in H. antarcticus, apparently due to reduced capacity of both transport and regulatory mechanisms of key organs to maintain homeostasis. This has implications for fish species that have evolved in stable environmental conditions in the Antarctic, now threatened by climate change.

Zinc uptake in fish intestinal epithelial model RTgutGC: Impact of media ion composition and methionine chelation

Apical uptake of zinc as ionic Zn(II) or as Zn-methionine (Zn-Met) was studied in RTgutGC cell line in vitro under media compositions mirroring the gut luminal ionic concentration of freshwater (FW) and seawater (SW) acclimated salmonids. Viability of the RTgutGC cells exposed to experimental media preparations showed a time-dependent decrease in SW treated cells, with the effect being significant at 48 h (P < 0.01), but not at 12 h or 24 h. Half effective concentration of Zn exposure over 12 h (EC₅₀, in μM) was not differentially affected by media composition (FW, 59.7 ± 12.1 or SW, 83.2 ± 7.2; mean ± SE, P = 0.43). Zinc (⁶⁵Zn) influx in RTgutGC was not different between FW or SW treated cells, but increased significantly in the presence of methionine (2 mM, L-Met or DL-Met). An interaction effect was observed between Zn concentration and media ionic composition on the impact of Met on apical Zn uptake (L-met, P < 0.001; DL-met, P = 0.02). In the presence of Met, apical Zn uptake in SW medium was significantly lower compared to FW, but only at higher Zn concentrations (12 and 25 μM, P < 0.01). Further, Met facilitated Zn uptake was reduced in cells treated with an amino acid transport system blocker with the effect being more significant and stereospecific in SW ionic conditions. The findings of this study showed that (i) Zn speciation in the presence of Met improved apical Zn uptake in RTgutGC cells and Zn-Met species were possibly taken up through Met uptake system. (ii) The effect was differentially affected by the ionic composition of the medium. Implications and limitations of the observations towards practical Zn nutrition of salmonids are discussed.

Non-invasive in vivo imaging of the ionic regimes along the gastrointestinal tract of a freshwater vertebrate model organism (Japanese medaka) using responsive photonic crystal beads

Microspherical photonic colloidal crystalline beads that are responsive to media ionic strength of cationic electrolytes have been developed for in vivo imaging of the morphology and concentration gradient of cationic electrolytes along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of live Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). These responsive photonic beads were assembled from core-shell nano-sized particles with polystyrene-co-polyacrylic acid (PS-co-PAA) cores and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-p-styrene sulfonate) (PHEMA-co-PSS) hydrogel shells. The three-dimensional orderly packing of these nano-sized core-shell particles gave rise to the photonic properties of the resultant colloidal crystalline array of microspheres. The cationic electrolyte-induced volume phase transition of the sulfonate-laden hydrogel shells of the nano-sized particles altered the lattice spacing among those particles and brought about the photonic responses of the colloidal crystalline beads. Unambiguous changes in the diffraction colour of the colloidal crystalline beads were observable under ordinary ambient light in solution media of increasing concentration of sodium chloride up to 500 mM. These photonic colloidal crystalline beads were found to possess enough structural integrity for in vivo imaging of the GI tract of live Japanese medaka. With the use of a conventional optical microscope, the gradient in the ionic strength of cationic electrolytes along the GI tract of live Japanese medaka larvae was readily revealed, with a lower electrolyte concentration in the mid-intestine (<50 mM) compared to that of the posterior-intestine (≥50 mM). Our results demonstrated the potential of stimuli-responsive photonic materials in bio-imaging applications.

Ion levels in the gastrointestinal tract content of freshwater and marine-estuarine teleosts

This study investigated the relationship between ion levels (Na⁺, Cl⁻, K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺) in the fluid phase and total chyme of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract segments of freshwater and marine-estuarine teleosts collected in different salinities (0-34 ppt) in estuarine and freshwater portions of the São Gonçalo channel, southern Brazil. In addition, the relative contribution of feeding and osmoregulation to the ionic content of each portion of the gastrointestinal tract of fishes collected in different ambient salinities was analyzed. There was no relationship between salinity and ion levels in the fluid phase and total chyme of the segments of the gastrointestinal tract when considering all species together. However, there was a significant positive relationship between salinity and ion levels in the fluid phase and total chyme of two fish species (Micropogonias furnieri and Genidens barbus) collected in three or more different salinities. In most species, ion levels in the fluid phase and total chyme changed throughout the gastrointestinal tract, suggesting absorption, but the ionoregulatory mechanisms of the gastrointestinal tract seem to vary according to species.

Postprandial acid-base balance and ion regulation in freshwater and seawater-acclimated European flounder, Platichthys flesus

The effects of feeding on both acid-base and ion exchange with the environment, and internal acid-base and ion balance, in freshwater and seawater-acclimated flounder were investigated. Following voluntary feeding on a meal of 2.5-5% body mass and subsequent gastric acid secretion, no systemic alkaline tide or respiratory compensation was observed in either group. Ammonia efflux rates more than doubled from 489 +/- 35 and 555 +/- 64 mumol kg(-1) h(-1) under control conditions to 1,228 +/- 127 and 1,300 +/- 154 mumol kg(-1) h(-1) post-feeding in freshwater and seawater-acclimated fish, respectively. Based on predictions of gastric acid secreted during digestion, we calculated net postprandial internal base gains (i.e., HCO (3) (-) secreted from gastric parietal cells into the blood) of 3.4 mmol kg(-1) in seawater and 9.1 mmol kg(-1 )in freshwater-acclimated flounder. However, net fluxes of ammonia, titratable alkalinity, Na(+) and Cl(-) indicated that branchial Cl(-)/HCO (3) (-) and Na(+)/H(+) exchange played minimal roles in counteracting these predicted base gains and cannot explain the absence of alkaline tide. Instead, intestinal Cl(-)/HCO (3) (-) exchange appears to be enhanced after feeding in both freshwater and seawater flounder. This implicates the intestine rather than the gills as a potential route of postprandial base excretion in fish, to compensate for gastric acid secretion.

The response of digestive proteases to abrupt salinity decrease in the euryhaline sparid Sparus aurata L

The response of the digestive proteases to abrupt salinity change was studied in juvenile gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) for 15 days after transfer from 33 per thousand to 21 per thousand. Salinity decrease affected significantly neither the activity of total acid proteases in stomach, nor the activities of total alkaline proteases and major serine proteases--trypsin and chymotrypsin--in the alkaline part of the intestine. The activity of the major proteases was significantly different between the alkaline segments of the intestine, with the posterior intestine presenting the highest activities followed by the pyloric caeca. This distribution pattern remained unaffected by salinity decrease. Notably, salinity change led to significant alterations in elastase and carboxypeptidase activity. The changes were more prominent in the upper part of the intestine (pyloric caeca and anterior intestine) than in the posterior intestine. In pyloric caeca significant alteration of carboxypeptidase A and B activities was observed, elastase changes were confined to anterior intestine together with alterations in carboxypeptidase B activity, while in posterior intestine the changes were restricted to carboxypeptidase A activity. The results are discussed in relation to the osmoregulatory action of the intestinal segments and dietary protein digestion.

Gastrointestinal processing of Na+, Cl−, and K+during digestion: implications for homeostatic balance in freshwater rainbow trout

The role of the gastrointestinal tract in maintaining ionic homeostasis during digestion, as well as the relative contribution of the diet for providing electrolytes, has been generally overlooked in many aquatic species. An experimental diet that contained an inert reference marker (lead-glass beads) was used to quantify the net transport of Na+, K+, and Cl−during the digestion and absorption of a single meal (3% ration) by freshwater rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss). Secretion of Cl−into the stomach peaked at 8 and 12 h following feeding at a rate of 1.1 mmol·kg−1·h−1, corresponding to a theoretical pH of 0.6 in the secreted fluid (i.e., 240 mmol/l HCl). The majority (∼90%) of dietary Na+and K+was absorbed in the stomach, whereas subsequent large fluxes of Na+and Cl−into the anterior intestine corresponded to a large flux of water previously observed. The estimated concentration of Na+in fluids secreted into the anterior intestine was ∼155 mmol/l, equivalent to reported hepatic bile values, whereas the estimated concentration of Cl−(∼285 mmol/l) suggested seepage of HCl acid from the stomach in advance of the chyme front. Net absorption of K+in the stomach occurred following the cessation of Cl−secretion, providing indirect evidence of K+involvement with HCl acid production. Overall, 80–90% of the K+and Cl−contents of the meal were absorbed on a net basis, whereas net Na+absorption was negligible. Chyme-to-plasma ion concentration gradients were often opposed to the direction of ion transport, especially for Na+and Cl−.

A protective effect of dietary calcium against acute waterborne cadmium uptake in rainbow trout

The present study examined the interactions between elevated dietary calcium (as ionic Ca2+ in the form of CaCl2 x 2H2O) and acute waterborne Cd exposure (50 microg/l as CdNO3 for 3 h) on whole body uptake and internal distribution of newly accumulated Cd, Ca2+, and Na+ in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish were fed with three diets 20 (control), 30 and 60 mg Ca2+/g food: for 7 days before fluxes were measured with radiotracers over a 3h period. The two elevated Ca2+ diets reduced the whole body uptake of both Ca2+ and Cd by >50% and similarly reduced the internalization of both newly accumulated metals in most tissues, effects which reflect the shared branchial uptake route for Ca2+ and Cd. As the Ca2+ concentrations of the fluid phases of the stomach and intestinal contents were greatly elevated by the experimental diets, increased gastrointestinal Ca2+ uptake likely caused the down-regulation of the branchial Ca2+ (and Cd) uptake pathway. Waterborne Na+ uptake and internal distribution were not affected. While plasma Ca2+ surged after the first two feedings of the 60 mg Ca2+/g diet, internal homeostasis was quickly restored. Total Ca2+, Na+, and Cl- levels in tissues were not affected by diets. While dietary Ca2+ protected against waterborne Cd uptake, it did not protect against the relative inhibition of waterborne Ca2+ uptake caused by waterborne Cd. Acute exposure to 50 microg/l Cd reduced the uptake and internalization of newly accumulated Ca2+ (but not Na+) by 70% or more, regardless of diet. Since elevated dietary Ca2+ reduces waterborne Cd uptake, fish eating a Ca(2+)-rich invertebrate diet may be more protected against waterborne Cd toxicity in a field situation.

Calcitonin cells in the intestine of goldfish and a comparison of the number of cells among saline-fed, soup-fed, or high Ca soup-fed fishes

Calcitonin-immunoreactive cells were found in the intestine of goldfish. These cells were distributed mainly in the anterior part of the intestine, dispersed in the intestinal epithelium. The nucleus was located in the basal portion of the serosal side, and the cytoplasm was elongated to the luminal side. From the anterior part of the intestine, cDNA fragments with the same nucleotide sequence as that of the goldfish calcitonin gene were amplified by RT-PCR method. After administration of one of three kinds of solutions (saline, consommé soup, or high Ca consommé soup) into the digestive tract of the goldfish, the number of those cells was the largest in the consommé group at 6 h after ingestion, although blood Ca levels were the highest in the high Ca consommé group. The function of calcitonin cells in the intestine may be to restrain the acute absorption of nutrients and not to control blood Ca levels.

Ion transport across the isolated intestinal mucosa of Anguilla anguilla (Pisces)

The posterior intestine of freshwater-adapted Anguilla anguilla has a serosa negative transepithelial potential difference (TPD), and a current corresponding to the flow of negative current towards serosa. The TPD and the short-circuit current (SCC) were inhibited by Na+ and K+ withdrawal, and Cl- substitution or BA2+ addition inverts TPD and SCC, suggesting a Cl- and Na+ current mucosa-serosa, a K(+)-Cl- cotransport and a K+ channel in the mucosal side. The TPD and SCC were inhibited by ouabain, DIDS, furosemide and amiloride, indicating the presence of a Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase, and Cl-/HCO3-,Na(+)-K(+)-Cl- and Na+/H+ cotransporters.

Topological distribution of choline phospholipid fatty acids in trout intestinal brush-border membrane

The transbilayer distribution of choline phospholipids in trout intestinal brush-border membrane has been investigated using phospholipase C (from Clostridium welchii). In the middle intestine, 84% of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and 60% of sphingomyelin (SP) are located in the outer membrane leaflet. In the posterior intestine, 89% of PC and 52% of SP are located in the outer membrane leaflet. The externally located PC molecular species are (n - 3) fatty acid-rich in both parts of the intestine. While the sphingomyelin molecular species containing 24:1(n - 9) are exclusively located in the outer leaflet in the middle intestine, those containing 14:0 are more abundant in the same leaflet but in the posterior intestine. This strongly asymmetric distribution of both choline phospholipids may have numerous consequences on the brush-border membrane characteristics.

Topological distribution of aminophospholipid fatty acids in trout intestinal brush-border membrane

The transbilayer distribution of aminophospholipids in trout intestinal brush-border membrane has been investigated using trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). In the middle intestine, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is symmetrically distributed between the two leaflets while 68% of the phosphatidylserine (PS) are located in the inner membrane leaflet. In the posterior intestine, 64% of the PE and 69% of the PS are located in the inner membrane leaflet. When asymmetrically distributed, the inner species of PE and PS have a higher content of 22:6(n-3) than the outer ones. This asymmetric distribution of docosahexaenoic acid in trout intestinal brush-border membrane might be related to the rod-like shape of the microvillus membrane and to its metabolism to hydroxylated derivatives.

Dietary modifications of phospholipid composition and biophysical properties of the brush border membrane along the trout intestine

Brush border membranes (BBM) are isolated from middle and posterior intestine of trout fed either an essential fatty acid-rich diet or a saturated one. The different phospholipid classes are separated, and their fatty acid composition is determined. Fluorescence anisotropy studies are performed using two lipid fluorophores, namely diphenylhexatriene (DPH) and trimethylamino-diphenylhexatriene (TMA-DPH). The results indicate that the usual parameters affecting the lipid fluidity such as the phospholipid:protein (PL:PROT), cholesterol:phospholipid (CHOL:PL), and sphingomyelin:phosphatidylcholine (SP:PC) ratios and the unsaturation of the acyl chains are sufficient to explain the fluidity values determined using DPH, but not those obtained with TMA-DPH as a probe. This fluorophore is assessed to be localized only in the external leaflet of the membrane. Hence, it will be affected by the composition of the major phospholipids of this leaflet, sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine.