Rumen-protected choline and methionine during the periparturient period affect choline metabolites, amino acids, and hepatic expression of genes associated with one-carbon and lipid metabolism

Abstract

Feeding supplemental choline and Met during the periparturient period can have positive effects on cow performance; however, the mechanisms by which these nutrients affect performance and metabolism are unclear. The objective of this experiment was to determine if providing rumen-protected choline, rumen-protected Met, or both during the periparturient period modifies the choline metabolitic profile of plasma and milk, plasma AA, and hepatic mRNA expression of genes associated with choline, Met, and lipid metabolism. Cows (25 primiparous, 29 multiparous) were blocked by expected calving date and parity and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: control (no rumen-protected choline or rumen-protected Met); CHO (13 g/d choline ion); MET (9 g/d DL-methionine prepartum; 13.5 g/d DL-methionine, postpartum); or CHO + MET. Treatments were applied daily as a top dress from ~21 d prepartum through 35 d in milk (DIM). On the day of treatment enrollment (d -19 ± 2 relative to calving), blood samples were collected for covariate measurements. At 7 and 14 DIM, samples of blood and milk were collected for analysis of choline metabolites, including 16 species of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and 4 species of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). Blood was also analyzed for AA concentrations. Liver samples collected from multiparous cows on the day of treatment enrollment and at 7 DIM were used for gene expression analysis. There was no consistent effect of CHO or MET on milk or plasma free choline, betaine, sphingomyelin, or glycerophosphocholine. However, CHO increased milk secretion of total LPC irrespective of MET for multiparous cows and in absence of MET for primiparous cows. Furthermore, CHO increased or tended to increase milk secretion of LPC 16:0, LPC 18:1, and LPC 18:0 for primi- and multiparous cows, although the response varied with MET supplementation. Feeding CHO also increased plasma concentrations of LPC 16:0 and LPC 18:1 in absence of MET for multiparous cows. Although milk secretion of total PC was unaffected, CHO and MET increased secretion of 6 and 5 individual PC species for multiparous cows, respectively. Plasma concentrations of total PC and individual PC species were unaffected by CHO or MET for multiparous cows, but MET reduced total PC and 11 PC species during wk 2 postpartum for primiparous cows. Feeding MET consistently increased plasma Met concentrations for both primi- and multiparous cows. Additionally, MET decreased plasma serine concentrations during wk 2 postpartum and increased plasma phenylalanine in absence of CHO for multiparous cows. In absence of MET, CHO tended to increase hepatic mRNA levels of betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase and phosphate cytidylyltransferase 1 choline, α, but tended to decrease expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase 2 and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α irrespective of MET. Although shifts in the milk and plasma PC profile were subtle and inconsistent between primi- and multiparous cows, gene expression results suggest that supplemental choline plays a probable role in promoting the cytidine diphosphate-choline and betaine-homocysteine S-methyltransferase pathways. However, interactive effects suggest that this response depends on Met availability, which may explain the inconsistent results observed among studies when supplemental choline is fed.