Submitted November 14, 2006
Returned for revision December 14, 2006
Accepted April 26, 2007
Female Reproductive Tract
Wild Fulvous Fruit Bats (Rousettus leschenaulti) Exhibit Human-Like Menstrual Cycle
Xiaoping Zhang ,
Cheng Zhu ,
Haiyan Lin ,
Qing Yang ,
Qizhi Ou ,
Yuchun Li ,
Zhong Chen ,
Paul Racey ,
Shuyi Zhang ,
and
Hongmei Wang *
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wanghm{at}ioz.ac.cn.
Abstract
We investigated the menstrual cycle of wild fulvous fruit bats (Rousettus leschenaulti), focusing on changes in endometrial and ovarian structure and pituitary and steroid hormones. The menstrual cycle lasts for 33 days in bats studied in their natural habitat and in captivity. Vaginal bleeding was restricted to a single day (day 1). A preovulatory follicle was found in the ovary on day 18 when the levels of luteinizing hormone and follicular stimulating hormone reached their maxima, accompanied by a thickened endometrium. On day 24, serum levels of progesterone and estradiol were also maximal, and uterine glands increased in size. After that, the levels of progesterone dropped precipitously, leading to menstrual bleeding. Both the morphological and hormonal changes observed in fulvous fruit bats during the menstrual cycle resemble similar changes in humans. Fulvous fruit bats may be useful non-primate laboratory models to study menstruation and menstrual dysfunction.
Key words:
Ovary •
Menstrual cycle •
hormone •
endometrium •
fulvous fruit bat
