Regulation of cartilage glycosaminoglycan synthesis in the rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, by 3,3′,5-tri-iodo-l-thyronine and IGF-I

Abstract

Abstract The actions of 3,3′,5-tri-iodo-l-thyronine (T3) and recombinant human IGF-I (rhIGF-I) as well as their interaction on cartilage growth in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were examined. Uptake of 3H-methyl thymidine and 35S-sulfate by isolated branchial cartilage was measured as a marker for chondrocyte proliferation and sulfated glycosaminoglycan synthesis respectively. When T3 (1·0 μg/g) was injected intraperitoneally, plasma T3 levels reached a transient peak after 1 day and decreased rapidly thereafter. Sulfate and thymidine uptake were not affected by T3 at 1 and 3 days post-injection, but at 6 days post-injection both were significantly higher in T3injected fish than those in controls. The stimulatory effects of a T3 injection on sulfate and thymidine uptake were dose-dependent over the range of 0·01, 0·1 and 1·0 μg/g. In vitro exposure of cartilage to T3 (0·075, 0·75, 7·5, 75 and 750 nm) for 6 days resulted in dose-dependent stimulation of sulfate uptake, with a maximum response at 7·5 nm and higher. T3 exposure (7·5 nm) for 2 or 3 days also increased sulfate uptake, but only slightly. Thymidine uptake was not clearly affected by T3. In vitro addition of rhIGF-I (0·075, 0·75 and 7·5 nm) increased sulfate uptake, but not thymidine uptake, dose-dependently. Compared with T3, rhIGF-I induced a greater maximum level of sulfate uptake: at 7·5 nm rhIGF-I increased the uptake 17-fold whereas T3 increased the uptake fourfold. When T3 (0·075, 0·75 or 7·5 nm) and rhIGF-I (0·1 or 1·0 nm) were added together, stimulative actions of T3 on sulfate uptake were largely additive to those of rhIGF-I. The results indicate that T3 as well as IGF-I are important modulators of sulfated glycosaminoglycan synthesis in rainbow trout cartilage. Journal of Endocrinology (1996) 149, 357–365