Oxytocin is a hormone well know for the stimulation of childbirth and milk letdown in mammals. Large levels of the hormone are also released during angiogenesis in the growth of the corpus luteum (CL), a temporary endocrine gland that forms on the ovaries following ovulation. Levels of oxytocin decline after...
The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of acupuncture in dairy cows on caruncular matrix metalloproteinase type-2 (MMP2) tissue concentration and enzyme activity at 0, 2, and 4 hours after calving. Immediately after natural calving, a caruncle was obtained from the body of the uterus and flash...
Abstract
Haptoglobin is an acute phase protein that is elevated in response to tissue damage and infections in dairy cows. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether serum haptoglobin concentrations in the first week after calving can indicate disease status and severity, and whether haptoglobin concentrations are elevated...
Inflammation is the body's response to injury and is characterized by pain, swelling, redness, and heat. Eicosanoids are lipid mediators of inflammation. Leukotrienes (LT) are 20-carbon eicosanoids produced from arachidonic acid (AA), an n-6 fatty acid (FA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an n-3 FA. LT produced from AA are proinflammatory...
Prenatal exposure to excess androgens, testosterone in particular, has clear effects on potential ram fertility. Utilizing breeding soundness examinations in male sheep will assess the ram's potential ability to impregnate a certain number of healthy females during a defined breeding season. Identifying rams that have high breeding potential can provide...
Acute phase protein (APP) measurement can be used to characterize and rapidly detect inflammation. Serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin (HP) may be useful for diagnostic and prognostic purposes in horses presenting for colic and other inflammatory diseases. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the use of SAA...
Placental pathologies are not uncommon in dogs. For example, in primiparous bitches, the reported incidence of subinvolution of placental sites is 21% - 100%. Despite years of research in multiple species, the mechanisms regulating late gestation trophoblast behavior in the dog remain unexamined. Therefore, the objective of this study was...
Reproductive function in the dog is controlled by feedback mechanisms that involve the hypothalamus, the anterior pituitary gland, and the gonads. Surgical gonad removal, a common procedure performed in dogs for the purposes of sterilization, disrupts the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and results in permanently elevated concentrations of gonadotropins. Manipulation of...
Milk fever (MF), retained placenta (RP), and left displaced abomasum (LDA) are three common and costly metabolic diseases in cows during the first days of lactation. Some studies suggest that circulating concentrations of α-tocopherol (ATOC) are decreased by these three diseases. It is, however, unknown if and how long lower...
This research investigated gene expression in the canine placenta during the peripartum period. Previous studies have recognized molecular changes that occur in the placenta around the time of placental release in other species, but no study has looked at gene expression in the late gestation canine placenta. Of particular significance...