Endogenous regulation of 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and corticosteroid receptors (CRs) during rainbow trout early development and the effects of corticosteroids on hatching

Clear evidence for a physiological role of the mineralocorticoid-like hormone 11-deoxycorticosterone (DOC) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in fish is still lacking. Efforts to demonstrate an osmoregulatory role for this hormone has so far not been conclusive, while a few scattered studies have indicated a role for DOC in development and reproduction. In this study, we investigate the onset of de novo DOC synthesis in parallel with endogenous corticosteroid receptor mRNA production from fertilization to the swim-up stage in rainbow trout. Whole egg DOC content decreased from fertilization until hatching followed by an increase to pre-fertilization levels just after hatching. Onset of de novo transcription of corticosteroid receptor mRNA's was observed shortly after the midblastula transition; initially glucocorticoid receptor 2 (GR2) followed by MR and then GR1. Non-invasive introduction of DOC or cortisol at fertilization resulted in altered corticosteroid receptor regulation and accelerated hatching date, suggesting a regulatory role in trout ontogenesis of both hormones through MR signaling pathway. The results presented in this study suggest a possible physiological role of the DOC-MR signaling pathway during fish ontogenesis, at fertilization and just after hatching.