Milk progesterone enzyme immunoassay: modifications and a field trial for pregnancy detection in dairy cows.

A milk progesterone enzyme immunoassay was modified to shorten the antibody:antigen incubation time and tested in a field trial. Coupling the antibody to paper fibers at pH 7 increased the binding activity of the paper-antibody conjugate to allow incubation for 3 h at room temperature with no significant loss of competitive binding of progesterone. The relationship between progesterone concentrations measured by the modified and original enzyme immunoassays was r = .

Development of a direct enzyme immunoassay of milk progesterone and its application to pregnancy diagnosis in cows.

The purposes of this study were to develop an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for determination of progesterone in unextracted whole milk and to apply it to pregnancy diagnosis. Paper fibers covalently coupled to antibody specifically and competitively bound 3H-progesterone and 11 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone hemisuccinate-horseradish peroxidase and were stable for 9 mo at -20 degrees C. The sensitivity, recovery, precision, and cross reactivity of the EIA and a radioimmunoassay (RIA) of milk progesterone were evaluated, and showed that this EIA was comparable to the RIA.

Metabolism and conjugation of [4-14C]progesterone by bovine liver and adipose tissues, in vitro.

The ability of bovine liver and fat to metabolize progesterone and also to form glucuronide conjugates with these progestins in vitro was investigated. Tissue supernatants were incubated with [4-14C] progesterone, UDP-glucuronic acid, and a NADPH generating system for 5 hr, at 37 degrees C. Steroids were identified by thin-layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and recrystallization to a constant specific activity.

Total plasma corticosteroid concentrations in horses with combined immunodeficiency.

Plasma corticosteroid concentrations of seven Arabian foals with combined immunodeficiency (CID) and five non-CID Arabian foals were measured. Plasma corticosteroid concentrations were quantitated throughout gestation for ten mares heterozygous for the CID trait and pregnant with CID foals, as well as for 20 mares heterozygous for the CID trait and pregnant with non-CID foals. Five nonpregnant mares heterozygous for the CID trait also were tested during the same period.

Receptors for gonadotrophin and prostaglandin F2 alpha in bovine corpora lutea of early, mid and late luteal phase.

A total of 15 corpora lutea representing early (day 3), mid (day 13) and late luteal phase (day 20 and 21-24) were obtained by ovariectomy on cycling cows. The luteal weights and peripheral plasma progesterone levels just prior to ovariectomy, were consistent with the above luteal phases. The specific binding of [125I]human chorionic gonadotrophin to membranes prepared from corpora lutea was significantly higher (P less than 0.