105 DETECTION OF PLACENTAL LACTOGENS IN SWAMP BUFFALO BY RADIOIMMUNOASSAY TECHNIQUE

Ruminant placental lactogens (PL) are members of the growth factor/prolactin (GH/PRL) family. They are synthesized by trophectodermal binucleate cells. There is evidence to suggest that PL is involved in control of fetal growth, through actions in both the maternal and fetal compartments, as well as in influencing mammary growth during pregnancy (Byatt JC et al. 1992 J. Anim. Sci. 70, 2911–2923). The structure and biology of PL have been studied in the cow, sheep, goat, human, and mice. The maternal concentration of PL is 100- to 1 000-fold greater in pregnant sheep and goats than in cows but no information exists about PL concentration in buffalo. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability to detect PL in buffalo fluids by using bovine PL antibody. Samples were collected in the slaughterhouse immediately after animal slaughter. The fetuses were measured after heart blood collection. A bPL RIA system was used to determine the bPL concentrations in the buffalo samples (Alvarez-Oxiley AV et al. 2007 Reprod. Fertil. Dev. 19, 877–885). The rbPL molecules were radio-iodinated with [125]I-Na by using the lactoperoxidase method (Thorell JI and Johansson BG 1971 Biochim. Biophys. Acta 251, 363–369). Concentrations of buffalo PL are presented in Table 1. In this RIA system, the minimum detected value was 0.068 ng mL–1, and the binding competition curves of bovine PL standard and buffalo fluids dilution using bovine PL antibody were paralleled in all kinds of samples. The lowest concentration was detected in allantoid fluid and the greatest concentration in fetal plasma (P < 0.05). Study of the biology of PL in buffalo has proved difficult because the concentration of PL in all buffalo fluids is very low. Furthermore, the research concerning buffalo PL function required in vivo experiments. Existing data suggest that at least the concentration of buffalo PL is different from cattle and other smaller domestic ruminants. In conclusion, our results provide preliminary information about concentrations of PL in buffalo fluids. Table 1. Concentration of placental lactogen in buffalo fluids This work was supported by a grant from the Belgian Technical Cooperation.