Detection of the ovulatory-luteinizing hormone surge with an enzyme-linked immunospecific human urinary luteinizing hormone assay: applicability to nonhuman primates.

Heterologous antibodies have frequently been used to develop assays in other species. Human urinary LH kits, widely available for predicting the LH surge, offer a unique opportunity to determine the timing of ovulation and mating in nonhuman primates. We tested three commercially available ovulation predictor kits for utility in two macaque species. Midfollicular, midcycle, and castrate urines and their corresponding serum samples were assessed for LH activity using established RIAs as well as urinary ovulation kits. Macaque LH did not sufficiently cross-react with the human urinary anti-LH antibodies in any of the predictor test kits. Although these kits offer excellent results in predicting ovulation by measurement of urinary LH in humans, they appear not to be applicable for urinary LH detection in rhesus nor cynomolgus macaques.