Differences of serum glucose and lipid metabolism and immune parameters and blood metabolomics regarding the transition cows in the antepartum and postpartum period

Xinya Zhao; Yuxin Wang; Luyao Wang; Shouqiang Sun; Chaoyue Li; Xuewei Zhang; Long Chen; Yujia Tian

doi:10.3389/fvets.2024.1347585

Differences of serum glucose and lipid metabolism and immune parameters and blood metabolomics regarding the transition cows in the antepartum and postpartum period

Front Vet Sci. 2024 Feb 2:11:1347585. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1347585. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Xinya Zhao¹, Yuxin Wang¹, Luyao Wang¹, Shouqiang Sun², Chaoyue Li², Xuewei Zhang¹, Long Chen³, Yujia Tian¹

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Breeding and Healthy Husbandry, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, China.
² Tianjin Jialihe Animal Husbandry Group Co., Ltd., Tianjin, China.
³ Beijing Dongfang Lianming Technology Development Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.

Abstract

This study aims to investigate differences in metabolism regarding the transition cows. Eight cows were selected for the test. Serum was collected on antepartum days 14th (ap14) and 7th (ap7) and postpartum days 1st (pp1), 7th (pp7), and 14th (pp14) to detect biochemical parameters. The experiment screened out differential metabolites in the antepartum (ap) and postpartum (pp) periods and combined with metabolic pathway analysis to study the relationship and role between metabolites and metabolic abnormalities. Results: (1) The glucose (Glu) levels in ap7 were significantly higher than the other groups (p < 0.01). The insulin (Ins) levels of ap7 were significantly higher than pp7 (p = 0.028) and pp14 (p < 0.01), and pp1 was also significantly higher than pp14 (p = 0.016). The insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels of ap7 were significantly higher than ap14, pp7, and pp14 (p < 0.01). The cholestenone (CHO) levels of ap14 and pp14 were significantly higher than pp1 (p < 0.01). The CHO levels of pp14 were significantly higher than pp7 (p < 0.01). The high density lipoprotein cholesterol (DHDL) levels of pp1 were significantly lower than ap14 (p = 0.04), pp7 (p < 0.01), and pp14 (p < 0.01), and pp14 was also significantly higher than ap14 and ap7 (p < 0.01). (2) The interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) levels of ap7 were significantly higher than pp1 and pp7 (p < 0.01); the immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels of pp1 were significantly higher than ap7 and pp7 (p < 0.01); the interleukin-4 (IL-4) levels of pp7 were significantly higher than ap7 and pp1 (p < 0.01), the interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels of ap7 and pp1 were significantly higher than pp7 (p < 0.01). (3) Metabolomics identified differential metabolites mainly involved in metabolic pathways, such as tryptophan metabolism, alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, and lysine degradation. The main relevant metabolism was concentrated in lipid and lipid-like molecules, organic heterocyclic compounds, organic acids, and their derivatives. The results displayed the metabolic changes in the transition period, which laid a foundation for further exploring the mechanism of metabolic abnormalities in dairy cows in the transition period.

Keywords: glucose metabolism; lipid metabolism; metabolic pathway; metabolomics; transition period.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by the Research Project of the Regulatory Mechanism of Transition Cows with Type II Ketosis by Compound Nutritional Regulators (2021XY023) and Innovation Team of Tianjin Dairy (Sheep) Research System (ITTCRS2021000). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.