Clinical, Ovulatory and Histological Effect of a Postnatal Testosterone Treatment in Female Dogs

Abstract

It has been described in some female mammalian species that postnatal androgenizationcauses reproductive structural and functional abnormalities. The objective of this study was todescribe the clinical, ovulatory and genital effects of postnatal androgens in female dogs. Tennewborn female crossbred puppies were randomly assigned to: testosterone enanthate 18 mg/100g sc (TE; n = 5) or placebo sc (PL; n = 5). The puppies were physically followed up until pubertywhen ovulation was tested by serum progesterone. Then, ovariohysterectomies were performed, and genital tracts were grossly and histomorphometrically examined. At puberty, all the females had normal estrous behavior and ovulated without age and body weight differences. All TE puppiespresented mild clitoris enlargement. Gross and microscopical ovarian examination did not revealdifferences. Conversely, the endometrial area occupied by uterine glands as well as the height of the glandular and luminal epithelium were higher in the TE than in the PL group (<0.01). The height of the endometrium and myometrial thickness did not differ between groups. It was concluded that a supraphysiological postnatal dose of testosterone did not affect ovulatory capacity, nor did it provoke gonadal histological alterations, although it caused an increased area of endometrial glands and a higher uterine epithelium.