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  • Title: Prolactin secretion and ovarian function in cycling and non-cycling African female elephants (Loxodonta africana).
    Author: Yamamoto Y, Yamamoto T, Watanabe G, Yuto N, Keio M, Narushima E, Katayanagi M, Nakao R, Morikubo S, Sakurai Y, Kaneko M, Kaewmanee S, Taya K.
    Journal: J Vet Med Sci; 2010 Jul; 72(7):845-52. PubMed ID: 20179385.
    Abstract:
    Reproduction of captive elephants in zoos has shown a low fecundity and requires improvement. One of the reasons for low fecundity is ovarian dysfunction in many female elephants. To investigate whether prolactin has a correlation with ovarian function in female elephants, the serum concentrations of prolactin, progesterone and estradiol-17beta in four African female elephants (one cycling female and three non-cycling female elephants) were measured. Cyclic patterns of prolactin and estradiol-17beta were observed in the cycling female elephant, which tended to be high during the follicular phase and low during the luteal phase. On the other hand, a cyclic pattern of prolactin was not observed in the non-cycling female elephants. One of the three non-cycling females (Mako) had developed breasts and showed significantly higher average levels of prolactin than the other female elephants. These results suggested that high concentrations of circulating estradiol-17beta during the follicular phase stimulated prolactin secretion. They also suggested that hyperprolactinemia in Mako was one of the causes of the developed mammary glands and ovarian dysfunction.
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