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Evaluating the Use of Fecal Transthyretin as a Biomarker for Noninvasive Pregnancy Diagnosis in the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)

DeLorenzo, Corrina J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1504797886103351

Abstract Details

2017, MS, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Biological Sciences.
Captive breeding of threatened and endangered wildlife is hindered by pseudopregnancy: animals that show signs of pregnancy but are not actually pregnant. Pseudopregnancy draws on limited resources with no chance of reproduction. Currently, there is no test to differentiate between pregnancy and pseudopregnancy in polar bears (Ursus maritimus). The objective of this study were to develop a more reliable method to distinguish pregnant from pseudopregnant and nonpregnant bears using transthyretin (TTR), a protein expressed in developing embryos. This study had three aims: 1) identify antibodies that crossreact with polar bear fecal TTR; 2) develop and validate an ELISA for measuring fecal TTR; and, 3) compare longitudinal fecal TTR concentration profiles among pregnant, pseudopregnant, and nonpregnant polar bears. Western blot assays were used to determine commercial antibody compatibility with polar bear fecal TTR. A sandwich ELISA was developed and validated to quantify fecal TTR concentrations. Total protein was extracted and TTR concentrations were quantified from samples collected from 15 bears to create longitudinal profiles for evaluation. Results also suggested a possible interaction between season and reproductive status on total protein concentrations. The TTR ELISA method was able to more reliably distinguish pregnant from pseudopregnant and nonpregnant bears using a threshold test. Future studies should investigate applying this test in a larger sample, and refinement of the threshold method to more clearly detect pregnancy using longitudinal data.
Kenneth Petren, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Joshua Benoit, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Daniel Buchholz, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Biology
polar bear; pregnancy; pseudopregnancy; fecal proteins; transthyretin; ELISA

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • DeLorenzo, C. J. (2017). Evaluating the Use of Fecal Transthyretin as a Biomarker for Noninvasive Pregnancy Diagnosis in the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1504797886103351

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • DeLorenzo, Corrina. Evaluating the Use of Fecal Transthyretin as a Biomarker for Noninvasive Pregnancy Diagnosis in the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus). 2017. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1504797886103351.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • DeLorenzo, Corrina. "Evaluating the Use of Fecal Transthyretin as a Biomarker for Noninvasive Pregnancy Diagnosis in the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1504797886103351

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1504797886103351
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© 2017, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Evaluating the Use of Fecal Transthyretin as a Biomarker for Noninvasive Pregnancy Diagnosis in the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) by Corrina J DeLorenzo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.