The influence of nutrition on the insulin-like growth factor system and the concentrations of growth hormone, glucose, insulin, gonadotropins and progesterone in ovarian follicular fluid and plasma from adult female horses (Equus caballus).
- Journal Article
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
This research paper discusses how feeding patterns may influence hormone and growth factors in horses, affecting their reproductive processes like ovarian follicular growth. Results show a significantly higher insulin and IGF-1 concentration in well-fed mares, while GH and IGF-2 concentrations are lower but not significantly different in preovulatory follicular fluid compared to thin mares.
Research Objectives & Methods
The aim of this study was to measure the various growth and hormone device levels like IGFs, IGFBPs, GH, glucose, insulin, gonadotropin, and progesterone (P4) in the blood and preovulatory follicular fluid (FF) of mares and how these are influenced by their feeding levels.
To achieve this:
- Two distinct groups of Welsh pony mares were created three years prior to the actual experiment – a restricted diet group and a well-fed group.
- Follicular development was monitored daily using scans and plasma samples were collected every day for monitoring.
- Preovulatory FF was collected using ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration. A validated RIA was used to assay hormones in FF and plasma.
Results
The experimental results revealed various significant differences between the two groups:
- The restricted diet group had 53% fewer follicles compared to the well-fed group.
- Insulin and IGF-1 concentrations were higher in well-fed mares than in the restricted diet group.
- GH and IGF-2 concentration were marginally lower in plasma from the well-fed group, but there was no significant difference in the FF.
- The IGFBP-2/IGFBP-3 ratio in FF did not show any feeding effects but was remarkably increased in the plasma of the restricted diet group.
- No difference was observed in the gonadotropin concentration except for a higher FSH level in plasma from the restricted diet group, , while progesterone concentration remained constant.
Conclusions
It was found that feed intake modified the bioavailability of IGF-1 or IGF-2 (represented by the IGFBP2/IGFBP3 ratio) in plasma but not in FF. The differences in hormone and growth factor concentrations between the two groups help explain the variability in the ovarian follicular growth patterns between them. Thus, feeding has a significant impact on hormone and growth factor concentrations, affecting the reproductive processes in mares.
Cite This Article
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- INRA, UMR85 Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, F-37380 Nouzilly, France. dguillaume@tours.inra.fr.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Blood Glucose / analysis
- Caloric Restriction / adverse effects
- Caloric Restriction / veterinary
- Female
- Follicular Fluid / chemistry
- France
- Glucose / analysis
- Gonadotropins, Equine / analysis
- Gonadotropins, Equine / blood
- Gonadotropins, Equine / metabolism
- Growth Hormone / analysis
- Growth Hormone / blood
- Growth Hormone / metabolism
- Horses / blood
- Horses / growth & development
- Horses / physiology
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / analysis
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / blood
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / metabolism
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins / analysis
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins / blood
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins / metabolism
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / analysis
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / metabolism
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / analysis
- Insulin-Like Growth Factor II / metabolism
- Insulins / analysis
- Insulins / blood
- Insulins / metabolism
- Ovarian Follicle / diagnostic imaging
- Ovarian Follicle / growth & development
- Ovarian Follicle / metabolism
- Proestrus
- Progesterone / analysis
- Progesterone / blood
- Progesterone / metabolism
- Signal Transduction
- Ultrasonography
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Citations
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- Xu X, Wang R, Pei L, Wang Q, Liu C. Glucose Transport by Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Is Mediated Through the Akt/FOXO1 Pathway in Ovine Granulosa Cells. Vet Med Sci 2025 Mar;11(2):e70294.