Meeting Abstract

12.10  Thursday, Jan. 3  Analyzing fecal steroid metabolites: A non-invasive tool to monitor adrenocortical and gonadal activity in guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus) BAUER, B.**; PALME, R.; MACHATSCHKE, I.H.; DITTAMI, J.; HUBER, S.; University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria; University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria; University of Vienna, Austria; University of Vienna, Austria; University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria barbara.bauer@vu-wien.ac.at

The analysis of fecal steroid hormone metabolites has recently become an increasingly popular technique for monitoring stress and reproduction in farm, wild, zoo, and also laboratory animals. In contrast to blood sampling, this method is completely non-invasive and offers several advantages. This investigation focused on the physiological and biological validation of corresponding enzyme immunoassays for the measurement of fecal glucocorticoid, progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone metabolites in guinea pigs. To test the suitability of fecal samples for the monitoring of adrenocortical activity, we studied the effect of an ACTH- and saline injection on fecal cortisol metabolites. Furthermore, we investigated whether endocrine changes, observed during estrus cycles of females, were reflected in fecal progesterone and estrogen metabolites. We also tested the reliability of fecal testosterone metabolites in discriminating gonadal status of males. Our results show that measurement of fecal cortisol metabolites by an enzyme immunoassay is a useful tool to monitor adrenocortical activity. We further demonstrate that fecal steroid metabolites precisely reflect gonadal status in females, but not in males. This study was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (P18089-B03), the Austrian Academy of Sciences (APART), and the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.