Assessment of Selected Immunological Parameters in Dairy Cows with Naturally Occurring Mycotoxicosis before and after the Application of a Mycotoxin Deactivator

Piotr Brodzki; Jan Marczuk; Urszula Lisiecka; Leszek Krakowski; Marek Szczubiał; Roman Dąbrowski; Mariola Bochniarz; Katarzyna Kulpa; Nikodem Brodzki; Karolina Wolniaczyk

doi:10.2478/jvetres-2023-0002

Assessment of Selected Immunological Parameters in Dairy Cows with Naturally Occurring Mycotoxicosis before and after the Application of a Mycotoxin Deactivator

J Vet Res. 2023 Feb 17;67(1):105-113. doi: 10.2478/jvetres-2023-0002. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Affiliations

¹ Department and Clinic of Animal Reproduction, Lublin, Poland.
² Department and Clinic of Animal Internal Medicine, Lublin, Poland.
³ Department of Epizootiology and Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lublin, Poland.
⁴ Students of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-612 Lublin, Poland.

Abstract

Introduction: Mycotoxins in dairy cows can cause many non-specific symptoms often resulting from immune system overreaction. The study assessed the concentration of selected cytokines and acute phase proteins (APP) in cows with natural mycotoxicosis before and after using a mycotoxin neutraliser. The cytokines were tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and interleukin 10 (IL-10), and the APP were serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin (Hp).

Material and methods: The research was carried out on an experimental group (Exp) of 10 herdmate Holstein-Friesian cows with mycotoxicosis. The control group (Con) was 10 healthy cows of the same breed from a different herd. Cows in the Exp group were administered the mycotoxin deactivator Mycofix for three months. Blood was drawn from Exp cows once before administering Mycofix and a second time after three months of its use. Blood was also drawn from Con cows at the same times. Serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, SAA and Hp were assessed using ELISA.

Results: The concentrations of all cytokines and Hp in Exp cows were higher before treatment (P < 0.001) than those in Con cows. After three months of administering Mycofix, the concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6 were significantly lower than their pre-treatment levels (P < 0.001). The concentrations of IL-6, IL-10, and Hp were still significantly higher than those in the Con group (P < 0.001). In cows with mycotoxicosis, simultaneous stimulation of antagonistic processes was noted: a pro-inflammatory process in the upregulation of TNF-α and IL-6, and an anti-inflammatory one in the upregulation of IL-10.

Conclusion: Despite the absorbent's use and the resolution of clinical symptoms in Exp cows, high levels of IL-10 and Hp and IL-6 were maintained. Assessment of the level of cytokines and APP appears to be a useful and precise tool for the evaluation and application of the appropriate dose of the mycotoxin absorbent or the evaluation of its effectiveness.

Keywords: acute phase proteins; cows; cytokine; mycotoxicosis; mycotoxin deactivator.