Volume 171, August 2016, Pages 65–71
- Laboratory of Reproductive Physiology, National University of La Plata-CONICET, Argentina
- Received 21 March 2016, Revised 26 May 2016, Accepted 31 May 2016, Available online 2 June 2016
Abstract
To
test the hypothesis that in domestic cats, postnatal androgens induce
sterility, the aims of this study were to describe the reproductive
effects and the clinical safety of a postnatal administration of a long
term release androgen in this species. Thirteen newborn littermate
female kittens were randomly assigned to one of the following treatment
groups within the first 24 h of birth: testosterone enanthate 12.5 mg sc
(TE; n = 8) or Placebo (PL; n = 5). The animals were
subsequently assessed for fecal sexual hormones until puberty was
attained and subsequently when matings occurred. After 21 days,
ovulation and gestation were diagnosed. All queens were subsequently
ovario-hysterectomized. Fecal testosterone concentrations differed
between the treatment groups throughout the study period (P < 0.05) being greater during the first 2 postnatal weeks in those of the TE group (P < 0.01). Fecal estradiol was not affected by treatment (P > 0.1). While all the females were receptive during the pubertal estrus (P > 0.1), two TE (2/8) compared with all (5/5) females of the PL group had ovulations (P < 0.05).
Only one (1/2) compared with three (3/5) of the queens of the TE and PL
groups, respectively became pregnant. All kittens of the TE group had
transient clitoral enlargement. Anovulatory TE-treated cats had no
corpus luteum, and a significant diminution of the endometrial glands as
well as of the height of the uterine epithelium. It is concluded that,
in domestic cats, a single postnatal supra-physiological dose of
testosterone caused a large proportion of queens to be anovulatory and
there were also histological endometrial abnormalities that also
occurred with this treatment that were accompanied by mild and transient
side effects.
Keywords
- Postnatal;
- Testosterone;
- Anovulation;
- Endocrine disruption;
- Felid
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
