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Effect of Glucocorticoid Treatment on Biochemical and Hormonal Blood Parameters in Early Pregnant Gilts

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 38, pages 263–273 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

Twenty Polish Landrace gilts were grouped immediately after mating as follows: Experiment I–Group 1 (5 gilts), control animals and Group 2 (5 gilts), injected i.m. with dexamethasone (30 mg/kg) at 12-h intervals from day 13 to day 22 of pregnancy; Experiment II–Group 3 (5 gilts), injected i.m. with corn oil from day 13 to day 22 of pregnancy and Group 4 (5 gilts), injected i.m. with hydrocortisone acetate (250 mg) at 12-h intervals from day 11 to day 20 of pregnancy. Gilts were placed in metabolic cages on day 7. On days 34–36 of pregnancy gilts were slaughtered and blood samples were collected. Serum was used for analysis of aspartate aminotransferase (S-ASAT), alanine aminotransferase (S-ALAT), alkaline phosphatase (S-ALP), S-cholesterol, S-triglycerides, S-fructosa-mine, S-urea, S-total protein, and for electrophoretic fractionation of serum proteins, corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG), Cortisol, progesterone, thyroxine (T4) and free T4. There were no significant differences between groups in embryonic survival or in number of viable fetuses after treatment with glucocorticoids. The activity of S-ALP was lower (p<0.05) in Group 4 than in Group 3 (0.5 vs 1.2 μkat/1). Group 4 had higher (p<0.05) levels of S-triglycerides (1.17 vs 0.73 mmol/1), S-cholesterol (5.4 vs 2.7 mmol/1), S-total protein (110.5 vs 93.3 g/1), S-albumin (56.3 vs 43.3 g/1) and α2-globulin concentrations (18.0 vs 14.3 g/1) than Group 3. The hydrocortisone-treated gilts had lower (p<0.05) CBG (6.8 vs 21.3 nmol/1) and β1 globulin (3.25 vs 5.0 g/1) concentrations than the oil-treated ones. Concentrations of T4 were lower (p<0.05) in Groups 2 (61.3 nmo/1) and 4 (49.0 nmol/1) compared with control Groups 1 and 3 (88.2 and 97.0 nmol/1, respectively). Overall, the treatment of early pregnant gilts with hydrocortisone acetate resulted in decreased levels of S-ALP, CBG,β1 -globulin and T4, and in increased levels of S-cholesterol, S-triglycerides, S-total protein, S-albumin and α2-globulin. The only effect of dexamethasone was a lowering of T4. There were no differences in free T4, S-fructosamine or S-urea between controls and treatments. Furthermore a negative correlation between triglycerides concentrations and the number of embryos (r =–0.76, p<0.05) was found in control untreated and oil-treated pregnant gilts.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by the Swedish Council for Forestry and Agricultural Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7045, S-75007, Uppsala, Sweden

    A. Madej

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    S. Einarsson

  3. Department of Clinical Chemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

    M. Forsberg

  4. The Kielanowski Institute of Animal Physiology and Nutrition, Jablonna, Poland

    K. Romanowicz & B. Barcikowski

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  1. A. Madej
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  2. K. Romanowicz
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  4. M. Forsberg
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  5. B. Barcikowski
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Correspondence to A. Madej.

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Madej, A., Romanowicz, K., Einarsson, S. et al. Effect of Glucocorticoid Treatment on Biochemical and Hormonal Blood Parameters in Early Pregnant Gilts. Acta Vet Scand 38, 263–273 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548489

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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147