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Related Experiment Videos

What is stress, and how does it affect reproduction?

H Dobson1, R F Smith

  • 1Department of Veterinary Clinical Science and Animal Husbandry, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Wirral, Neston, UK.

Animal Reproduction Science
|June 14, 2000
PubMed
Summary

Stress negatively impacts animal reproduction by disrupting hormone regulation at multiple levels, leading to reduced fertility. Understanding these endocrine mechanisms is key to improving reproductive efficiency in livestock.

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Area of Science:

  • Animal Science
  • Endocrinology
  • Reproductive Biology

Background:

  • Stressors impair an animal's ability to cope with its environment, hindering genetic potential realization.
  • In dairy cows, stressors like milk fever and lameness significantly increase calving-to-conception intervals and insemination requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the endocrine mechanisms by which stress limits reproductive efficiency in animals.
  • To identify the specific levels within the neuroendocrine axis where stress interferes with reproductive hormone release.

Main Methods:

  • Monitoring hormone secretion (arginine vasopressin, corticotrophin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, cortisol) in response to stressors like transport and insulin injection.
  • Assessing the impact of stressors on the pulsatile release of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone and luteinising hormone.

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  • Evaluating the role of opioid and steroid receptors in mediating stress-induced reproductive disruption.

    • Main Results:

    • Transport and insulin injection alter the secretion patterns of key stress hormones (AVP, CRH, ACTH, cortisol) via distinct temporal responses and feedback mechanisms.
    • Stressors reduce the frequency and amplitude of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone and LH pulses, affecting follicular development and oestradiol production.
    • Stress interferes with reproductive hormone release at the brain, hypothalamus, pituitary, and ovarian levels, ultimately compromising fertility.

    Conclusions:

    • Stress exerts multi-level interference with the reproductive system, from higher brain centers to the ovary.
    • Understanding these complex endocrine disruptions is crucial for mitigating subfertility and enhancing reproductive success in stressed animals.