Skip to main content
PMC home page
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica logoLink to Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica
. 1999 Jun 1;40(2):151–162. doi: 10.1186/BF03547032

Comparison of Plasma Progesterone, Transrectal Ultrasound and Pregnancy Specific Proteins (PSPB) used for Pregnancy Diagnosis in Reindeer

Sammenlikning av plasma progesteron, rektal ultralydundersøkelse og drektighetsspesifikke proteiner (PSPB) brukt for drektighetsdiagnose hos rein

E Ropstad 1,✉, O Johansen 2, C King 1, E Dahl 1, S D Albon 4, R L Langvatn 5, R J Irvine 4, O Halvorsen 6, G Sasser 3
PMCID: PMC8043234  PMID: 10605131

Abstract

The study aimed to compare plasma progesterone concentrations, rectal ultrasonography and plasma concentrations of pregnancy-specific protein B (PSPB) used for pregnancy diagnosis in reindeer. A total of 1595 blood plasma samples were collected between 1991 and 1996 from 3 semidomestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) herds on the Norwegian mainland (Magerøy, Sørøy, Filefjell) and from 92 wild Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus). Samples were collected between January and late April. Plasma levels of progesterone and PSPB were measured and used as indicators of pregnancy. In addition, animals from the Filefjell herd and the Svalbard reindeer were investigated using transrectal ultrasound. The results showed that plasma progesterone lower than 7 nmol l−1 rarely occurs in females diagnosed pregnant either by ultrasound or by observing a calf at foot 7 months after blood sampling. A very good agreement was found between plasma progesterone and PSPB when used for pregnancy diagnosis. On the Norwegian mainland, but not to the same extent on Svalbard, a high proportion of females with a high progesterone concentration was diagnosed not pregnant by ultrasound. This probably reflects a high rate of false negative diagnoses by the ultrasound method rather than false positives in the progesterone analysis.

Keywords: diagnostic tests, reproduction, reproductive endocrinology, sensitivity, specificity

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (1.6 MB).

References

  1. Altmann DG. Some common problems in medical research. London: Chapman & Hall, Practical Statistics for Medical Research; 1991. pp. 403–409. [Google Scholar]
  2. Arthur GH, Noakes DE, Pearson H, Parkinson TJ: Pregnancy and its diagnosis. In: Arthur GH, Noakes DE, Pearson H, Parkinson TJ (eds): Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics. Saunders, London. 1996, pp 63–109.
  3. Blom AK, Sjaastad ØV, Jacobsen E. Plasma levels of progesterone and oestradiol 17β in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) during pregnancy. Acta vet. scand. 1983;24:287–294. doi: 10.1186/BF03546732. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bulman DC, Lamming GE. The use of milk progesterone analysis in the study of oestrus detection, herd fertility and embryonic mortality in dairy cows. Br. Vet. J. 1979;135:559–567. doi: 10.1016/S0007-1935(17)30010-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Butler JE, Hamilton WC, Sasser RG, Ruder CA, Hass GM, Williams RJ. Detection and partial characterization of two bovine pregnancy specific proteins. Biol. Reprod. 1982;26:925–933. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod26.5.925. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Galen SR. New math in the lab. Predictive value theory. Diagn. Med. 1979;23:31–39. [Google Scholar]
  7. Greenwood FC, Hunter WM, Glover JS: The preparation of 125I-labelled human growth hormone of high specific activity. Biochem. J., 1963, 89, 114– 123. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed]
  8. Godkin JD, Bazer FW, Moffat J, Sessions F, Roberts RM. Purification and properties of a major, low molecular weight protein released by the trophoblast of sheep blastocysts at day 13–21. J. Reprod. Fertil. 1982;65:141–150. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0650141. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Godkin JD, Bazer FW, Roberts RM. Ovine trophoblast protein–1, an early secreted blastocyst protein, binds specifically to uterine endometrium and affects protein synthesis. Endocrinology. 1984;114:120–130. doi: 10.1210/endo-114-1-120. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Griffin PG, Ginther OJ. Research applications of ultrasonic imaging in reproductive biology. J. Anim. Sci. 1992;70:953–972. doi: 10.2527/1992.703953x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Haigh JC, Gates C, Ruder A, Sasser RG. Diagnosis of pregnancy in wood bison using a bovine assay for pregnancy-specific protein B. Theriogenology. 1991;35:749–754. doi: 10.1016/0093-691X(91)90340-J. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Helmer SD, Hansen PJ, Anthony RV, Thatcher WW, Bazer FW, Roberts RM. Identification of bovine trophoblast protein-1. J. Reprod. Fertil. 1987;79:83–91. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0790083. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hoff B, Rognmo A, Havre G, Morberg H. Seasonal hypomagnesemia in reindeer on Kautokeino winter pasture in Finnmark County, Norway. Rangifer. 1993;13:133–136. doi: 10.7557/2.13.3.1055. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  14. Houston DB, Robbins CT, Ruder CA, Sasser RG. Pregnancy detection in mountain goats by assay for pregnancy-specific protein B. J. Wildl. Manage. 1986;50:740–742. doi: 10.2307/3800993. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lenvik D. Utvalgsstrategi i reinflokke. 6. Brunsttopp og brunstsynkronisme hos tamrein i Trøndelag. (Selection strategy in domestic reindeer. 6. Oestrus peak and oestrus synchronization in domestic reindeer in Trøndelag County, Norway). Norsk landbruksforskning. 1988;2:163–174. [Google Scholar]
  16. Messier F, Desaulniers DM, Goff AK, Nault R, Patenaude R, Crete M. Caribou pregnancy diagnosis from immunoreactive progestins and estrogens excreted in feces. J. Wildl. Manage. 1990;54:279–283. doi: 10.2307/3809042. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  17. Reimers E. Reproduction in wild reindeer in Norway. Can. J. Zool. 1982;61:211–217. doi: 10.1139/z83-026. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ropstad E, Forsberg M, Sire JE, Kindahl H, Nilsen T, Pedersen Ø, Edqvist LE. Plasma concentrations of progesterone, oestradiol, LH and 15-ketodihydro-PGF2α in Norwegian semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) during their first reproductive season. J. Reprod. Fertil. 1995;105:307–314. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.1050307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Rowell JE, Flood PF, Ruder CA, Sasser RG. Pregnancy-specific protein in the plasma of captive muscoxen. J. Wildl. Manage. 1989;53:899–901. doi: 10.2307/3809585. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  20. SAS Institute Inc.: SAS/STAT Guide for Personal Computers, Release 6.03. Ed. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc., 1988.
  21. Sasser RG, Crock J, Ruder-Montgomery CA. Characteristics of pregnancy-specific protein B in cattle. J. Reprod. Fertil. 1989;37:109–113. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Sasser RG, Ruder CA. Detection of early pregnancy in ruminants. J. Reprod. Fertil. 1987;34:261–271. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Sasser RG, Ruder CA, Ivani KA, Butler JE, Hamilton WC: Detection of pregnancy by radioimmunoassay of a novel pregnancy specific protein in serum in cows and a profile of serum concentrations during gestation. Biol. Reprod., 1986, 35, 936– 942. [DOI] [PubMed]
  24. Sirkkola H: Pregnancy diagnosis. Proceedings. The 9th Nordic Conference on Reindeer Research, Uppsala, 18–20 November 1996.
  25. White IR, McKelvey WAC, Busby S, Sneddon A, Hamilton WJ. Diagnosis of pregnancy and prediction of fetal age in red deer by real-time ultrasonic scanning. Vet. Rec. 1989;124:395–397. doi: 10.1136/vr.124.15.395. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica are provided here courtesy of BMC

RESOURCES