Long-term data on basic reproductive parameters and evaluation of endocrine,morphological, and behavioral measures for monitoring reproductive status in a group of semifree-ranging Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana)

Cycle and gestation lengths, menstruation patterns, female genital swelling characteristics, and male-female consortship durations are reported in a semifree-ranging group of Tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) studied over a 12 year period. In addition, profiles of urinary estrone conjugates (E1C) and immunoreactive pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG) throughout four complete menstrual cycles in two females and three full-term pregnancies are presented. Based on intermenstrual intervals, a mean cycle length of 37–41 days (n = 55 cycles in 10 females) was found. Gestation length averaged 173 days (n = 27 pregnancies in eight females). Measurement of PdG immunoreactivity in urine revealed a cyclic pattern with a 5–15-fold increase between follicular and luteal phase concentrations, suggesting that PdG is a reliable indicator of ovarian cyclicity and luteal function. In contrast to PdG, E1C excretion showed no clear pattern throughout the cycle; however, highest values of E1C were usually found shortly before the onset of the luteal phase PdG rise at the presumed time of ovulation. Levels of both hormones were elevated during the first half of gestation and showed a marked increase throughout the second half, with maximum E1C concentrations being up to 100-fold higher than nonpregnant levels. Consortships by the male and occurrence of female genital swelling were long lasting (on average 5–10 days and 13 days, respectively) and were restricted to the follicular phase of the cycle. The day of maximal swelling and day of detumescence as well as the end of male consortship were closely associated with the periovulatory period. Swellings and consortships were longer following lactational ammenorhea than for subsequent cycles. The evolutionary significance of the cyclical changes undergone by females upon their relations with males is discussed. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Information content of sexual swellings and fecal steroids in sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus atys)

The accuracy and precision of sexual swellings and fecal steroids as measures of ovarian function and the periovulatory period were compared in 4 sexually mature, individually housed, sooty mangabey females. Fecal samples were collected daily over a 10-week period during the normal breeding season. Serum was collected 3×/week, daily during peak swelling, and sex skin was rated 5×/week on a 0–5 relative scale. Both fecal estradiol (fE₂) and progesterone (fP₄) were significantly correlated with serum values in composite E₂-aligned profiles and within the cycles of individual females with average correlations of r_s = 0.6. Follicular phase means for fE₂ and luteal phase means for fP₄ were significantly correlated with the serum means across cycles, suggesting that fecal concentrations could be used to accurately evaluate cycle phases within and across females. In contrast, the timing of peak swelling relative to the periovulatory period varied considerably across the cycles of individual females. Although maximum tumescence appears to bracket the periovulatory period, individual differences in the duration of peak swelling and the timing of its onset and end tend to obscure the exact time of ovulation in relation to maximal tumescence. These data illustrate the utility of fecal steroid analysis as a tool for further evaluation of the signal value of sexual skin and its role in mating interactions. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Influence of the mother's reproductive state on the hormonal status of daughters in marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii)

Behavioral and endocrine suppression of reproduction in subordinate females produces the high reproductive skew that characterizes callitrichid primate mating systems. Snowdon et al. [American Journal of Primatology 31:11-21, 1993] reported that the eldest daughters in tamarin families exhibit further endocrinological suppression immediately following the birth of siblings, and suggested that dominant females exert greater control over subordinate endocrinology during this energetically challenging phase of reproduction. We monitored the endocrine status of five Wied's black tufted-ear marmoset daughters before and after their mother delivered infants by measuring concentrations of urinary estradiol (E(2)), pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG), testosterone (T), and cortisol (CORT). Samples were collected from marmoset daughters 4 weeks prior to and 9 weeks following three consecutive sibling-litter births when the daughters were prepubertal (M=6.1 months of age), peripubertal (M=11.9 months), and postpubertal (M=17.6 months). The birth of infants was associated with reduced ovarian steroid excretion only in the prepubertal daughters. In contrast, ovarian steroid levels tended to increase in the postpubertal daughters. Urinary E(2) and T levels in the postpubertal daughters were 73.8% and 37.6% higher, respectively, in the 3 weeks following the birth of infants, relative to prepartum levels. In addition, peak urinary PdG concentrations in peri- and postpubertal daughters were equivalent to luteal phase concentrations in nonpregnant, breeding adult females, and all of the peri- and postpubertal daughters showed clear ovulatory cycles. Cortisol excretion did not change in response to the reproductive status of the mother, nor did the concentrations change across age. Our data suggest that marmoset daughters of potential breeding age are not hormonally suppressed during the mother's peripartum period or her return to fertility. These findings provide an additional example of species diversity in the social regulation of reproduction in callitrichid primates.     

Life-history correlates of steroid concentrations in wild peripartum baboons

Steroid concentrations during late pregnancy and early lactation may be affected by both a female's reproductive history and her current condition, and may in turn predict subsequent life-history events, such as offspring survival. This study investigated these relationships in a wild primate population through the use of fecal steroid analysis in repeated sampling of peripartum baboons (Papio cynocephalus). Fecal samples were collected from 32 females in five groups within the Amboseli basin during 8 weeks prior to parturition and 13 weeks postpartum. From December 1999 through February 2002, 176 fecal samples were collected from individuals representing 39 peripartum periods. Fecal concentrations of progestins (fP), estrogen metabolites (fE), glucocorticoids (fGC), and testosterone metabolites (fT) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Steroid concentrations declined from late pregnancy to lactation, and the decline was greatest and most precipitous for fE and fP. Primiparous females had significantly higher mean fE concentrations in each of the last 2 months of pregnancy compared to multiparous females. Among multiparous females, fE and fT were significantly higher during late pregnancy in females carrying a male fetus compared to those carrying a female fetus. During early lactation, high fT in young mothers predicted subsequent infant death during the first year of life. These findings illustrate the potential power of repeated fecal-steroid sampling to elucidate mechanisms of life-history variability in natural populations. They also document significant differences in hormone profiles among subgroups, and highlight that such normative subgroup information is essential for interpreting individual variability in hormone-behavior associations.     

Synthesis of 3-methyl-3-hydroxy-6-oxo-androstane derivatives

3alpha,17beta-Dihydroxy-3beta-methyl-5alpha-androstan-6-one (1) and 3beta,17beta-dihydroxy-3alpha-methyl-5alpha-androstan-6-one (13) were prepared by the reaction of methylmagnesium bromide with the 3-ketosteroids. Structures and configurations in position 3 were determined by NMR spectra. Substitution in the position 6 influences the ratio of the products.     

Neighboring group participation. Part 15. Stereoselective synthesis of some steroidal tetrahydrooxazin-2-ones, as novel presumed inhibitors of human 5alpha-reductase

During the alkaline methanolysis of 3beta-acetoxy-21-chloromethyl-pregn-5-ene-20beta-N-phenylurethane, and its p-substituted phenyl derivatives, cyclization occurs, in the course of which 17beta-[3-(N-phenyl)tetrahydrooxazin-2-on-6-yl]androst-5-en-3beta-ol and its p-substituted phenyl derivatives are formed. The cyclization takes place with (N(-)-6) neighboring group participation. Oppenauer oxidation of the 3beta-hydroxy-exo-heterocyclic steroids yielded the corresponding delta4-3-ketosteroids. The structures of the new compounds were proved by IR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, using up-to-date measuring techniques such as 2D-COSY, HMQC, and HMBC. The inhibitory effects (CI50) of the delta4-3-ketosteroids on 5alpha-reductase were studied.     

Screening of free 17-alkyl-substituted anabolic steroids in human urine by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A qualitative liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for screening of the abuse of 4-chlorodehydromethyltestosterone, danazol, fluoxymesterone, formebolone, metandienone, oxandrolone, and stanozolol. The introduced method measures simultaneously nine different 17-alkyl-substituted anabolic androgenic steroids or their unconjugated metabolites in human urine, using methyltestosterone as an internal standard. Sample preparation involved one-step liquid extraction. Liquid chromatographic separation was achieved on a reversed-phase column with methanol-water gradient containing 5 mmol/l ammonium acetate and 0.01% (v/v) acetic acid. Compounds were ionized in the positive mode and detected by multiple reaction monitoring. All steroids within the study could be selectively detected in urine with detection limits of 0.1-2.0 ng/ml. The method showed good linearity up to 250 ng/ml with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9947. With simple and fast sample preparation, low limits of detection, and high selectivity and precision, the developed method provides advantages over the present testing methods and has the potential for routine qualitative screening method of unconjugated 17-alkyl-substituted anabolic steroids in human urine.     

Hormones and immune function: implications of aging

Aging is associated with a decline in immunity described as immunosenescence. This is paralleled by a decline in the production of several hormones, as typically illustrated by the menopausal loss of ovarian oestrogen production. However, other hormonal changes that occur with aging and that potentially impact on immune function include the release of the pineal gland hormone melatonin and pituitary growth hormone, adrenal production of dehydroepiandrosterone and tissue-specific availability of active vitamin D. It remains to be established whether hormonal changes with aging actually contribute to immunosenescence and this area is at the interface of fact and fiction, clearly inviting systematic research efforts. As a step in this direction, the present review summarizes established facts on the physiology of secretion and function of hormones that, in most cases, decline with aging and that are likely to affect the immune system.     

Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) vitellogenin: purification and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of endocrine disruption by papermill effluent

Vitellogenin (VTG) is a highly specific marker of exposure to environmental estrogens and has been used extensively in field and laboratory studies of estrogenic endocrine disruption in fishes. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a sensitive, competitive, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific for bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) vitellogenin. Bluegill VTG was purified by anion exchange chromatography on DEAE-agarose. The polypeptide had an apparent mass of 170 kDa and was specifically recognized by the rabbit antiserum raised against bluegill female-specific plasma protein. Plasma samples from vitellogenic females diluted in parallel with the purified VTG standard curve in the ELISA. The detection limit of the assay was 29 ng/ml and the working range extended to 2700 ng/ml. Recovery of purified VTG was 85.8+/-9.5%, intra-assay variation was 6.4% and interassay variation was 12.3%. We used this ELISA to analyze the seasonal cycle of vitellogenesis in female bluegill and to evaluate potential disruption of this process by exposure to bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME). Captive female bluegill stocked in outdoor experimental streams in New Bern, NC had the lowest levels of VTG, estradiol-17beta (E2), and testosterone (T) and the smallest oocyte diameters in January, but these variables increased in March and remained elevated through August, suggesting an extended spawning season. Plasma VTG, E2, T and oocyte diameter were unaffected by exposure to BKME concentrations as high as 30%. Development of the VTG ELISA allowed rapid and convenient analysis of plasma samples to evaluate exposure to potential endocrine disrupting compounds.