Comparative biochemistry and physiology of teleocalcin from sockeye and coho salmon

Abstract

This is a comparative study of the glycoprotein hormone, teleocalcin, from the corpuscles of Stannius of sockeye ( Oncorhynchus nerka) and coho ( O. kisutch) salmon. Coho teleocaicin was purified by the same procedures used previously to obtain sockeye teleocalcin and was obtained in a comparable yield. Both salmon teleocalcins had the same molecular weight as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-electrophoresis and both appeared to have the structure of disulfide-linked oligomers. The two hormones were similar on the basis of amino acid and carbohydrate composition and shared 95% homology in the first 40 residues on the N-terminal. The salmon teleocalcins also shared 80% homology with the predicted 1–40 N-terminal sequence from Australian eels ( Anguilla australis). Both teleocalcins had potent inhibitory effects on gill calcium uptake in intact rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri). However, these effects were observed only at the peak in the calcium uptake cycle that is displayed by this species. In North American eels ( A. rostrata), the acute administration of both teleocalcins caused significant inhibition of gill calcium uptake without any concomitant changes in plasma calcium levels or other plasma electrolytes. In 4- and 7-day stanniectomy (STX) eels, the acute administration of coho teleocalcin significantly reduced or completely abolished the accelerated gill calcium transport that occurs postoperatively, with no concomitant changes in plasma electrolytes or post-STX hypercalcemia. These experiments provide further evidence that teleocalcin is a regulator of gill calcium transport and has no acute hypocalcemic effects in fish.