Determination of anti-Müllerian hormone levels in blood and urine in fertile cats

Abstract

In recent years, blood anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels have been investigated in female animals to diagnose many conditions, such as the presence of ovarian tissue, follicle reserve, and granulosa cell tumors. Since blood collection is an invasive method, diagnosis with a non-invasive method is important in terms of practicality and animal welfare. This study aimed to investigate the presence of AMH in cat urine and determine whether a correlation exists between blood and urine AMH levels. In addition, it was aimed at revealing whether there was a change in blood and urine AMH levels according to ovarian follicle distribution. Twenty-seven healthy, fertile female cats in the follicular phase were included. Following blood and urine sample collection, a routine ovariohysterectomy was performed. Histological analysis of the removed ovarian tissue was used to determine ovarian follicle types. While both AMH and estrogen levels were determined in blood samples, only AMH levels were investigated in urine samples. Blood AMH levels averaged 10.61 ± 0.75 ng/mL (range: 5–16 ng/mL), while urine AMH levels averaged 5.67 ± 0.91 ng/mL (range: 0.2–13 ng/mL). While urinary AMH level was <1 ng/mL in 7 cats, urinary AMH was >1 ng/mL in all remaining cats. While the study demonstrated AMH excretion in urine, no correlation was found between blood and urine AMH values. However, a significant positive correlation was observed between blood AMH levels and serum estrogen levels (P < 0.001). These findings suggest that urinary AMH may be a product of proteolytic degradation, potentially leading to inaccurate estimations of ovarian activity based solely on urine AMH levels.