Physiological effects of androgen deprivation in adult boars

What is it about?

While immunocastration has been studied in male pre-pubertal pigs, data on older, sexually mature animals are limited. To understand the difference in the physiological effects of androgen deprivation in the late or early sexual development phase, we compared mature immunocastrated boars to young immunocastrated pigs and young males.

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Photo by Kenneth Schipper Vera on Unsplash

Photo by Kenneth Schipper Vera on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Immunocastration in young (pre-pubertal) pigs effectively suppressed sexual development, whereas in adult (post-pubertal) pigs it results in progressive, but individually dependent regression of testicular function after GnRH production is reduced. The most pronounced change observed in this study was the reduction in the nucleus to cytoplasm ratio in Leydig cells. Testes index was also a reliable parameter to assess the success rate of immunocastration.