The free‐martin; a study of the action of sex hormones in the foetal life of cattle

Lillie, Frank R.

doi:10.1002/jez.1400230208

Cited by 359 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Further, exogenous sex steroids may exert an impact on gonad development in some animals. This effect was first described by Lillie (1917) in freemartin cattle, where female infertility, due to partial sex reversal, was caused by steroid hormones produced by the opposite-sex twin in the womb. Because abnormalities in hormone levels can have broad effects on sexual development including sex reversal usually accompanied by infertility in mice and humans (Piprek 2009b), sex steroid synthesis, action, and metabolism must be strictly controlled during development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Differential effects of testosterone and 17β-estradiol on gonadal development in five anuran species

Piprek

Pecio²,

Kubiak³

et al. 2012

Reproduction

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Sex hormones are essential for sexual differentiation and play a key role in the development of gonads in amphibians. The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of exogenous sex steroids, testosterone, and 17b-estradiol (E 2 ) on development of gonads in five anuran species differing in their evolutionary positions, sex determination, and mode of gonadogenesis. We found that in two closely related species of fire-bellied toad, Bombina bombina and Bombina variegata, testosterone and E 2 exposure results in sex reversal as well as intersex and undifferentiated gonads. Similarly, sex reversal was observed in Hyla arborea after exposure to male or female sex steroids. Xenopus laevis was sensitive to E 2 but only moderately to testosterone. In Bufo viridis, treatment with either sex hormone provoked a developmental delay in gonads and Bidder's organs. Therefore, susceptibility to hormonal sex reversal appeared species dependent but unrelated to genetic sex determination and the type of gonadogenesis. We also found that the onset of sex steroid exposure influences gonad differentiation and the meiotic status of the germ cells depends on their location within the gonad. Our findings reveal differential sensitivity of amphibians to testosterone and E 2 , establishing a hierarchy of sensitivity to these hormones among different anuran species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Differential effects of testosterone and 17β-estradiol on gonadal development in five anuran species

Piprek

Pecio²,

Kubiak³

et al. 2012

Reproduction

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“…It is interesting to recall that the study of foetal endocrinology was initiated by the work of Keller & Tandler (1916) and Lillie (1917) on the bovine free¬ martin. Their theory that circulating androgens from the male foetus passed across the placental anastomosis to masculinize the female co-twin has been accepted for almost three decades.…”

Section: Case Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reported cases, in mice (Hollander, Gowen & Stadler, 1956), hamsters (Kirkman, 1958) and humans (Overzier, 1963) Keller & Tandler (1916) and Lillie (1917) as an explanation for the freemartin condition in cattle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Intersex Goat With a Bilaterally Asymmetrical Reproductive Tract

Short¹,

Hamerton²,

Grieves³

et al. 1968

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“…In this connection Marshall says : " Nutrition is probably an important factor both in the size of the litter and in the size of the individuals, as experiments on various animals have shown, but there must be variation in the degrees of vitality inherent in different foetuses." Lillie (10) suggests that the greater mortality in the male foetuses is the result of disturbance of the equilibrium which protects the males from the sex hormones of the mother. None of these suggestions seems to be quite satisfactory, and the probability is th at the observed result is brought about by a variety of causes.…”

Section: Foetal Retrogressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies on the sex-ratio and related phenomena.—I. Fœtal retrogression in mice

Parkes

1924

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B.

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During recent years an increasing amount of evidence has been accumulated relative to the death and retrogression of embryos and fœtuses. Pre-natal mortality resulting in abortion is a phenomenon of obvious occurrence, but the internal removal of dead fœtuses and embryos is quite another matter. Most of the records which exist on this latter process relate to polytocous animals, in which the question is obviously different from monotocous animals. In multiple pregnancies the abortion of a dead fœtus could only take place at the sacrifice of the rest of the fœtuses, and such being the case a means of removing the dead fœtus without terminating the pregnancy would be a considerable advantage to the animal. In monotocous animals cases of fœtal retrogression appear to be less common, though this may be accounted for by the increased difficulties of observation. The supposition of re-absorption has been challenged on the grounds that decomposition could hardly proceed in company with gestation. It seems, however, that in some animals certain products of gestation are normally assimilated by the maternal organism. Robinson (15) says that the maternal tissues are not shed at the time of birth in the mole, and that some of the fœtal tissues are retained to be absorbed later. Jenkinson (4) also states that in Perameles the allantoic blood vessels are regularly absorbed through the agency of maternal leucocytes by the parturient uterus and that fœtal tissues are absorbed somewhat similarly in Dasyurus. Also the order of the disappearance of the conceptus is suggestive. Meyer (14) says that the embryo. or fœtus is the first member of conceptuses to be removed, and my own observations show that the membranes are intact long after decomposition has started in the fœtus. This strongly suggests that the process is one of organized absorption rather than of putrefactive activity, which would presumably begin with the membranes.

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The free‐martin; a study of the action of sex hormones in the foetal life of cattle

Cited by 359 publications

References 15 publications

Differential effects of testosterone and 17β-estradiol on gonadal development in five anuran species

Differential effects of testosterone and 17β-estradiol on gonadal development in five anuran species

An Intersex Goat With a Bilaterally Asymmetrical Reproductive Tract

Studies on the sex-ratio and related phenomena.—I. Fœtal retrogression in mice

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