Animal Bioscience

  • 제39권7호
  • /
  • Pages.250931.1-250931.12
  • /
  • 2026
  • /
  • 2765-0189(pISSN)
  • /
  • 2765-0235(eISSN)
아세아태평양축산학회 (Asian Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Dose-dependent effects of a recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine on reproductive function and growth performance in male goats

  • Fuqiang Pan (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Mengdi Han (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Wei Qian (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Yuke Jia (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Hongyan Liao (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Weina Li (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Ziyi Zheng (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Ruonan Yuan (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Chunyan Yuan (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Fugui Fang (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Yunsheng Li (College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Yinghui Ling (College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Hongwei Duan (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University) ;
  • Ya Liu (College of Veterinary Medicine, Anhui Agricultural University)
  • 투고 : 2025.12.01
  • 심사 : 2026.02.20
  • 발행 : 2026.07.01
PDF 다운로드
⟨ 이전 논문 다음 논문 ⟩

초록

Objective: This study aimed to develop a recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine and to investigate the effects of different immunization doses on immunocastration efficacy and growth performance in male goats; thererby providing an animal welfare-friendly alternative to surgical castration (SC). Methods: Forty male goats were randomly assigned to four groups (n = 10 per group): the saline-injected control (NC), SC, low-dose vaccine (LD), and high-dose vaccine (HD). The vaccine was given in accordance with a regular immunization protocol. Anti-GnRH antibody titers, serum testosterone concentrations, libido scores, histological characteristics of testicular tissues, and growth performance were measured to assess immunocastration efficacy. Results: Both LD and HD groups exhibited significantly higher anti-GnRH antibody titers than the NC group (p<0.01). Serum testosterone concentrations and libido scores were markedly reduced in the immunized groups (p<0.01), indicating effective suppression of reproductive function. Histological and quantitative analyses demonstrated pronounced testicular atrophy in immunocastrated goats, characterized by a significant reduction in seminiferous tubule diameter and spermatogenic cell number, as well as the absence of spermatozoa within the lumen. Although only limited time points showed significant differences between the two immunization doses, the overall immunocastration efficacy of the low- and high-dose regimens was largely comparable, with the low-dose group exhibiting slightly stronger suppression in certain parameters or time points. Additionally, immunocastrated goats had significantly higher body weight and weight gain compared to surgically castrated goats (p<0.01), while differences with the NC group were not significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: The recombinant GnRH vaccine effectively suppresses reproductive function in male goats. Compared with SC, immunocastration was associated with improved growth performance, while no significant differences were observed relative to intact animals. These findings support immunocastration as a non-invasive and animal-friendly alternative to SC in livestock production.

키워드

과제정보

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to Xinbao Gong, Huihui Xie, and Qing Yi for their helpful contributions to the experimental work.

참고문헌

  1. Cappellozza BI, Cooke RF. Administering an appeasing substance to improve performance, neuroendocrine stress response, and health of ruminants. Animals 2022;12:2432. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12182432 
  2. Ahmed S, Jiang X, Liu G, et al. New trends in immunocastration and its potential to improve animal welfare: a mini review. Trop Anim Health Prod 2022;54:369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03348-8
  3. Rault JL, Lay DC Jr, Marchant JN. Castration induced pain in pigs and other livestock. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2011;135:214-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2011.10.017
  4. Oliveira FC, Ferreira CER, Haas CS, et al. Chemical castration in cattle with intratesticular injection of sodium chloride: effects on stress and inflammatory markers. Theriogenology 2017;90:114-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.12.001
  5. Pan F, Fu W, Zhang B, et al. Effects of vaccination against recombinant FSH or LH receptor subunits on gonadal development and functioning male rats. Vet Sci 2024;11:176. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci11040176
  6. Fan-mei Z, Yi D, Teketay W, et al. Recent advances in immunocastration in sheep and goat and its animal welfare benefits: a review. J Integr Agric 2022;21:299-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-3119(21)63670-5
  7. Rocha LF, Souza RS, Santana ALA, et al. Reproductive pa-rameters of lambs immunocastrated with anti-GnRH vaccine. Anim Reprod 2021;18:e20200237. https://doi.org/10.1590/1984-3143-ar2020-0237
  8. Asa C, Moresco A. Fertility control in wildlife: review of current status, including novel and future technologies. In: Comizzoli P, Brown JL, Holt WV, editors. Reproductive sciences in animal conservation. Springer Nature; 2019. pp. 507-43.
  9. Pan F, Guo Y, Cheng P, et al. Preparation of two kinds of immunocastration vaccines and their immune effects on male goats. Anim Biosci 2025;38:1411-21. https://doi.org/10.5713/ab.24.0811
  10. Zinkernagel RM, Hengartner H. Regulation of the immune response by antigen. Science 2001;293:251-3. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1063005
  11. Mihsler-Kirsch L, Wagner H, Failing K, Wehrend A. Downregulation of testicular function in the goat by altrenogest. BMC Vet Res 2021;17:183. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-021-02845-6
  12. Pan F, Du H, Tian W, et al. Effect of GnRH immunocastration on immune function in male rats. Front Immunol 2022;13:1023104. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1023104
  13. Wick MR. The hematoxylin and eosin stain in anatomic pathology: an often-neglected focus of quality assurance in the laboratory. Semin Diagn Pathol 2019;36:303-11. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.semdp.2019.06.003
  14. Gökdal Ö, Atay O, Ülker H, et al. The effects of immunological castration against GnRH with recombinant OL protein (Ovalbumin-LHRH-7) on carcass and meat quality characteristics, histological appearance of testes and pituitary gland in Kıvırcık male lambs. Meat Sci 2010;86:692-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2010.06.006
  15. Miller SD, Turley DM, Podojil JR. Antigen-specific tolerance strategies for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune disease. Nat Rev Immunol 2007;7:665-77. https://doi.org/10.1038/nri2153
  16. Shellam GR, Nossal GJV. Mechanism of induction of immunological tolerance: IV. the effects of ultra-low doses of flagellin. Immunology 1968;14:273-84.
  17. Friedman A, Weiner HL. Induction of anergy or active suppression following oral tolerance is determined by antigen dosage. Proc Natl Acad Sci 1994;91:6688-92. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.91.14.6688
  18. Heyman B. Regulation of antibody responses via antibodies, complement, and Fc receptors. Annu Rev Immunol 2000;18: 709-37. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.immunol.18.1.709
  19. Monleón E, Noya A, Carmen Garza M, Ripoll G, Sanz A. Effects of an anti-gonadotrophin releasing hormone vaccine on the morphology, structure and function of bull testes. Theriogenology 2020;141:211-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.07.019
  20. Xu M, Xu C, Liu F, et al. Effects of active immunization with newly modified GnRH peptides on spermatogenesis and production performance of Holstein bulls. Biol Reprod 2018; 99:461-72. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolre/iox176
  21. Giriboni J, Lacuesta L, Santiago-Moreno J, Ungerfeld R. Chronic use of a GnRH agonist (deslorelin) or immunization against GnRH: effects on testicular function and sperm quality of bucks. Domest Anim Endocrinol 2020;71:106395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.domaniend.2019.106395
  22. Wicks N, Crouch S, Pearl CA. Effects of Improvac and Bopriva on the testicular function of boars ten weeks after immunization. Anim Reprod Sci 2013;142:149-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2013.09.017
  23. Ahmed S, Jiang X, Liu G, et al. New trends in immunocastration and its potential to improve animal welfare: a mini review. Trop Anim Health Prod 2022;54:369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03348-8
  24. Zhu X, Han D, Zhang L, et al. Influence of hydrolyzable vs. condensed tannins supplementation in Liaoning cashmere goats: growth performance, nitrogen metabolism, rumen fermentation, and blood metabolites. Anim Biosci 2025;39:250367. https://doi.org/10.5713/ab.25.0367
  25. Needham TH, Lambrechts H, Hoffman L. Castration of male livestock and the potential of immunocastration to improve animal welfare and production traits: invited review. S Afr J Anim Sci 2017;47:731-42. https://doi:10.4314/sajas.v47i6.1
  26. Siel D, Huenchullán PR, Vidal S, Valdés A, Sáenz L. Improving beef cattle production: safety and effectiveness of new immunocastration vaccine. Animals 2024;14:2538. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14172538
  27. Fang F, Yang Y, Liu Y, et al. Immunization of male mice with a new recombinant GnRH fusion protein reduces the testicular function. Agric Sci China 2009;8:380-5. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1671-2927(08)60222-9
  28. Xu J, Zhu Z, Duan P, et al. Cloning, expression, and purification of a highly immunogenic recombinant gonadotropinreleasing hormone (GnRH) chimeric peptide. Protein Expr Purif 2006;50:163-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pep.2006.08.016
  29. Jinshu X, Jingjing L, Duan P, et al. The immunogenicity of recombinant and dimeric gonadotrophin-releasing hormone vaccines incorporating a T-helper epitope and GnRH or repeated GnRH units. J Immunol Methods 2004;289:111-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jim.2004.04.004
  30. Goodwin D, Simerska P, Chang CH, et al. Active immunisation of mice with GnRH lipopeptide vaccine candidates: importance of T helper or multi-dimer GnRH epitope. Bioorg Med Chem 2014;22:4848-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmc.2014.06.052