Reproductive maturation in a sample of captive male baboons

Muehlenbein, Michael P.; Phillippi, Kathrine M.; Murchison, Mark A.; Richards, Robert J.; Švec, František; Myers, Leann

doi:10.1034/j.1600-0684.2001.d01-60.x

Cited by 18 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Consequently, comparisons among studies are of necessity presently limited. Nonetheless, the increase in fT concentration at the average age of testicular enlargement observed at Amboseli is in general agreement with previous studies of captive baboons [Castracane et al, 1986;Crawford et al, 1997;Muehlenbein et al, 2001], which all found an increase in plasma T concentrations around the time of testicular enlargement. In our analysis of the 1.5 years preceding maturation, we found a near significant (P=0.053) fT increase in the 6 months preceding maturation.…”

Section: Sex Steroids In the Transition From The Juvenile Period To Ssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…While menarche is used as an obvious criterion for sexual maturity in females of many primate species, for males there is no obvious or standardized marker to indicate sexual maturity. In the primate literature, the onset of puberty or sexual maturation is reported as the time of testicular descent (e.g., macaques) or enlargement (e.g., humans and baboons), depending on whether the species has testes that are scrotal or inguinal at birth [Castracane et al, 1986;Crawford et al, 1997;Ginther et al, 2002;Muehlenbein et al, 2001Muehlenbein et al, , 2002Nieuwenhuijsen et al, 1987;Nottelmann et al, 1987]. However, both testicular enlargement and descent occur in a gradual fashion.…”

Section: Sex Steroids In the Transition From The Juvenile Period To Smentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Most of the literature on steroid hormone variation during the juvenile period is derived from studies conducted on children [e.g., Angsusingha et al, 1974;Apter, 1980;Elmlinger et al, 2002;Genazzani et al, 1978;Sizonenko, 1989], and several key investigations of captive primates (e.g., baboons [Castracane et al, 1986;Crawford et al, 1997;Muehlenbein et al, 2001], rhesus macaques [Goy et al, 1982;Muehlenbein et al, 2002], and cotton-top tamarins [Ginther et al, 2002]). Large gaps exist in the available literature, and normative data from natural primate populations are virtually absent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coming of age: steroid hormones of wild immature baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Gesquiere

Altmann

Khan

et al. 2005

American J Primatol

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Large gaps exist in our knowledge about common patterns and variability in the endocrinology of immature nonhuman primates, and even normal hormonal profiles during that life stage are lacking for wild populations. In the present study we present steroid profiles for a wild population of baboons (Papio cynocephalus) from infancy through reproductive maturation, obtained by noninvasive fecal analyses. Fecal concentrations of glucocorticoid (fGC) and testosterone (fT) metabolites for males, and of fGC, estrogen (fE), and progestin (fP) metabolites for females were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). In males, infancy was characterized by high and declining levels of fGC and fT, whereas steroid concentrations were low during the juvenile years. During the months immediately prior to testicular enlargement, fT (but not fGC) concentration tended to increase. Males that matured early consistently had higher fT and fGC concentrations than those that matured late, but not significantly so at any age. Individual differences in fT concentrations were stable across ages, and average individual fT and fGC concentrations were positively correlated. For females, high and declining levels of fE characterized infancy, and values increased again after 3.5 years of age, as some females reached menarche by that age. Both fP and fGC were relatively low and constant throughout infancy and the juvenile period. During the months immediately prior to menarche, fGC concentration significantly decreased, while no changes were observed for fE levels. fP exhibited a complicated pattern of decrease that was subsequently followed by a more modest and nonsignificant increase as menarche approached. Early- (EM) and late-maturing (LM) females differed only in fP concentration; the higher fP concentrations in EM females reached significance at 4-4.5 years of age. Maternal rank at offspring conception did not predict concentrations of any hormone for either sex. Our results demonstrate the presence of individual endocrine variability, which could have important consequences for the timing of sexual maturation and subsequently for individual reproductive success. Further evaluation of the factors that affect hormone concentrations during the juvenile and adolescent periods should lead to a better understanding of mechanisms of life-history variability.

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Section: Sex Steroids In the Transition From The Juvenile Period To Ssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Sex Steroids In the Transition From The Juvenile Period To Smentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Coming of age: steroid hormones of wild immature baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Gesquiere

Altmann

Khan

et al. 2005

American J Primatol

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“…Postnatal concentrations of adrenal androgens have been quantified in other nonhuman primates such as marmosets, macaques, and baboons (Smail et al, 1982; Muehlenbein et al, 2001; Pattison et al, 2005), and while circulating concentrations are higher than those in other mammals, there is no evidence of similarity to humans or chimpanzees with respect to absolute levels of adrenal androgens or the postnatal pattern of secretion. Because of this, adrenarche had previously been posited to be a shared, derived characteristic in humans and chimpanzees (Cutler et al, 1978).…”

Section: Adrenal Gland Adrenarche and Hormone Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Adrenal androgen production in catarrhine primates and the evolution of adrenarche

Bernstein

Sterner

Wildman

2012

American J Phys Anthropol

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Adrenarche is a developmental event involving differentiation of the adrenal gland and production of adrenal androgens, and has been hypothesized to play a role in the extension of the preadolescent phase of human ontogeny. It remains unclear whether any nonhuman primate species shows a similar suite of endocrine, biochemical, and morphological changes as are encompassed by human adrenarche. Here, we report serum concentrations of the adrenal androgens dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) measured in 698 cross-sectional and mixed longitudinal serum samples from catarrhine primates ranging from 0.6 to 47 years of age. DHEAS in Pan is most similar to that of humans in both age-related pattern and absolute levels, and a transient early increase appears to be present in Gorilla. DHEA levels are highest in Cercocebus, Cercopithecus, and Macaca. We also tested for evidence of adaptive evolution in six genes that code for proteins involved in DHEA/S synthesis. Our genetic analyses demonstrate the protein-coding regions of these genes are highly conserved among sampled primates. We describe a tandem gene duplication event probably mediated by a retro-transposon that resulted in two 3-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta 5-Delta 4 genes (HSD3B1 and HSD3B2) with tissue specific functions in catarrhines. In humans, HSD3B2 is expressed primarily in the adrenals, ovary, and testis, while HSD3B1 is expressed in the placenta. Taken together, our findings suggest that while adrenarche has been suggested to be unique to hominoids, the evolutionary roots for this developmental stage are more ancient.

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“…Rhesus macaque DHEAS levels decline with age and are not different among males and females; both seasonally and non-seasonally breeding macaque species show a decline in DHEAS levels from early life throughout postnatal life [52, 53]. Previous work focusing on the endocrine parameters of reproductive maturation in male baboons suggests that they do not show hormonal evidence of adrenarche [54]. Subsequent work supported this conclusion, but suggested that female baboon DHEAS concentrations are higher than those in males [41].…”

Section: Adrenal Androgensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hormones and Human and Nonhuman Primate Growth

Bernstein¹

2017

Horm Res Paediatr

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The aim of this paper was to review information pertaining to the hormonal regulation of nonhuman primate growth, with specific focus on the growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis and adrenal androgens. Hormones of the GH-IGF axis are consistently associated with measures of growth – linear, weight, or both – during the growth period; in adulthood, concentrations of IGF-I, IGF-binding protein-3, and GH-binding protein are not associated with any measures of size. Comparing patterns of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA sulfate (DHEAS) may be especially relevant for understanding whether the childhood stage of growth and development is unique to humans and perhaps other apes. Genetic, hormonal, and morphological data on adrenarche in other nonhuman primate species suggest that this endocrine transition is delayed in humans, chimpanzees, and possibly gorillas, while present very early in postnatal life in macaques. This suggests that although perhaps permitted by an extension of the pre-adolescent growth period, childhood builds upon existing developmental substrates rather than having been inserted de novo into an ancestral growth trajectory. Hormones can provide insight regarding the evolution of the human growth trajectory.

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Reproductive maturation in a sample of captive male baboons

Cited by 18 publications

References 50 publications

Coming of age: steroid hormones of wild immature baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Coming of age: steroid hormones of wild immature baboons (Papio cynocephalus)

Adrenal androgen production in catarrhine primates and the evolution of adrenarche

Hormones and Human and Nonhuman Primate Growth

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