Abstract
The following experiments were designed to examine the effect of serum of spayed dogs on superovulation response in mice and rats. In Experiment 1, female mice at diestrus (n=30) were divided into three equal groups and superovulated with either administration of 5 IU pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) or recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH) (reducing dose from 2.5 to 0.5 IU) and 5 IU human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administered 48h later. Serum of spayed dogs was administered intraperitoneally at a reduced dose from 0.1 to 0.025 mL in a 48 h period. In Experiment 2, female rats (n=30) at diestrus stage were divided into three equal groups. Superovulation was induced using either 30 IU PMSG, or a dose reduced from 5 to 1 IU rFSH and 25 IU hCG administered 48h later. Serum of spayed dogs was administered in a reduced dose from 0.6 to 0.1 mL in a 48 hour period. Female mice and rats were mated 24 h following hCG administration. On day 14 after mating, animals were euthanized and ovarian sections were fixed for histopathological evaluation and corpus luteum (CL) counting. No significant difference observed in mean (±SEM) number of CLs between the PMSG group and the mice that received serum of spayed dog (10.4±1.3 vs 9.2±1.0). Mean (±SEM) number of CLs tended to be lower in rats that received serum of spayed dog than those of rats which received either PMSG or rFSH (15.1±1.9 vs 23.6±3.1 and 23.1±2.9, P=0.06, respectively). In conclusion, serum of spayed dogs is able to induce a superovulatory response in mice and rats.