In late pregnancy, energy deficits in ewes can induce a metabolic imbalance, which often results in pregnancy toxaemia. This metabolic disorder is characterised by hypoglycaemia, hyperketonaemia, an increase in plasma concentrations of free fatty acids and by fatty infiltration in the liver. The purpose of the present study was to identify alterations in lipid and triglyceride-rich lipoprotein ...

AntunoviC, Z., J. novoSELEC, H. SAuERWEin, M. SpERAndA, M. vEGARA and v. pAviC, 2011. Blood metabolic profile and some of hormones concentration in ewes during different physiological status. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 17: 687-695 The aim of this paper is to determine the influence of physiological status on blood metabolic profile and some of hormones concentration in the blood of ewes. Investigati...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify values for net acid base excretion (NABE) which are significant indicators of the acid-base equilibrium in pregnant and young ewes and to show its relationship with other parameters (base, acid, ammonium [NH4], base-acid quotient, sodium [Na], potassium [K], calcium [Ca]) in ovine urine. In contrast to dairy cows, data are rare on these parame...

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) may boost progesterone production and attenuate maternal-immune response against concepti in ewes, increasing prenatal survival. The present study examined effects of repeated hCG administration after mating on serum progesterone concentration and complete blood counts (CBC) during early gestation, as well as offspring numbers at parturition. Fifty-six ewes we...

By using continuous infusions of 3H- and 14C-labelled substrates, three-pool models, incorporating rumen propionate, plasma glucose and blood carbon dioxide were constructed to determine the contribution of propionate to glucose in non-pregnant, pregnant (mid and late) and lactating hill ewes. Although the intakes of non-pregnant and pregnant ewes were the same (1200 g dried grass/d) and result...

Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) increases ovine interferon-tau (oIFNtau) secretion by ovine conceptuses, but endometrial production of GM-CSF has not been characterized. Endometrial GM-CSF expression was evaluated in ovariectomized ewes implanted with estradiol-17beta (E(2)) and/or progesterone (P(4)) for 14 days, in day 14 cyclic and day 14 pregnant ewes. Relative lev...

During pregnancy, plasma ACTH and cortisol are chronically increased; this appears to occur through a reset of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity. We have hypothesized that differences in mineralocorticoid receptor activity in pregnancy may alter feedback inhibition of the HPA axis. We tested the effect of MR antagonism in pregnant and nonpregnant ewes infused for 4 h with saline or t...

Many species exhibiting hemochorial placentation experience an accumulation of macrophages in the endometrium during pregnancy. For the present study, it was tested whether macrophages also accumulate in the endometrium of the sheep, which is a species undergoing an epitheliochorial placentation. An additional objective was to determine whether regulation of endometrial macrophage number occurs...

I . The use of deuterium oxide dilution to obtain an indirect estimate of body water in pregnant ewes was examined and the value of such an estimate in predicting body fat was investigated. 2. Deuterium oxide was infused intravenously into fourteen twin-bearing Blackface ewes and blood samples were taken 6-7 h later. The animals were subsequently slaughtered. 3. Deuterium oxide concentration wa...

BACKGROUND Preliminary studies indicated decreased glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity in blood of ewes on scrapie-afflicted farms. Other studies have shown decreased GPX activity in brain of prion-infected mice and in prion-infected cells in vitro. The aim of this study was to examine the GPX activity in blood as well as the distribution of GPX-activity levels from ewes on farms in scrapie-a...