Abstract
Simple SummaryLameness is prevalent in dairy cows and early diagnosis and timely treatment of the disease can lower animal suffering, improve recovery rate, increase longevity, and minimize cow loss. However, there are no indications of disease until it appears clinically, and presently the only approach to deal with the sick cow is intensive treatment or culling. The results suggest that lameness affected serum concentrations of the several parameters related to innate immunity and carbohydrate metabolism that might be used to monitor health status of transition dairy cows in the near future.The objectives of this study were to evaluate metabolic and innate immunity alterations in the blood of transition dairy cows before, during, and after diagnosis of lameness during periparturient period. Blood samples were collected from the coccygeal vain once per week before morning feeding from 100 multiparous Holstein dairy cows during −8, −4, disease diagnosis, and +4 weeks (wks) relative to parturition. Six healthy cows (CON) and six cows that showed clinical signs of lameness were selected for intensive serum analyses. Concentrations of interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid A (SAA), lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP), lactate, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) were measured in serum by ELISA or colorimetric methods. Health status, DMI, rectal temperature, milk yield, and milk composition also were monitored for each cow during the whole experimental period. Results showed that cows affected by lameness had greater concentrations of lactate, IL-6, and SAA in the serum vs. CON cows. Concentrations of TNF tended to be greater in cows with lameness compared with CON. In addition, there was a health status (Hs) by time (week) interaction for IL-1, TNF, and Hp in lameness cows vs. CON ones. Enhanced serum concentrations of lactate, IL-6, and SAA at −8 and −4 wks before parturition were different in cows with lameness as compared with those of the CON group. The disease was also associated with lowered overall milk production and DMI as well as milk fat and fat-to-protein ratio. In conclusion, cows affected postpartum by lameness had alterations in several serum variables related to innate immunity and carbohydrate metabolism that give insights into the etiopathogenesis of the disease and might serve to monitor health status of transition dairy cows in the near future.
Highlights
Lameness is the third most prevalent disease in dairy herds after infertility and mastitis that contributes to economic loss to dairy farmers [1]
The latter is associated with death of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and the release of large amounts of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and potentially lipoteichoic acid (LTA), which might be involved in the etiology and pathogenesis of laminitis [7]
Combined mean concentrations of lactate in the serum were greater in cows affected by lameness versus CON cows (4550 and 2254 ̆ 399 μmol/L, respectively; P < 0.01; 3)
Summary
Lameness is the third most prevalent disease in dairy herds after infertility and mastitis that contributes to economic loss to dairy farmers [1]. Harmful effects of lameness include lower milk yield [2] and reproductive performance [3], and increased involuntary culling rates [4]. For example Bergsten et al [6] indicates that feeding large amounts of grains is highly associated with laminitis-related lameness. Elevated concentrations of starch in the rumen initiate a state of ruminal acidosis. The latter is associated with death of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and the release of large amounts of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and potentially lipoteichoic acid (LTA), which might be involved in the etiology and pathogenesis of laminitis [7]
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