Abstract
Weanling mice (118) were fed a purified diet free of vitamin A for 3 wk and subsequently assigned to diets containing 10, 100 (4000 IU vitamin A/kg diet), or 300% of National Research Council recommended vitamin A. After 3 wk on the treatment diet all mice were bred and allowed to complete gestation. At 24h postpartum, the left fourth abdominal mammary gland of each mouse was inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus (108 cells in .1ml of saline/ gland), and mammary gland infection was observed daily for 6 consecutive days.Liver vitamin A content was lowest in mice for 10% and highest for 300%. However, mice fed 10% showed normal growth and reproduction by small treatment differences in body weight changes, litter size at birth, and average pup weight. Mice fed 10 and 100% vitamin A showed more severe mammary gland inflammation after intramammary inoculation as opposed to mice fed 300%. Severity of mastitis in mice fed 100% vitamin A was similar to 10%. The number of mice classified as mastitic was also similar between 10 and 100% on days 1 and 2 postinoculation; however, on day 3 postinoculation mice fed 100% had a lower incidence of mastitis as opposed to 10%. Severity of mammary inflammation on days 4 through 6 were similar to those on day 3. Results showed a protective effect of dietary vitamin A supplementation against experimental Staphylococcus aureus mastitis in mice.
Published Version
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