Application of a recombinant cichlid growth hormone radioimmunoassay to measure native GH in tilapia

This work describes the application of a homologous radioimmunoassay (RIA) in the measurement of plasma and pituitary growth hormone levels of tilapia maintained at 20 and 26 °C, using recombinant tilapia growth hormone (rtiGH). RIA sensitivity (ED90) was 0.08 ng/ml and ED50 was 0.62 ± 0.02 ng/ml. Intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 3.3 and 10.6% respectively, for a plasma sample of 1 ng/ml of tiGH. Mammalian or salmonids growth hormones, thyrotropins or tilapia prolactins did not show cross-reactivity with rtiGH antiserum. Plasma and pituitary extract of Oreochromis niloticus gave inhibition curves parallel to the rtiGH standard curve without interaction with serial dilutions either of tissue extracts or plasma from hypophysectomized tilapia. Pituitary extracts from other cichlid fish showed parallel competitive binding curves. Pituitary extracts of perciform fish exhibited a lower affinity to anti- rtiGH serum, while extracts of species from more distant families showed only negligible cross-reactivity or none at all. The effects of water temperature on plasma concentrations and pituitary contents of GH were investigated in tilapia acclimatized to 26 and to 20 °C. Measurements have been performed at the beginning and at the end of a two-week experiment. Whereas in fish from colder water plasma GH mean values were decreased, only a similar tendency was observed in pituitary GH contents. These results emphasize the hypothesis wich reports that the increase of growth with temperature is, at least in part, controlled by GH.