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From Pre-Foaling to Late Pregnancy: Cortisol, DHEA(S), Progesterone, 17-β-Estradiol, and Allopregnanolone Hair Concentration Profiles in Standardbred Mares
by
, ,
Maria Cristina Veronesi
1,
Alessio Cotticelli
2,
Isabella Pividori
3,*,
Matilde Giombolini
3,
Mirco Corazzin
3,
Letizia Ellero
3 and
Tanja Peric
3 1
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 26900 Lodi, Italy
2
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, Federico II University, 80137 Naples, Italy
3
Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, 33100 Udine, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Animals 2025, 15(3), 324; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15030324
Submission received: 5 December 2024
/
Revised: 16 January 2025
/
Accepted: 23 January 2025
/
Published: 23 January 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Equids)
Simple Summary
Most of the studies reporting hormonal changes that occur in a pregnant mare have been performed on blood. Considering the advantage of hair as a non-invasive, retrospective, and long timeframe matrix, the present study aimed to describe concentrations of important hormones for the equine gestation and parturition in hair. The results confirmed hair as a reliable matrix for longitudinal investigations of the past accumulated hormones without causing harm to the animals and with minimal disturbance. Moreover, the fluctuations of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (sulfate), progesterone, 17-β-estradiol, and allopregnanolone concentrations in hair mimicked those already described in previous studies on plasma, but new interesting questions about the physiologic hormonal changes during the equine pregnancy arose and deserve further investigation.
Abstract
Pregnancy and parturition represent two important physiologic phases in female mammals, in which metabolic, behavioral, and endocrinologic changes should occur in perfect timing and interaction, leading to a normal course of gestation and the occurrence of parturition at term, allowing the birth of mature and viable offspring. The present study aimed to describe the hormonal changes recorded in the hair occurring in mares from pre-foaling to late pregnancy. The hair cortisol (C) concentrations did not show any significant variations throughout the study, while dehydroepiandrosterone (sulfate) (DHEA(S)) hair concentrations showed an increase from ST-1 to ST4 (p < 0.01) followed by a significant decrease at ST6 (p < 0.01). From ST7 to ST8, hair DHEA(S) concentrations increased significantly (p < 0.01). In ST7 the cortisol/DHEA(S) ratio*100 was higher than in the other sampling times (p < 0.01) except for ST0, in which the ratio was similar to ST7. Hair progesterone (P4), 17-β-estradiol (E2), and allopregnanolone (AlloP) concentrations showed similar patterns through time with the exception of some differences between them at the end of the sampling period. The results showed that hormones fluctuations in the hair mimicked those observed previously in plasma making hair interesting for retrospective studies both on mares and foals during gestation without invasiveness and adding a complementary tool in studying the feto-maternal relationship.
Keywords:
hair; horse; late pregnancy; cortisol; DHEA(S); progesterone; 17-β-estradiol; allopregnanolone
