Taenia pisiformis cysticercosis induces decreased prolificacy and increased progesterone levels in rabbits.
Reproductive alterations in hosts infected by parasites have been recognized in several phyla, especially in arthropods and mollusks, but it has been less studied in higher vertebrates, particularly in mammals. In the present study, ten eight week-old female New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were either infected with Taenia pisiformis eggs or uninfected, and 7 weeks later they were mated. We found that serum progesterone levels were increased during pregnancy in infected does. At birth, litter size of infected does was reduced by half as compared to the control group, and, at weaning, the number of kits and the weight of litters was lower. Since serum progesterone levels have a key role in the maintenance of pregnancy and implantation, we propose that the observed prolificacy alterations in does infected with T. pisiformis infection were due to changes in the levels of circulating progesterone during pregnancy.
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: challalc@gmail.com.
Claudia
C
Hallal-Calleros
Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, México, DF 04510, Mexico. Electronic address: jmontor66@biomedicas.unam.mx.
Jorge
J
Morales-Montor
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: aorihuela@uaem.mx.
Agustín
A
Orihuela-Trujillo
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: cristiantogno@yahoo.com.
Cristián
C
Togno-Peirce
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, AP 70228, México, DF 04510, Mexico. Electronic address: murcia@unam.mx.
Clara
C
Murcia-Mejía
Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República 11600, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: biellialejandro@gmail.com.
Alejandro
A
Bielli
Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Animal (CIRA), Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala-CINVESTAV, Tlaxcala Km. 10.5 Autopista San Martín Texmelucan, Mexico. Electronic address: rexvitro@hotmail.com.
Kurt L
KL
Hoffman
Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, 62209, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Electronic address: ivan.flores@uaem.mx.
Fernando Iván
FI
Flores-Pérez
D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003551:Cysticercosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008098:Litter Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood*; D011817:Rabbits; D013621:Taenia / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D011374:Progesterone
Progesterone; Prolificacy; Rabbit; Taenia pisiformis