Abstract
The direct hormonal control of sulfate uptake by cartilage matrix of coho salmon was examined by exposing branchial cartilage to 1 μCi · ml^−1^ ^35^SO~4~ for 48 hours at 15°C in a defined medium. Sulfate uptake occurred primarily in cartilage (rather than bone) and the amount of specific uptake was similar in epibranchial and ceratobranchial cartilages. Intact and hypophysectomized coho salmon starved for 22 days had equivalent in vitro sulfate uptake, which in both cases were 30% of the uptake seen in branchial cartilage of fed, intact controls. In branchial cartilage from starved coho salmon, in vitro exposure to recombinant bovine insulin‐like growth factor I (rbIGF‐I) at 1, 10, 100, and 1,000 ng · ml^−1^ caused a dose‐dependent increase in sulfate uptake, with a maximum 3‐fold increase over control at 1,000 ng · ml^−1^ rbIGF‐I. Coho salmon insulin (1, 10, 100, and 1,000 ng · ml^−1^) resulted in a maximum 30% increase in sulfate uptake at the highest dose. Growth hormone and triiodo‐L‐thyronine had no direct effect on in vitro sulfate uptake. The results indicate that IGF‐I has direct effects on coho salmon cartilage and may be an important regulator of growth in salmon and other teleosts. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.