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(63-07) Plasma Concentrations of Estradiol, Testosterone, Progesterone , T3 andT4 in the Japanese Quail. Selzsam, B.*,1, Niemann, L.2, Schoenfelder, G.1, Wittfoht, W.1, Chahoud, I.1, 1 Benjamin Franklin Medical Center, Berlin, Germany2 Federal Institute for Consumer Health Protection and Veterinary Medicine, Berlin, Germany ABSTRACT- Environmental chemicals can in birds affect endocrine and reproductive systems by influencing hormone levels during the period of reproduction. To characterize those effects, prevalidation tests have to be established to measure hormone levels in Japanese quails. Therefore, we measured estradiol (E2), testosterone (TEST), triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxin (T4) as possible endpoints, according to the proposal of the OECD Avian Expert Group. We tested the hypothesis whether human EIA-testkits (commercially available and simple to use) can measure those hormones in quail, because to the best of our knowledge there are no published data concerning hormone measurement in quails by EIA. Thirteen female (6-4h preovulatory) and 15 male 19-week-old unexposed Japanese quail on a 16h light:8h dark photoperiod were sampled to determine peripheral plasma levels of E2, TEST, T3, T4 and progesterone (PROG). The following hormone levels were determined in female and male quail: 118 ± 31pg/ml E2, 1.5 ± 0.8ng/ml TEST, 1.0 ± 0.6ng/ml PROG, 0.8 ± 0.4ng/ml T3 and 20.5 ± 8.3ng/ml T4 in females and 10.33 ± 2.8pg/ml E2, 6.5 ± 1.4ng/ml TEST, 0.8 ± 0.2 ng/ml T3 and 18.6 ± 5ng/ml T4 in males. To summarize, we could demonstrate that the measurement of all hormones is basically possible by EIA. Furthermore, the values are almost comparable to the results of previous publications using RIA. In conclusion, commercial human EIA-testkits are well suited for hormone determination in the quail. Supported by the Bundesministerium fuer Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit Key words: Japanese quail, hormone levels, reproduction, EIA |
