Serum and urinary hormones during pregnancy and the peri‐ and postpartum period in an Asian elephant (Elephas, maximus)

Abstract

Blood and urine samples were collected weekly from an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) for 10 months before conception, throughout pregnancy, and for 10 months after parturition. Additional daily samples were collected for 41 days before through 10 days after parturition to define endocrine events during the peripartum period. During gestation, serum progesterone concentrations increased gradually and, after -13 weeks, were higher ( P < 0.05) than those observed during the nonpregnant luteal phase. Concentrations peaked at -12 months of gestation, gradually declined during the last month, and then decreased sharply to nondetectable levels 2 days before parturition. A 12 week lactational anestrus was observed before cyclicity resumed. The urinary profile of progestagen excretion paralleled that of circulating progesterone (r = 0.79; P < 0.05); however, radioimmunoassay of HPLC-separated fractions of urinary eluates indicated that this immunoactivity was not associated with native progesterone. After remaining basal through the first 16 weeks of gestation, serum prolactin concentrations increased to 100-fold about midterm and remained elevated until after parturition. Neither serum nor urinary cortisol concentrations were altered during pregnancy, but both increased markedly the day after parturition and remained elevated above prepartum levels for several weeks thereafter. These data indicate that analysis of serum prolactin can confirm pregnancy in the Asian elephant after -4 months of gestation and that daily monitoring of serum or urinary progestagens is useful for predicting parturition. 0 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.*

EFFECTS OF A GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE VACCINE ON OVARIAN CYCLICITY AND UTERINE MORPHOLOGY OF AN ASIAN ELEPHANT (ELEPHAS MAXIMUS)

“…Serum progestagens were analyzed by using a solid-phase 125 I-progesterone radioimmunoassay (Coat-a-Countt, Siemens Diagnostic Products Corporation, Costa Mesa, California 92626, USA) validated for elephants. 7 Serum FSH and LH concentrations were quantified by using double antibody 125 I radioimmunoassays validated for elephants. 6 Hormone results were analyzed from samples collected approximately weekly from 4 January 2006 to 6 January 2010.…”

The Secretory Pattern and Source of Immunoreactive Prolactin in Pregnant African (<i>Loxodonta africana</i>) and Asian (<i>Elephas maximus</i>) Elephants

“…The major source of PRL is the anterior pituitary gland, and its major functions during mammalian gestation are development of the mammary glands and stimulation of milk production. PRL secretion is stimulated by several environmental factors including pregnancy, suckling stimulation and stress [2,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12].Reproductive endocrinology including secretion of PRL has been studied in elephants previously [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. However, many mysteries, such as the source and the function of PRL during pregnancy, still remain.…”

Assessment of luteinizing hormone and prolactin immunoactivity in Asian and African elephant urine using assays validated for serum

“…To assess prolactin immunoactivity, matched blood and urine samples were collected during mid to late gestation (12-18 months; Brown and Lehnhardt, 1995) from a single pregnant Asian and African elephant (n = 10 samples each) and compared to samples from nonpregnant females (n = 10 samples each species). In addition to longitudinal analyses, urine pools (n = 3 pools from at least six samples collected at $12, 15 and 18 months gestation) also were prepared for tests of parallelism (neat to 1:32) and mass recovery (0.31-40 ng mL À1 ).…”

“…Serum samples were analyzed in duplicate for progestagen immunoactivity using a solid-phase 125 I progesterone radioimmunoassay (RIA) (Siemens Medical Diagnostic Solutions, Costa Mesa, CA) as previously described (Brown and Lehnhardt, 1995;Brown et al, 2004a,b). Elephant serum and urine samples were analyzed in duplicate for LH using a double-antibody RIA, validated for elephants, that relied on a monoclonal anti-bovine LH antiserum (518-B7; Coralie Munro, University of California, Davis), ovine 125 I-LH tracer and ovine LH standards (NIDDK-oLH-I-4; AFP8614B), and anti-mouse IgG second antibody (#M8645, Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO; 1:100) (Brown et al, 2004a,b).…”

“…Elephant serum and urine samples were analyzed in duplicate for LH using a double-antibody RIA, validated for elephants, that relied on a monoclonal anti-bovine LH antiserum (518-B7; Coralie Munro, University of California, Davis), ovine 125 I-LH tracer and ovine LH standards (NIDDK-oLH-I-4; AFP8614B), and anti-mouse IgG second antibody (#M8645, Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO; 1:100) (Brown et al, 2004a,b). Serum and urine samples were analyzed in duplicate for prolactin using a validated assay for elephants that relied on an anti-human prolactin antiserum (NIDDK-anti-hPRL-3), ovine 125 I prolactin label and standards (NIDDK-oPRL-I-2), and sheep anti-rabbit IgG second antibody (PKC-SARGG, Pool D; 1:300 in buffer with 5% polyethylene glycol; Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD) (Brown and Lehnhardt, 1995).…”