TY - JOUR
T1 - Metabolic changes in dairy cows induced by oral, low-dose interferon-alpha treatment.
AU - Trevisi, Erminio
AU - Amadori, Massimo
AU - Bakudila Mbuta, Anselme
AU - Bertoni, Giuseppe
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Many apparently healthy cows show
marked inflammatory conditions around calving, associated
with endocrine and metabolic changes. To prevent
the above conditions, a low-dose, oral interferon-α
(IFN-α) treatment was carried out on periparturient,
multiparous dairy cows. In the first trial, 10 cows received
10 IU of IFN-α/kg of BW daily during the last
2 wk of pregnancy. In a second trial, 4 cows received
0.5 IU of IFN-α/kg of BW daily until d 5 of lactation.
In both trials, a homogenous group of untreated dairy
cows was used as control. All cows were monitored,
during the month before and after calving, for health
status, BCS, milk yield, and inflammatory, metabolic,
immune, and hematological variables. Compared with
control cows, IFN-α-treated animals showed in both
trials a larger decrease of BCS along with decreased
milk yield (P < 0.05), increased haptoglobin (P < 0.05)
and ceruloplasmin, and a slower increase of negative
acute phase proteins (albumin, cholesterol, paraoxonase,
vitamin A) after calving. Interferon-α-treated
animals also showed a larger decrease of plasma glucose
and greater values of NEFA, β-hydroxybutyrate, and
reactive oxygen metabolites. There also was evidence
of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α responses in both
groups before calving with a quick decrease thereafter.
The IL-6 response appeared in some animals regardless
of the IFN-α treatment. Results indicate that low-dose
IFN-α can sustain an inflammatory response in dairy
cows and cause notable metabolic changes. This outcome
might be explained by the repeated and extended
interaction of IFN-α at low doses with the oral lymphoid
tissues during rumination, as suggested by the
observed stability of the cytokine in the rumen milieu;
the final inflammatory effect could thus be as large as
that of high doses. In addition, the antiflogistic signal
of IFN-α might be counteracted and inverted by lymphocytes
detected in the rumen liquor.
AB - Many apparently healthy cows show
marked inflammatory conditions around calving, associated
with endocrine and metabolic changes. To prevent
the above conditions, a low-dose, oral interferon-α
(IFN-α) treatment was carried out on periparturient,
multiparous dairy cows. In the first trial, 10 cows received
10 IU of IFN-α/kg of BW daily during the last
2 wk of pregnancy. In a second trial, 4 cows received
0.5 IU of IFN-α/kg of BW daily until d 5 of lactation.
In both trials, a homogenous group of untreated dairy
cows was used as control. All cows were monitored,
during the month before and after calving, for health
status, BCS, milk yield, and inflammatory, metabolic,
immune, and hematological variables. Compared with
control cows, IFN-α-treated animals showed in both
trials a larger decrease of BCS along with decreased
milk yield (P < 0.05), increased haptoglobin (P < 0.05)
and ceruloplasmin, and a slower increase of negative
acute phase proteins (albumin, cholesterol, paraoxonase,
vitamin A) after calving. Interferon-α-treated
animals also showed a larger decrease of plasma glucose
and greater values of NEFA, β-hydroxybutyrate, and
reactive oxygen metabolites. There also was evidence
of IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α responses in both
groups before calving with a quick decrease thereafter.
The IL-6 response appeared in some animals regardless
of the IFN-α treatment. Results indicate that low-dose
IFN-α can sustain an inflammatory response in dairy
cows and cause notable metabolic changes. This outcome
might be explained by the repeated and extended
interaction of IFN-α at low doses with the oral lymphoid
tissues during rumination, as suggested by the
observed stability of the cytokine in the rumen milieu;
the final inflammatory effect could thus be as large as
that of high doses. In addition, the antiflogistic signal
of IFN-α might be counteracted and inverted by lymphocytes
detected in the rumen liquor.
KW - dairy cows
KW - dairy cows
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/17452
M3 - Article
SN - 0021-8812
SP - 3020
EP - 3029
JO - Journal of Animal Science
JF - Journal of Animal Science
ER -