Short-term dietary teprenone improved thermal tolerance and mitigated liver damage caused by heat stress in juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Heat stress seriously threatens fish survival and health, demanding immediate attention. Teprenone is a gastric mucosal protective agent that can induce heat shock protein expression. This research investigated the effects of teprenone on largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) subjected to heat stress. Juvenile fish were assigned to different groups: group C (control group, 0 mg teprenone/kg diet), T₀, T₂₀₀, T₄₀₀, and T₈₀₀ (0, 200, 400, and 800 mg teprenone/kg diet, respectively), which were fed for 3 days, followed by a day without the diet. All groups except group C were subjected to acute heat stress (from 24 °C to 35 °C at 1 °C per hour and then maintained at 35 °C for 3 h). The results were as follows: The critical thermal maxima were significantly higher in the T₂₀₀, T₄₀₀, and T₈₀₀ groups compared with the T₀ group (P < 0.05). Heat stress caused severe damage to the tissue morphology of the liver, while teprenone significantly reduced this injury (P < 0.05). Serum cortisol concentration decreased gradually as teprenone concentration increased, and the lowest concentration was observed in the T₈₀₀ group (P < 0.05). Compared with the T₀ group, the serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and gamma-glutamyl transferase were significantly lower in the T₂₀₀, T₄₀₀, and T₈₀₀ groups (P < 0.05). The liver activities of catalase, total superoxide dismutase, and peroxidase were significantly higher in the T₂₀₀ group than in the T₀ group (P < 0.05). Transcript levels of the heat shock proteins (hsp90, hsp70, hspa5, and hsf1) and caspase family (caspase3 and caspase9) in the liver of the T₂₀₀ group were significantly higher than those of the T₀ group (P < 0.05). Western blot results showed that HSP70 and HSPA5 in the liver were significantly upregulated in the T₂₀₀ group compared with the T₀ group (P < 0.05). In summary, dietary teprenone improved thermal tolerance, alleviated heat stress damage in the liver, enhanced antioxidant capacity, and upregulated heat shock proteins in juvenile largemouth bass. This study offers theoretical support for applying teprenone in aquaculture to reduce financial losses caused by abiotic factors.