Effects of mating stimuli and oxytocin on plasma cortisol concentration in gilts

Reproductive biology, 2004

Oxytocin (OT) may be implicated in the modulation of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) at each level. In mature females the influence of OT on the HPA axis appeared to be dependent on ovarian steroid milieu and stress. In cyclic sows, the role of OT in the regulation of corticoid secretion is unknown. In the present study changes in plasma cortisol and corticosterone concentrations in response to exogenous OT (in vivo experiment) and a direct influence of OT on adrenocortical steroidogenesis (in vitro experiment) were determined in luteal- and follicular-phase gilts. In the luteal-phase gilts (n=5), OT injections increased both cortisol (p<0.01) and corticosterone (p<0.05) plasma concentrations, but in the follicular-phase gilts (n=5) only the concentration of cortisol (p<0.05) was elevated in response to the treatment. Areas under the cortisol and corticosterone curves calculated for 30 min period after the OT injection were statistically higher (p<0.05) during t...

Reproduction, 1987

Animals

Oxytocin (OXT) is one of the essential hormones in the birth process; however, estradiol, prolactin, cortisol, relaxin, connexin, and prostaglandin are also present. In addition to parturition, the functions in which OXT is also involved in mammals include the induction of maternal behavior, including imprinting and maternal care, social cognition, and affiliative behavior, which can affect allo-parental care. The present article aimed to analyze the role of OXT and the neurophysiologic regulation of this hormone during parturition, how it can promote or impair maternal behavior and bonding, and its importance in lactation in domestic animals.

The Pharma Innovation

Canadian Journal of Animal Science, 1989

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of subcutaneous injections of saline on serum concentrations of cortisol, prolactin and growth hormone in cycling gilts and lactating sows. In exp. 1, five crossbred cycling gilts were given one subcutaneous injection and blood was sampled during the preceding and following four hours. In exp. 2, blood samples were taken from six purebred lactating sows on a control day and on a day when they were injected with saline in a latin square design. Serum concentrations of cortisol, prolactin and growth hormone were monitored in exps. 1 and 2. In exp. 3, 11 purebred primiparous sows received subcutaneous injections twice daily from 5 to 25 d postpartum. Blood samples were collected for cortisol assay on days 5, 15 and 25. Serum cortisol concentrations increased significantly after saline injection in the three experiments, confirming that injections cause a stimulation of the hypothalamic-hypophyseal-adrenal axis in cycling gilts an...

Biology of Reproduction, 1998

Reproduction Nutrition Development, 2002

Theriogenology, 2003

2011

Changes in cortisol and some biochemical values are likely to occur during pregnancy in different species, although homeostatic mechanisms function to keep substrates in the blood at comparatively constant concentrations. There are no complete data for this important endocrine and metabolic status in jennies. Since metabolic functions are increased during pregnancy to satisfy the demands of the foetus, the placenta and the uterus, the purpose of the present study was to determine which physiological changes occur in plasma cortisol and total protein, creatinine, urea, metabolism in pregnant jennies and hence to compare these fi ndings with those of barren jennies. The study was carried out in 24 healthy Ragusano jennies (10 pregnant and 14 barren). Blood samples were collected monthly from the jugular vein of pregnant and barren jennies in one year. As compared to barren jennies, pregnant jennies showed lower cortisol (P<0.05) and urea (P<0.05) values and higher creatinine (P&...