Camels belong to a group of animals, where the structure of placenta does not allow intrauterine transfer of maternal immunoglobulins to the fetus and maternal immunity is exclusively transferred by colostrum to the newborn calf. There are few studies on the passive transfer of maternal immunity in the dromedary camel. This study determined total immunoglobulin G concentration, heavy chain antibody (HCAbs) levels, and neutrophils to lymphocytes ratio (NLR) in female camels and their newborn calves. For this, samples were collected from nine she-camels (blood and colostrum) and their calves (blood). IgG concentration and HCAb level were determined in mother serum and colostrum as well as in calf serum using ELISA. The NLR was calculated after the estimation of relative fractions of neutrophils and lymphocytes in collected blood samples using a blood cell analyzer. Both IgG and HCAbs were higher concentrated in camel colostrum than in mother serum. At parturition and before the first colostrum intake, calf serum did not contain any measurable concentration of IgG and only low levels of HCAbs. After colostrum consumption, a rise in IgG and HCAb levels was observed in calf serum. For total IgG, a minimum was reached on day 30 postnatum. While a significant increase in IgG concentration was seen on day 60 postnatum, no significant rise was measured in HCAbs at that age. Only post-colostrum IgG levels in calf serum correlated positively with IgG levels in mother colostrum. Directly after birth, newborn calves showed significantly higher NLR than their mothers. This indicates a pro-inflammatory nature of the calf immune response. The decrease of the NLR on day 60 postnatum may argue for the maturation of the calf immune response at this age.
Keywords: Colostrum; Dromedary camel calf; Heavy chain antibodies; Maternal immunity.