Peripheral Patterns of Growth Hormone, Luteinizing Hormone, and Progesterone Before, at, and after Puberty in Buffalo Heifer

Abstract

Buffalo, the premier dairy animal in India, suffers from slow growth rate, delayed puberty, and silent heat. It is not known whether the delay in puberty in such animals is due to the delay in expression of hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal functions. To determine the changes in growth hormone (GH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and progesterone before, at, and after puberty of Murrah buffalo heifers, six Murrah buffalo heifers (21.92 +/- 1.09 months of age, 269.67 +/- 7.97 kg body weight) were assigned to well-ventilated individual pens and fed a roughage-concentrate diet to provide weight gain of 0.4 kg/day. Blood samples were collected at 3-day intervals during a period of 12 months, and plasma harvested from blood samples was assayed for progesterone, LH, and GH. The day that plasma progesterone was greater than 1 ng/mL for three consecutive sampling days was defined as the day of puberty. Heifers attained puberty at an average age of 31.53 +/- 0.88 months with a body weight of 380.67 +/- 6.42 kg. Progesterone levels were very low (0.20 to 0.30 ng/mL) during the pre-pubertal period. There were two distinct elevations before the day of puberty onset. Plasma LH and GH concentrations increased (P < 0.05) during the months preceding puberty and were highest during the month before puberty. GH and LH were positively correlated (P < 0.05) prior to (r = +0.59) as well as after puberty (r = +0.42). A positive correlation (P < 0.05)between LH and body weight during the pre-pubertal period (r = +0.61) and thereafter, negative correlation (P < 0.05) during post-pubertal period (r = -0.64) was noted. GH and body weight showed positive correlation both before puberty (r = +0.92, P < 0.01) and after puberty (r = +0.32, P < 0.05). Results suggest that both GH and LH are equally important and vital cues in inducing onset of ovarian functions in buffalo heifers.

Reproduction in the Water Buffalo

“…The attainment of puberty is defined as the fine adjusting of central and local endocrine balance and its relationship to the cellular events taking place in the organs of the reproductive tract. In buffaloes a close association between the growth hormone and LH in the mechanism of puberty has been highlighted (Haldar and Prakash 2006), and their parallel highest concentrations were recorded just 1 month before puberty (Haldar and Prakash 2005). A comparison of follicle development within waves in puberal and pluriparous buffaloes has been studied by Presicce et al.…”

Serum Profile of Thyroid Hormones from Birth to Puberty in Buffalo Calves and Heifers

“…Puberty, the final maturation of the sexual phenotype, is the consequence of increased secretion of gonadal steroids, driven by increased production and secretion of gonadotrophins. Changes in the hypothalamichypophyseal-ovarian axis before puberty have been investigated in cattle and sheep [3]. Information on the endocrine mechanisms that regulate the onset of puberty in buffalo heifers is scarce.…”

Determination of Puberty Onset in Bulgarian Murrah Buffalo Heifers through Blood Progesterone Analysis

“…An indication of puberty onset on the basis of blood progesterone analysis in animals at the aforementioned age could be the occurrence of concentrations over 1.23±0.16 ng/ml. In support of this thesis, numerous researchers (Haldar and Prakash, 2005;Singh and Madan, 1998;Terzano et al, 2007) reported that in sexually immature buffalo heifers blood progesterone remained lower than 1 ng/ml, and puberty can occur at a very early age, 9.9 months (Mohamed et al, 1980) or at 12-14 months of age (Zaabel et al, 1994) and was accompanied with ovarian activity.…”

“…Some authors (Jain and Pandey, 1983;Zaabel et al, 1994;Singh and Madan, 1998;Terzano et al, 2007) have used for that purpose blood progesterone concentrations while others (Haldar and Prakash, 2005; Abu-Seida, 2016) identify puberty onset after ultrasound detection of yellow body in one of ovaries as well. Zaabel et al (1994) measured blood progesterone levels in Egyptian buffaloes through a RIA method and reported that prior to puberty (12-14 months of age), they were < 1 ng/ml.…”