Immunization against inhibin DNA vaccine as an alternative therapeutic for improving follicle development and reproductive performance in beef cattle

Jinzhu Meng; Qiuye Li; Lilin Xiao; Weichen Liu; Zhengjie Gao; Lin Gong; Xianyong Lan; Shuilian Wang

doi:10.3389/fendo.2023.1275022

Immunization against inhibin DNA vaccine as an alternative therapeutic for improving follicle development and reproductive performance in beef cattle

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 Feb 15:14:1275022. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1275022. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jinzhu Meng^{1

2}, Qiuye Li¹, Lilin Xiao¹, Weichen Liu¹, Zhengjie Gao¹, Lin Gong¹, Xianyong Lan³, Shuilian Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China.
² Guizhou Provincial Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Conservation and Utilization in the Fanjing Mountain Region, Tongren University, Tongren, China.
³ College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Yangling, China.

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential role of immunization against INH on follicular development, serum reproductive hormone (FSH, E₂, and P₄) concentrations, and reproductive performance in beef cattle. A total of 196 non-lactating female beef cattle (4-5 years old) with identical calving records (3 records) were immunized with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 mg [(T1, n = 58), (T2, n = 46), (T3, n = 42) and (T4, n = 36), respectively] of the pcISI plasmid. The control (C) group (n = 14) was immunized with 1.0 mL 0.9% saline. At 21d after primary immunization, all beef cattle were boosted with half of the primary immunization dose. On day 10 after primary immunization, the beef cattle immunized with INH DNA vaccine evidently induced anti-INH antibody except for the T1 group. The T3 group had the greatest P/N value peak among all the groups. The anti-INH antibody positive rates in T2, T3 and T4 groups were significantly higher than that in C and T1 groups. RIA results indicated that serum FSH concentration in T2 group increased markedly on day 45 after booster immunization; the E₂ amount in T3 group was significantly increased on day 10 after primary immunization, and the levels of E₂ also improved in T2 and T3 groups after booster immunization; the P₄ concentration in T2 group was significantly improved on day 21 after primary immunization. Ultrasonography results revealed that the follicles with different diameter sizes were increased, meanwhile, the diameter and growth speed of ovulatory follicle were significantly increased. Furthermore, the rates of estrous, ovulation, conception, and twinning rate were also significantly enhanced. These findings clearly illustrated that INH DNA vaccine was capable of promoting the follicle development, thereby improving the behavioral of estrous and ovulation, eventually leading to an augment in the conception rates and twinning rate of beef cattle.

Keywords: beef cattle; immunization; inhibin; reproductive performance; vaccine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Cattle
Female
Follicle Stimulating Hormone
Immunization
Inhibins*
Vaccination
Vaccines, DNA*

Substances

Inhibins
Vaccines, DNA
Follicle Stimulating Hormone

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (3110774 and 31672507), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan province (2020JJ4359), Hunan Agricultural University Double First- Class Construction Project (SYL201802017).