Claudin-6,-10d and-10e contribute to seawater acclimation in the euryhaline puffer fish Tetraodon nigroviridis

Expression profiles of claudin-6, -10d and - 10e in the euryhaline teleost fish Tetraodon nigroviridis revealed claudin-6 in brain, eye, gill and skin tissue, while claudin-10d and - 10e were found in brain, gill and skin only. In fishes, the gill and skin are important tissue barriers that interface directly with surrounding water, but these organs generally function differently in osmoregulation. Therefore, roles for gill and skin claudin-6, -10d and - 10e in the osmoregulatory strategies of T. nigroviridis were investigated. In the gill epithelium, claudin-6, -10d and - 10e co-localized with Na+-K+-ATPase immunoreactive (NKA-ir) ionocytes, and differences in sub-cellular localization could be observed in hypoosmotic (freshwater, FW) versus hyperosmotic (seawater, SW) environments. Claudin-10d and - 10e abundance increased in the gills of fish acclimated to SW versus FW, while claudin-6 abundance decreased in the gills of fish acclimated to SW. Taken together with our knowledge of claudin-6 and -10 function in other vertebrates, data support the idea that in SW-acclimated T. nigroviridis, these claudins are abundant in gill ionocytes, where they contribute to the formation of a Na+ shunt and 'leaky' epithelium, both of which are characteristic of salt-secreting SW fish gills. Skin claudin10d and - 10e abundance also increased in fish acclimated to SW versus those in FW, but so did claudin-6. In skin, claudin-6 was found to co-localize with NKA-ir cells, but claudin-10d and - 10e did not. This study provides direct evidence that the gill epithelium contains salinity-responsive tight junction proteins that are abundant primarily in ionocytes. These same proteins also appear to play a role in the osmoregulatory physiology of the epidermis.