Measuring Faecal Epi-Androsterone as an Indicator of Gonadal Activity in Spotted Hyenas (Crocuta crocuta).

ABSTRACT: Enzyme immunoassays (EIA) that measure faecal testosterone metabolites (fTM) are useful tools to monitor gonadal activity. The aim of this study was to validate an "in-house" epiandrosterone EIA to monitor fTM in spotted hyenas. FTM were characterised in a male and a female hyena that each received an injection of 3H-testosterone. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses revealed a cluster of highly polar enzyme-hydrolysable hormone metabolite conjugates. We performed hydrolysis using β-glucuronidase to deconjugate metabolites and improve sensitivity of the assay. Because β-glucuronidase from Helix pomatia has been reported to bias testosterone measurements in some species, we compared the enzymatic activity of the commonly used β-glucuronidase extracted from H. pomatia with

SUBMITTER: Pribbenow S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4481319 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature