IDENTIFICATION, CELLULAR-LOCALIZATION AND IN-VITRO RELEASE OF A NOVEL TELEOST MELANIN-CONCENTRATING HORMONE GENE-RELATED PEPTIDE

The melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) precursor encodes MCH and a second peptide named neuropeptide EI (NEI) in mammals, neuropeptide EV (NEV) in salmonids and MCH gene-related peptide (Mgrp) in other fish. The primary structure of the putative Mgrp of the cichlid fish tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) appears to be very different from mammalian NEI and salmonid NEV. To investigate the processing and release of tilapia Mgrp (tMgrp), in the present study an antiserum was raised against synthetic tMgrp. By immunocytochemistry, tMgrp immunoreactivity was colocated with MCH immunoreactivity in the tilapia hypothalamus and pituitary. In addition, a tMgrp enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in combination with reversed phase HPLC was used to demonstrate the presence of processed tMgrp in tilapia hypothalamus and pituitary. The release of tMgrp from neuro-intermediate lobes (NILs) of tilapia pituitaries was demonstrated after in vitro incubation of chopped NILs. Depolarizing concentrations of potassium significantly stimulated tMgrp release. Six weeks of adaptation of tilapia to white or black backgrounds had no effect on in vitro tMgrp release or on the tMgrp content of NIL and hypothalamus. Tilapia Mgrp, unlike MCH, had no effect on tilapia scale melanophores, nor did it modulate the melanin-concentrating effect of MCH. We conclude that tMgrp is processed from the MCH preprohormone, that it is released in vitro, and that the peptide has no direct role in the melanin concentration of fish scale melanophores. Therefore a neuroendocrine or neuromodulatory function is proposed for tMgrp.