The effects of repeated physical stress on the b-adrenergic response of the rainbow trout red blood cell

The effects of a 7-day period of daily physical stress (chasing until exhaustion) on the beta-adrenergic response of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) red blood cell (rbc) were examined in vitro. Physical stress was associated with pronounced increases in the circulating levels of the catecholamine hormones (adrenaline and noradrenaline) measured on days 1, 3 and 7 of the stress regime. After 7 days, the numbers of high-affinity cell surface beta-adrenoceptors were reduced in the physically stressed fish when measured in vitro under conditions of normoxia (20 % reduction) or hypoxia (30 % reduction). Under hypoxic conditions, the binding affinity of the rbc beta-adrenoceptor was significantly higher in the stressed fish. Although the stressed fish had fewer beta-adrenoceptors, rbc adrenergic responsiveness was enhanced after 7 days of physical stress as determined from dose-response curves relating noradrenaline concentration to water and Na+ accumulation (indices of rbc adrenergic Na+/H+ exchange activity). The EC50 values (concentrations yielding half-maximal responses) for noradrenaline were lowered significantly by 1.7- to 3.9-fold in the blood from physically stressed fish. The enhanced adrenergic responsiveness of the rbcs appeared to be unrelated to changes in the initial steps of the beta-adrenergic signal transduction pathway leading to cyclic AMP production because physical stress was without effect on the magnitude or the dose-dependency of rbc cyclic AMP accumulation. To determine whether post-cyclic-AMP events were affected by physical stress, water and Na+ accumulation were measured in rbcs that had been incubated with the permeable cyclic AMP analogue 8-bromo cyclic AMP. The EC50 values for 8-bromo cyclic AMP were lowered by 1.6- to 1.7-fold in the blood from stressed fish. These experiments demonstrate that repeated physical stress significantly enhances the adrenergic responsiveness of the rainbow trout rbc, presumably by modifying the sensitivity of the Na+/H+ exchanger (or the steps immediately preceding exchanger activation) to cyclic AMP. The results are discussed with respect to the interrelationships between chronic and acute stress responses in fish.