Prolongation of the oestrous cycle in cows and ewes after passive immunization with PGF antibodies

Three cows and 2 sheep were passively immunized against prostaglandin (PG) F on Day 16 and Days 13-15 of the oestrous cycle respectively. The PGF antiplasma was raised in ovariectomized ewes against a PGF-2 alpha-bovine serum albumin complex and showed 100%, 12.5%, 0.3%, less than 0.05% and less than 0.01% cross-reactivity with PGF-2 alpha, PGE-2, PGA-2, PGB-2 and arachidonic acid, respectively. Control animals were given an equivalent amount of ovariectomized ewe plasma. In all passively immunized animals there was evidence of a persistent corpus luteum as indicated by plasma progesterone concentration and the failure of the animals to return to oestrus until at least 29 days after treatment. These data are consistent with previous proposals that PGF-2 alpha is the uterine luteolytic factor in sheep and cattle.