Influences of Pre- and Postnatal Testosterone Treatment on Defeminization of Sexual Receptivity in Pigs1

Abstract

Sexual receptivity was evaluated in female and male pigs that had experienced varying periods of exposure to testosterone pre- and postnatally. For prenatal exposure, pregnant sows were treated with testosterone propionate (TP) from Day 29-35 or Day 39-45 of gestation at a dosage that caused virilization of the external genitalia of their female offspring. Eighty-three percent of the females that received TP prenatally had regular estrous cycles, but reached puberty later than control females. Only 26% of the females that received TP both pre- and postnatally (4-6 mo of age) were observed in estrus by 10 mo of age. After ovariectomy and acute treatment with estradiol benzoate (EB), the proportion of females that showed the immobilization response (receptivity) was similar for all groups of females independent of pre- or postnatal TP treatment. Females treated prenatally from Day 39-45 showed the immobilization response for fewer days after treatment with a high dosage of EB than did controls. On the basis of these observations, we conclude that receptivity in female pigs is not affected greatly by testosterone treatment at the stages of development that were investigated. Males castrated at birth and treated with a single injection of EB after 9.5 mo showed the immobilization response. In contrast, few males castrated at 8 mo or castrated at birth and treated with TP from 3 to 6 mo showed the immobilization response after EB treatment. These observations provide direct evidence for a postnatal component of testosterone-dependent defeminization of receptivity in male pigs.