Effects on fertility of rabbits after active immunization with rat testicular cytochrome ct

A Male rabbit was immunized with rat testicular cytochrome (Cyt) ct and mated with normal, unimmunized females. The matings resulted in abnormal pregnancies: no offspring or stillborn or undersized liveborn offspring weighing 25-30 gm each. Another unusual observation was that fur-pulling behavior, normally exhibited by pregnant female rabbits at the end of the gestational period, was absent in all of these pregnancies. Therefore, immunization of a normal rabbit with testicular cyt ct appeared to interfere with physiological and behavioral aspects of pregnancy in normal female rabbits. The immunological basis of these findings remains to be determined.