Abstract
Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) is a peptide brain hormone that is involved in the regulation of reproduction in vertebrates via stimulation of the secretion of the pituitary hormones, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which in their turn stimulate sexual development and sex steroid hormone secretion by the gonads. The tropical abalone, Haliotis asinina, in common with many other invertebrates contains a peptide with a similar structure to GnRH. This study looks at its possible involvement in reproduction by injecting groups of one-year-old female abalone at the mature phase by injecting them with synthetic H. asinina (Has) GnRH at doses of 0, 250 and 500 ng/g and then measuring the amount of material in nerve ganglia, ovary and hemolymph that cross-reacted with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for vertebrate LH and steroid, estradiol. Immunohistochemistry, using antibodies for the same two compounds, was also carried out to examine the location of immunoactivity in the tissues of the animals. There were slight (in some cases statistically significant) increases in LH-immunoactivity and estradiol in the hemolymph and tissues. However, this applied to the lower dose only (i.e the dose-response relationship was non-monotonic). Using immunohistochemistry, LH-immunoreactive cells were observed in types 1 and 2 neurosecretory (NS1 and NS2) cells within the cerebral and pleuropedal ganglia of H. asinina. In addition, LH-immunoreactive nerve fiber bundles were strongly detected in both ganglia. The immunoactivity against the estrogen appeared to be localized in the granulated cells within the connective tissue and trabeculae of the mature ovary. There was no positive staining in the cytoplasm of any stage of the germ cells. The interpretation of these findings is presently hindered by the fact that the homologous gene for vertebrate LH has not yet been identified in the genomes of any mollusks (so the cause of the immunostaining is as yet unknown) and also by the fact that mollusks are known to readily absorb steroids from the environment and store them long-term in the form of fatty acid esters. More work, involving identification of the protein that cross-reacts with the LH antiserum and also exclusion of the possibility that the estradiol is of exogenous origin, will have to be carried out before these findings can be used to manipulate reproduction in this species.