Failure of adrenalectomy to prevent the male-induced pregnancy block (Bruce effect) in mice

Adrenalectomy failed to prevent the ovoimplantation block that occurs in newly mated female mice following exposure to alien males. No difference in the percentage of pregnancy failure in adrenalectomized females as compared with sham-operated or intact females was noted. It is concluded that the pituitary-adrenal axis is not involved in the Bruce effect and the stress-response does not adequately account for the neuroendocrine changes induced in newly mated females following exposure to alien males that lead to ovoimplantation failure.