Transplantation of Ovaries in the Guinea Pig for Reproduction and for the Endocrine Effect during Pregnancy

Abstract

of Paper 5 of the 1927 Meeting at Lawrence EARL H. HERRICK Kansas State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kansas For more than thirty-five years, ovarian transplantation to test for foster mother influence on the young, has been attempted. The results are so meager, however, that conclusions drawn by various workers are not in ragreement. To supplement the work already done, ovaries were removed from guinea pigs carrying dominant genetic characters and were replaced by ovaries from guinea pigs which were recessive to the genetic characters. The guinea pigs that had received the new ovaries were mated to recessive males. In one case, B18 a black piogr received the ovaries from a recessive red pig and the mating was made with a red, male. One red offspring was produced. A golden agoltti, C15, was mated to a recessive pink-eyed, white male after having received the ovaries from a recessive pink-eyed white female. One golden-agouti offspring like the mother was produceed A thorouglh examination of the one recovered ovary led to the conclusion that all of the original ovarian tissue was not removed at the time of the operation and it regenerated to the extent of prod'ucing ova. There were only two offspring resulting from thirty-eight grafts. Another phase of ovaarian transplantation studied was the relationship between the ovaries and the developing embryos and mother during pregnancy. This problem was approached by removing the ovaries from eighteen gtin,ea piigs that were in almost all stages of pregnancy except the very earliest. Fifteen of the ovariectomized females aborted their young in from one to twentythree days after the operation. Three gave birth to living young in a normal manner. One of the three was in twenty-seven days of pregnancy when the ovaries were removed after which the, young were carried forty-one days before parturition. The others to give birth to living young were in later stages of pregnancy. Eleven of these were examined to determine if the mammary glands, were functional at the time of delivery. In nine cases they were functionral. In fourteen cases examined, the pelvic girdle had relaxed in every case iat the time of delivery. Fourteen other guinea pigs were selected in similiar stages of pregnancy as those in which the ovaries were removed. The ovaries were removed from these animals and were replaced by ovaries from other guinea pigs. In all but two cases the ovaries were obtained from virgin females which could not contain corpora lutea of pregnancy. Nine of these pregnant females gave birth to living young and five aborted their young.