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Effects of feed restriction and supplementary folic acid and vitamin B12 on immune cell functions and blood cell populations in dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2019

N. Vanacker Open the ORCID record for N. Vanacker [Opens in a new window] ,
C. L. Girard ,
R. Blouin Open the ORCID record for R. Blouin [Opens in a new window]  and
P. Lacasse Open the ORCID record for P. Lacasse [Opens in a new window]
N. Vanacker
Affiliation:
Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2000 College Sherbrooke, QC J1M 0C8, Canada Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boulevard de l’Université,Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
C. L. Girard
Affiliation:
Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2000 College Sherbrooke, QC J1M 0C8, Canada
R. Blouin
Affiliation:
Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boulevard de l’Université,Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada
P. Lacasse*
Affiliation:
Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2000 College Sherbrooke, QC J1M 0C8, Canada
*
†E-mail: Pierre.Lacasse@canada.ca
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Abstract

Cows undergoing a negative energy balance (NEB) often experience a state of immunosuppression and are at greater risk of infectious diseases. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of a folic acid and vitamin B12 supplement and feed restriction on several immune parameters. Sixteen cows at 45 ± 3 days in milk were assigned to 8 blocks of 2 cows each according to each cow’s milk production in the previous week, and within each block, the cows randomly received weekly intramuscular injections of either saline or 320 mg of folic acid and 10 mg of vitamin B12 for 5 weeks. During week 5, the cows were fed 75% of their ad libitum intake for 4 days. Blood samples were taken before the beginning of the experiment, just before feed restriction and after 3 days of feed restriction, in order to evaluate blood cell populations, the phagocytosis capacity and oxidative burst of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) and β-hydroxybutyrate. The vitamin supplement did not affect any of the tested variables except milk fat and lactose content. Feed restriction reduced milk production and increased the concentration of NEFAs. Feed restriction did not affect blood cell populations but did reduce the percentage of PMN positive for oxidative burst after stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The proliferation of PBMCs was reduced when the cell culture medium was supplemented with sera collected during the feed restriction. In conclusion, feed restriction affected the functions of PMN and PBMC and this effect was not prevented by the folic acid and vitamin B12 supplement. These results support the hypothesis that the greater risk of infectious diseases in cows experiencing a NEB is related to impaired immune cell functions by high circulating concentration of NEFAs.

Keywords

negative energy balanceimmunosuppressionblood metabolitesoxidative burstlymphoproliferation
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , February 2020 , pp. 339 - 345
Copyright
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 2019 

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