Trypanosome-induced increase in prostaglandin F< sub> 2α</sub> and its relationship with corpus luteum function in the goa

Abstract

Plasma progesterone and 13,14-dihydro-15-keto Prostaglandin F2α (PGFM) were measured in normal (uninfected) and -infected adult goats for a period of 121 d, from May to August, during the breeding season in Kenya. Chronic trypanosomiasis rapidly increased the baseline plasma PGFM levels and the occurrence of irregular PGFM peaks in several infected goats. Progesterone luteal levels declined rapidly from the second and subsequent cycles post patency. Estrous cycles also became irregular but predominately shorter (8 to 19 d) before cessation from the second to fourth cycle following infection. The PGFM levels were still high during the acyclic period in all goats when progesterone levels were very low (1.4 to 2.4 nmol/l). The reciprocal increase in peripheral PGFM and decline in progesterone in these goats would suggest, in part, a trypanosome-induced PGF2α mediated luteolysis, and the possible involvement of prostaglandins in trypanosome-induced infertility in female goats.