Changes in some pregnancy biomarkers of Yankasa ewes experimentally infected with Trypanosoma evansi

• The progesterone and pregnancy specific protein-B concentration of Yankasa ewes infected with T. evansi at second trimester of pregnancy increased while those infected at third trimester were not affected.
• Estrone sulfate concentration of ewes infected at the second trimester decreased while those infected at the third trimester were not affected.
• The cortisol concentration of ewes infected at the second trimester was increased while those infected at third trimester decreased.
• There was no association among the pregnancy biomarkers (progesterone, pregnancy specific protein-B, estrone sulfate and cortisol) of ewes infected at the second and third trimesters, except between progesterone and cortisol in the third trimester ewes.

The study was designed to determine the effect of Trypanosoma evansi infection on some pregnancy biomarkers of Yankasa ewes (YE). Twenty pregnant YE were assigned into 3 groups (A, B and C) comprising 7 ewes each in groups A and B, while group C comprise 6 YE. Groups A and B were each inoculated with blood containing approximately 1.0 × 106 of T. evansi through the jugular vein on days 59 and 110 of pregnancy, representing second and third trimesters, respectively, while group C served as the uninfected control. Progesterone (P4) and pregnancy specific protein-B (PSPB) of YE in group A were significantly (p < 0.05) high at weeks 4 and 12 post infection (pi) respectively, while there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in P4 and PSPB of YE in groups B. Estrone sulfate (E1S) significantly (p < 0.05) decrease for YE in group A at weeks 2 and 11 pi. However, it was not significantly (p > 0.05) different in group B. Cortisol concentration of YE in group A was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased at week 12 pi. Conversely, the cortisol concentration of YE in group B significantly (p < 0.05) increased at week 3 pi. There was no significant (p > 0.05) association among the pregnancy biomarkers of YE in groups A and B throughout the study, except between progesterone and cortisol in group B, which were significantly associated (r = 0.77, p < 0.05). It was therefore concluded that T. evansi infection affects pregnancy biomarkers more at mid pregnancy than at late pregnancy.