Schanbacher B D
Am J Physiol. 1982 Mar;242(3):E201-5. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1982.242.3.E201.
Active immunization of young ram lambs against testosterone and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) was shown to block the growth attributes characteristic of intact ram lambs. Testosterone and LHRH-immunized lambs grew at a slower rate and converted feed to live weight gain less efficiently than albumin-immunized controls. Lambs immunized against testosterone and LHRH had high antibody titers for their respective antigens. Moreover, testosterone-immunized lambs had high serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) and testosterone, whereas LHRH-immunized lambs had low to nondetectable serum concentrations of these hormones. Release of LH and testosterone following the intravenous administration of LHRH (250 ng) was absent in LHRH-immunized lambs, but quantitatively similar for intact and albumin-immunized control lambs. Testosterone-immunized lambs responded as did conventional castrates with a large LH release, but testosterone concentrations were unchanged. These findings are discussed relative to the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular endocrine axis and the importance of gonadotropin support for normal testicular development. These data show that LHRH immunoneutralization effectively retards testicular development and produces a castration effect in young ram lambs.
对幼年公羊羔进行针对睾酮和促黄体生成激素释放激素（LHRH）的主动免疫，已证明会阻断完整公羊羔特有的生长特性。与接受白蛋白免疫的对照羊相比，接受睾酮和LHRH免疫的羊生长速度较慢，饲料转化为体重增加的效率较低。针对睾酮和LHRH免疫的羊对各自抗原具有高抗体滴度。此外，接受睾酮免疫的羊血清促黄体生成激素（LH）和睾酮浓度较高，而接受LHRH免疫的羊血清中这些激素的浓度低至无法检测到。在接受LHRH免疫的羊中，静脉注射LHRH（250 ng）后LH和睾酮的释放不存在，但对于完整和接受白蛋白免疫的对照羊在数量上相似。接受睾酮免疫的羊的反应与传统去势羊一样，有大量LH释放，但睾酮浓度未改变。结合下丘脑 - 垂体 - 睾丸内分泌轴的完整性以及促性腺激素对正常睾丸发育的重要性对这些发现进行了讨论。这些数据表明，LHRH免疫中和有效地延缓了幼年公羊羔的睾丸发育并产生了去势效果。
