Cortisol and glucose responses in juvenile striped catfish subjected to a cold shock

Abstract

Cold-shock stress happens when a fish had been adjusted to a specific water temperature or range of temperatures and is consequently exposed to a rapid drop in temperature, resulting in a cascade of physiological and behavioral responses and, in some cases, death. In the current study, the stress response of striped Catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) was studied by evaluating serum cortisol and glucose level following an abrupt reduction in water temperature (from 28°C to 15°C) at different time points (prior to, and after 1h, 12h and 24h cold treatment, respectively). Regardless of some mortality occurred in cold challenged fish, none of the physiological parameters changed during evaluation period. The results, suggesting that despite of necessity of cortisol and glucose evaluation in any of stress assessment, yet, due to their high variability in different fish species, additional complementary tests such as measurement of other stress hormones e.g. heat shock proteins as well as blood-cell counts (preferably in chronic experiments) should also be included.

An updated review of cold shock and cold stress in fish

“…Panase et al (2018) cold stressed Nile tilapia (25 to 13 C at 3 C per h, held at 13 C for up to 3 days) and observed initial decreases followed by gradual increases in serum glucose and nitrogenous waste in the blood over the sampling period, along with fluctuations in serum cholesterol and gradual increases in alanine and aspartic transaminases likely released into the bloodstream as a result of liver damage. Nonetheless, relative to ambient temperature controls, serum glucose levels did not change following 24 h cold shock (c. 27.5 to 15 C) in iridescent shark catfish, though both control and cold-shocked groups exhibited slight fluctuations over the 24 h period (Adloo et al, 2015). Blood glucose in bonefish was unaffected by 2 h exposure to a decrease in temperature by 7 or 14 C; nonetheless, blood lactate was elevated in the À14 C group relative to a handling control (Szekeres et al, 2014).…”

“…Adloo et al . (2015) observed similar gradual increases in serum cortisol over 24 h in both an ambient control group and a cold shock ( c . 27.5 to 15°C for up to 24 h) group of iridescent shark catfish ( Pangasianodon hypophthalmus Sauvage 1878).…”

“…Nonetheless, relative to ambient temperature controls, serum glucose levels did not change following 24 h cold shock ( c . 27.5 to 15°C) in iridescent shark catfish, though both control and cold‐shocked groups exhibited slight fluctuations over the 24 h period (Adloo et al ., 2015). Blood glucose in bonefish was unaffected by 2 h exposure to a decrease in temperature by 7 or 14°C; nonetheless, blood lactate was elevated in the −14°C group relative to a handling control (Szekeres et al ., 2014).…”

Tissue-Specific and Differential Cold Responses in the Domesticated Cold Tolerant Fugu

“…There are abundant essays about the domestication effects on growth and stress response in teleosts [20,21]. It has been reported that domestication reduces fish stress response, manifesting less fear in salmonids and European sea bass or less sensitiveness to acute handling stressors in Eurasian perch and catfish [22,23]. The cold-tolerant fugu used in this experiment also obtained low-temperature domestication.…”