GnRH Vaccine Could Suppress Serum Testosterone in Stallion Mules

Abstract

Stallion mules have been used as working equids in several countries. Aggressiveness under the influence of testosterone results in the necessity for surgical castration before work training. The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine may be an alternative method for immunocastration in mules. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the GnRH vaccine on anti-GnRH antibody concentration, serum testosterone concentration, clinical adverse effects, and behavioral changes in response to receiving selected physical manipulations from humans. Twenty-five mules were separated into three groups: Control-intact, Control-castrated, and Treatment. The Treatment group was further divided according to condition (intact or unilateral cryptorchid) and age. The Treatment group received 195 µg of the GnRH vaccine intramuscularly at weeks 0, 4, and 8. The anti-GnRH antibody concentrations increased at weeks 6 and 10, and then they gradually decreased to baseline at week 24. The Treatment-intact-young group had the highest concentration of anti-GnRH antibody. The serum testosterone concentrations in the Treatment group were lower than before vaccination from weeks 6 to 14. Subcutaneous edema adjacent to the injection site was detected in the Treatment-intact group after booster vaccination. In conclusion, the mules responded to the GnRH vaccine, which could temporarily suppress testosterone for up to 14 weeks.