Diagnosis of pregnancy in mares by an immunological method.

The research article discusses the application of an immunological method previously used for detecting pregnancy in women, specifically through the identification of the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), for determining pregnancy in mares by identifying similar hormone levels.

Background and Aim of the Study

• The research revolves around the use of a method called haemagglutination inhibition reaction for determining pregnancy in mares. The technique was initially designed and reported for human pregnancy detection by Wide and Gemzell.
• The primary aim of the study was to apply the same immunological technique used for humans to detect pregnancy in mares.

Methodology

• The study involved the use of an equivalent of HCG for mares, called Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotrophin (PMS).
• The technique involved coating blood cells in PMS. In the presence of PMS anti-serum, the blood cells agglutinate or clump together.
• However, if PMS is present in a mare’s blood (indicating pregnancy), it inhibits this agglutination reaction.

Results

• The researchers found that serum from pregnant mares, which had elevated levels of gonadotrophin, hindered the agglutination reaction of PMS-coated formalinized erythrocytes in the presence of PMS anti-serum.
• Conversely, serum from non-pregnant mares did not exhibit this reaction, indicating the absence of the hormone and thereby confirming non-pregnancy.
• Thus, the presence or absence of the agglutination reaction can act as an indicator of the pregnancy status of a mare.

Conclusion

• The use of haemagglutination inhibition reaction, initially developed for human pregnancy detection, was successfully applied to detect pregnancy in mares.
• This method provides an effective and reliable approach for mare pregnancy detection based on hormonal levels.