| dc.description.abstract | In vertebrates, the kisspeptins pathway in the brain is an essential upstream regulatory element of
the hypothalamus - pituitary - gonad (HPG) axis, which regulates reproduction. In European sea
bass it has been described two forms of kisspeptin genes, kisspeptin 1 (kiss1) and kisspeptin 2
(kiss2), and two forms of G-coupled protein receptor for kisspeptins, gpr54-1b and gpr54-2b.
The kisspeptins pathway activation is involved in the release of GnRH in the brain, which
subsequently, is involved in the release of the gonadotropin hormones (LH and FSH) in the
pituitary, and in turn acts in the regulation of the steroidogenesis and gametogenesis in the
gonad. One of the pathogens that greatly affects the brain is nodavirus (VNNV), a known
vertically transmitted virus, which causes the viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER)
disease. Previous studies showed that, in addition to infect the brain and cause a considerable
fish death in European sea bass specimens, VNNV is able to colonize and replicate into the
gonad, altering the sex steroid hormone levels and triggering a high immune response into the
tissue. In this study, we have determined the alteration on the expression levels of kiss1 and 2,
gpr54-1b and -2b, gnrh1, 2 and 3 genes and also the GnRH receptor (gnrhr2a) gene in the brain
of European seabass males upon VNNV intramuscular or intravitreally infection. This study
represents an advance on our knowledge about the interaction between host and VNNV, needed
to understand how this virus is able to avoid the immune response of adult fish to spread to the
progeny. | es_ES |
