Investigating the Role of Prolactin as a Potential Biomarker of Stress in Castrated Male Domestic Dogs

Gutiérrez, Jara; Gazzano, Angelo; Pirrone, Federica; Sighieri, Claudio; Mariti, Chiara

doi:10.3390/ani9090676

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Behavioural analysis is widely utilised to assess stress levels of animals. Common stress behaviours of dogs suggested in several other studies are vocalisation, oral behaviour, paw lifting, body shaking, and panting, among others [52,53]. One study reported that a stress behaviour visual analog scale was useful to reflect stress levels [13], while another suggested the simple summing up of the number of each stress behaviour did not show a correlation with stress biomarkers [53].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of salivary vasopressin as an acute stress biomarker in healthy dogs with stress due to noise and environmental challenges

Jeong

Song

et al. 2020

BMC Vet Res

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Background Stress is associated with various detrimental changes in physiological health that affect an animal’s quality of life. The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic-adreno-medullar (SAM) axis are two main physiological pathways that constitute the stress response of an organism. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a mediator of the HPA axis and is known to be related to social behaviours and stress. The serum concentration of AVP is higher in more aggressive dogs and humans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Salivary biomarker analysis is a non-invasive method to assess stress. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the possibility of using salivary AVP as an acute stress biomarker in dogs. Salivary AVP concentration was measured before and after exposure to all relevant environmental stimuli (i.e. car trip to the lab, physical examination by the veterinarian, and sampling procedure,) and then after 30 min of vacuum noise exposure. Behavioural assessments, physiologic parameter assessments, and serum cortisol analysis were conducted in combination. Statistical analysis was conducted separately in the total study population, the less stressed group, and the more stressed group, respectively. Results Based on stress behaviour analysis scores, 28 dogs were classified into less or more stressed groups. All four physiologic parameters (blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory rate) were significantly increased after noise and environmental challenges, in the more stressed group. Serum cortisol did not show any significant change. Salivary AVP significantly decreased after noise and environmental stimulation in the more stressed group but not in the less stressed group. Salivary AVP and blood pressure changes were negatively correlated in the more stressed group. Conclusion Salivary AVP may be a potential acute stress biomarker in dogs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of salivary vasopressin as an acute stress biomarker in healthy dogs with stress due to noise and environmental challenges

Jeong

Song

et al. 2020

BMC Vet Res

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“…Cortisol and corticosterone are the main stress hormones used to assess the level of stress in animals. However, according to some studies [42,43], prolactin can also be used as a biomarker of acute and chronic stress in fish, cattle, sheep, donkeys, rats, dogs, and humans. It is released from the pituitary gland in response to eating, mating, and other stimuli.…”

Section: Other Biomarkers Of Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selection of appropriate biomatrices for studies of chronic stress in animals: a review

Ataallahi¹,

Lee²,

Park³

2022

J Anim Sci Technol

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Cortisol and corticosterone, hormones traditionally considered biomarkers of stress, can be measured in fluid biomatrices (e.g., blood, saliva) from live animals to evaluate conditions at sampling time, or in solid biomatrices (e.g., hair, feather) from live or dead animals to obtain information regarding long-term changes. Using these biomarkers to evaluate physiological stress responses in domestic animals may be challenging due to the diverse characteristics of biomatrices for potential measurement. Ideally, a single measurement from the biomatrix should be sufficient for evaluating chronic stress. The availability of appropriate and cost-effective immunoassay methods for detecting the biomarkers should also be considered. This review discusses the strengths and limitations of different biomatrices with regard to ensuring the highest possible reliability for chronic stress evaluation. Overall, solid biomatrices require less frequent sampling than other biomatrices, resulting in greater time-and cost-effectiveness, greater ease of use, and fewer errors. The multiplex immunoassay can be used to analyze interactions and correlations between cortisol and other stress biomarkers in the same biomatrix. In light of the lack of information regarding appropriate biomatrices for measuring chronic stress, this review may help investigators set experimental conditions or design biological research.

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“…Previous studies have indicated the interest in evaluating serum PRL in anxious dogs [19]. On the contrary, recent studies [20] highlighted that in sheltered castrated male dogs' PRL concentrations correlate neither to stress scores nor to fear behaviors, and that a weak negative correlation between cortisol and prolactin levels was possible. In previous research, we found that AD presented higher levels of blood PRL than a pet dog population in a controlled situation [11,21], emphasizing the interest of further investigating this neuromodulator.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurohormonal Profiles of Assistance Dogs Compared to Pet Dogs: What Is the Impact of Different Lifestyles?

Mengoli

Oliva

Mendonça

et al. 2021

Animals

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Assistance dogs must manage stress efficiently because they are involved in challenging tasks. Their welfare is currently a fundamental issue. This preliminary study aimed to compare assistance dogs (AD; n = 22) with pet dogs (PD; n = 24), using blood neuromodulator indicators to help find biomarkers that can improve the AD breeding, selection, training, and welfare monitoring. Both populations originated from different breeds, are of different ages, and had different lifestyles. Basal peripheral concentrations of prolactin (PRL), serotonin (5-HT), free (fOT) and total (tOT) oxytocin were measured by immunoassays. Multiple linear regressions were performed to assess the effect of activity, age, sex, and their interactions on these parameters. Correlations between neurohormonal levels were analyzed. No interactions were significant. fOT and tOT concentrations were significantly influenced by age (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0002, respectively) and dogs’ activity (p = 0.0006 and p = 0.0277, respectively). A tendency was observed for age effect on PRL (p = 0.0625) and 5-HT (p = 0.0548), as well as for sex effect on tOT (p = 0.0588). PRL concentrations were heterogenous among AD. fOT and tOT were significantly but weakly correlated (Pearson’s r = 0.34; p = 0.04). Blood prolactin, serotonin, and oxytocin may represent biomarkers to assess workload and chronic stress-related responses in ADs and eventually improve their selection and training.

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Investigating the Role of Prolactin as a Potential Biomarker of Stress in Castrated Male Domestic Dogs

Cited by 11 publications

References 87 publications

Evaluation of salivary vasopressin as an acute stress biomarker in healthy dogs with stress due to noise and environmental challenges

Evaluation of salivary vasopressin as an acute stress biomarker in healthy dogs with stress due to noise and environmental challenges

Selection of appropriate biomatrices for studies of chronic stress in animals: a review

Neurohormonal Profiles of Assistance Dogs Compared to Pet Dogs: What Is the Impact of Different Lifestyles?

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