Pheromonal Induction of Ostrus in Female Mice Treated with an Antigonadotropic Drug

Treatment with Reserpine (RSP), 5μg female/day, for 21 days suppressed oestrus in regularly cycling individually housed females. When such Reserpinized females were individually exposed to corraled adult males, oestus was induced in majority of females within 7 days of exposure, with a peak on day 4, unlike control female, which were treated with RSP but not exposed to males. The results indicate that the male pheromone could override the gonadotrophin-supressing effect of RSP and thereby induced a new oestrous cycle in anoestrous females.