Exploring the effect of dihydrotestosterone on NOD‐like receptors expression in spotted snakehead Channa punctata (Bloch 1793)

Abstract

Sex steroids are known to modulate immune responses as a result of which, many of the immune parameters in seasonally breeding organisms show reproductive‐phase dependent variation. Androgen, the male sex steroid is largely reported to be immunosuppressive. Together with other pattern recognition receptors, the NOD‐like receptors (NLRs) serve as intracellular sentinels and are essential to defense mechanisms. Interestingly, till date the transcriptional modulation of NLRs by androgen has not been explored. In the present study, we investigated the reproductive‐phase dependent expression of NLRs in male spotted snakehead Channa punctata. Further, the effect of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on NLR expression was studied. The expression of NLRs was observed to be most pronounced during the spawning phase of the fish which is marked by the highest testosterone level. The in vivo as well as in vitro studies showed the diverse effect of DHT on NLR expression depending on the duration and mode of treatment, as well as the immune tissue studied.

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