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PSEUDOPREGNANCY IN MICE TREATED WITH OVINE PROLACTIN

Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, Shrewsbury, Massachusetts 01545, U.S.A.

(Received 2nd April 1975)

In the laboratory mouse, prolactin is indispensable for luteal function (Choudary & Greenwald, 1969), and pseudopregnancy can be induced by prolactin injections or by prolactin-producing pituitary grafts (Dresel, 1935; Browning & White, 1963; Bartke, 1966; Dominic, 1966). During pregnancy, the minimal daily requirement for exogenous prolactin is greater during the first 2 days than during the following 6 days (Bartke, 1973), and the present study was undertaken to check whether a similar difference also exists during pseudopregnancy.

Adult female mice of a random-bred stock were housed individually and vaginal smears were taken daily throughout the study. Ovine prolactin (NIH-PL-S10) dissolved in 0·9% saline (with a few drops of 0·1 N-NaOH) was injected intraperitoneally daily starting on the day of full vaginal cornification (oestrus) for 2 days or until the next oestrous smear. A treatment cycle of