[Anti-Müllerian hormone, an endocrine predictor of the response to ovarian stimulation in the bovine species].
The strong between-animal variability in the number of ovulations and embryos produced after ovarian stimulation by gonadotropins is a major limit to the development of embryo biotechnologies in cattle. In reproductive medicine, anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is now widely used as an endocrine marker of the ovarian follicular reserve. In the cow, as in the woman, AMH is secreted by the granulosa cells of growing follicles. We have shown recently that in the cow, AMH is a very good endocrine marker of the population of small antral follicles that constitute the direct target of ovarian stimulatory treatments. AMH concentration measured in plasma before treatment varies between animals and is positively correlated to the number of ovulations and transferable embryos produced after an ovarian stimulatory treatment. Interestingly, AMH concentrations can remain stable over several months for each animal. Moreover, the number of embryos produced after ovarian stimulation is highly repeatable and has a relatively good heritability. From these observations, we propose the determination of AMH concentration in the plasma of a potential donor cow as a simple predictive method to evaluate both its level of ovarian activity and its capacity to produce high or low numbers of embryos. Optimal conditions for implementing this diagnostic test in cattle remain to be defined considering the age, the breed, the physiological status and the environmental factors related to breeding conditions for each animal.
Monniaux
D
D
Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements, UMR 6175 Inra-CNRS-université de Tours-Haras Nationaux, centre Inra de Tours, Nouzilly, France. dmonniaux@tours.inra.fr
Rico
C
C
Larroque
H
H
Dalbiès-Tran
R
R
Médigue
C
C
Clément
F
F
Fabre
S
S
D000818:Animals; D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D001947:Breeding; D002417:Cattle; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000502:physiology; D010062:Ovulation Induction / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013480:Superovulation
D015415:Biomarkers; D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone