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- Author or Editor: Elaine D. Watson x
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Summary
Ovulation has been likened to an inflammatory process. Inflammatory cells accumulate in the ovulating follicle, presumably because of chemotactic factors. Chemotactic activity was measured in fluid aspirated from follicles of estrous mares 0, 12, 24, and 36 hours after ultrasonographic detection of a 35-mm follicle and iv treatment with 2,500 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin. Chemotaxis was assessed by measuring directional migration of equine neutrophils under agarose. Follicular fluid acted as a chemoattractant for neutrophils, but there was no significant difference in chemotactic activity among different time intervals after administration of human chorionic gonadotropin. On the basis of results of various treatments, chemotactic properties of serum and follicular fluid were similar. Chemotactic activity was significantly reduced by heating (56 C for 30 minutes) and by trypsinization and was virtually removed by charcoal treatment. Dialyzing the follicular fluid (3,500 and 8,000 molecular weight cut-off) significantly reduced the chemotactic activity of follicular fluid and serum. The importance of chemotactic factors in the process of ovulation in the mare is yet to be established.
SUMMARY
Twelve horse mares were used to investigate the effect of phenylbutazone or progesterone administration on uterine tubal motility, as reflected by embryo recovery from the uterus on day 5 after ovulation. Four treatment groups were used: group A (controls), in which uterine flush was performed 7 to 11 days after ovulation; group B (5-day controls), in which uterine flush was performed 5 days after ovulation; group C, in which uterine flush was performed 5 days after ovulation following administration of phenylbutazone (2 g, iv) on day 3; and group D, in which uterine flush was performed 5 days after ovulation following administration of progesterone in oil (250 mg, im) on days 0, 1, and 2. Each mare was randomly assigned to each group once. Embryo recovery for each group was: group A, 13 embryos from 12 mares; group B, 3 embryos from 12 mares; group C, 4 embryos from 11 mares; and group D, 1 embryo from 11 mares. Recovery of embryos on day 5 in 3 of 12 nontreated mares indicated that equine embryos may enter the uterus before day 6. Neither treatment increased embryo recovery from the uterus on day 5 over that from the uterus of the 5-day controls.