A steroidal pheromone and spawning stimuli act via different neuroendocrine mechanisms to increase gonadotropin and milt volume in male goldfish Carassius auratus.

In goldfish (Carassius auratus), pheromonal 17alpha, 20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20beta-P) and spawning stimuli (interaction with a sexually active female releasing prostaglandin pheromone) both increase gonadotropin-II (GtH-II) and milt volume. In the goldfish pituitary, GtH-II release is stimulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and inhibited by dopamine (DA). In this study, we investigated the possibility that 17,20beta-P and spawning stimuli act via separate neuroendocrine mechanisms by determining whether their effects on GtH-II could be selectively disrupted by injection of DA type-2 receptor (D-2) agonists (bromocryptine and LY171555) or a goldfish GnRH antagonist, [Ac-Delta3-Pro1, 4FD-Phe2, d-Trp3,6]-mGnRH (analog E). D-2 agonists blocked 17,20beta-P-induced increases in GtH-II and milt volume but did not affect spawning-induced responses. GnRH antagonist blocked 17,20beta-P-induced increases in GtH-II and milt volume, and spawning-induced GtH-II increase, but did not affect spawning-induced increase in milt volume. These results suggest that (1) pheromonal 17,20beta-P and spawning stimuli increase GtH-II increase via distinct neuroendocrine mechanisms, (2) the effect of pheromonal 17,20beta-P on increasing milt volume is GtH-II-dependent, and (3) the effect of spawning stimuli on increasing milt volume is GtH-II-independent.