Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T23:15:32.576Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Influence of liver fat on post-partum hormone profiles in dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

Elaine D. Watson  and
Linda A. Williams
Elaine D. Watson
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute for Research on Animal Diseases, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire RG16 0NN
Linda A. Williams
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute for Research on Animal Diseases, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire RG16 0NN
Get access

Abstract

Cows (no. = 11) were classified from liver biopsies taken 7 to 10 days after calving as having mild (FL1, no. = 6), or moderate (FL2, no. = 5) fatty infiltration of the liver. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein: (1) three times weekly and assayed for progesterone and oestradiol; (2) at 10-min intervals for 8-h periods on three occasions during the early post-partum period and assayed for LH; (3) every 2 h, with ovarian palpation performed every 4 h around the second or third post-partum ovulation, and assayed for LH and oestradiol.

Mean weekly concentrations of oestradiol were not significantly different between FL1 and FL2 cows. FL2 cows tended to have short (< 17 days) first cycles (3/4 FL2 v. 0/5 FL1) with significantly lower concentrations of plasma progesterone (P < 0·05). Mean basal concentrations of LH in the samples collected at 10-min intervals tended to be lower in FL2 than in FL1 cows; however, the difference was significant only in the 2nd week of sampling (P = 0·05). Mean basal concentrations of LH were significantly higher in weeks 3 and 4 than in week 2 in FL1 but not in FL2 cows (P < 0·05). The frequency and amplitude of LH pulses were not affected by week of sampling or by fat content of the liver. The total area under the profile of LH during the pre-ovulatory surge was lower in FL2 than in FL1 cows (P < 0·05) but peak plasma concentrations of pre-ovulatory oestradiol and timing of ovulation after the LH surge were similar.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , August 1987 , pp. 9 - 14
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abeyawardene, S. A. 1985. Studies of the concentrations of oestradiol-17p and progesterone in plasma and milk of cows and goats and a study of the relationship between steroids and luteinising hormone during the bovine oestrous cycle. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Reading.Google Scholar
Carruthers, T. D. and Hafs, H. D. 1980. Suckling and four-times daily milking: influence on ovulation, estrus and serum luteinizing hormone, glucocorticoids and prolactin in post-partum Holsteins. Journal of Animal Science 50: 919–925.Google Scholar
Davies, D. C. and Jebbett, I. H. 1981. Liver biopsy of cattle. In Practice November, pp. 14–16.Google Scholar
Dobson, H. and Dean, P. D. G. 1974. Radioimmunoassay of oestrone, oestradiol-17α and-17β in bovine plasma during the oestrous cycle and last stages of pregnancy. Journal of Endocrinology 61: 479–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaal, T., Reid, I. M., Collins, R. A., Roberts, C. J. and Pike, B. V. 1983. Comparison of biochemical and histological methods of estimating fat content of liver of dairy cows. Research in Veterinary Science 34: 245–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gauthier, D., Terqui, M. and Mauleon, P. 1983. Influence of nutrition on pre-partum plasma levels of progesterone and total oestrogens and post-partum levels of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating. hormone in suckling cows. Animal Production 37: 89–96.Google Scholar
Higgins, R. J. and Anderson, W. F. 1983. Fat cow syndrome in a British dairy herd. Veterinary Record 113: 461–463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland and Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland. 1975. Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Technical Bulletin 33. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Mulvany, P. 1977. Dairy cow condition scoring. National Institute for Research in Dairying. Report No. 4468.Google Scholar
Peters, A. R., Lamming, G. E. and Fisher, M. W. 1981. A comparison of plasma LH concentrations in milked and suckling post-partum cows. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 62: 567–573.Google Scholar
Reid, I. M. 1983. Reproductive performance and fatty liver in Guernsey cows. Animal Production Science 5: 275–279.Google Scholar
Reid, I. M. and Collins, R. A. 1980. The pathology of post-parturient fatty liver in high yielding dairy cows. Investigations in Cell Pathology 3: 237–249.Google Scholar
Reid, I. M., Collins, R. A., Baird, G. D., Roberts, C. J. and Symonds, H. W. 1979a. Lipid production rates and the pathogenesis of fatty liver in fasted cows. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 93: 253–256.Google Scholar
Reid, I. M., Dew, S. M., Collins, R. A., Ducker, M. J., Bloomfield, G. A. and Morant, S. V. 1983. The relationship between fatty liver and fertility in dairy cows: a farm investigation. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 101: 499–502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, I. M. and Roberts, C. J. 1983. Subclinical fatty liver in dairy cows—current research and future prospects. Irish Veterinary Journal 37: 104–110.Google Scholar
Reid, I. M., Roberts, C. J. and Manston, R. 1979b. Reduced fertility associated with fatty liver in high-yielding dairy cows. Veterinary Science Communications 3: 231–236.Google Scholar
Walton, J. S., McNeilly, J. R., McNeilly, A. S. and Cunningham, F. J. 1977. Changes in concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, prolactin and progesterone in the plasma of ewes during the transition from anoestrus to breeding activity. Journal of Endocrinology 75: 127–136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watson, E. D. 1986. A note on the effect of post-parturient fatty liver on clearance rate of exogenous progesterone from blood. Animal Production 42: 425–426.Google Scholar
Watson, E. D. and Harwood, D. J. 1984. A clinical and endocrinological investigation of a possible case of ovulatory failure in a dairy cow. Veterinary Record 114: 424–425.Google Scholar
Watson, E. D. and MacDonald, B. J. 1984. Failure of conception in dairy cattle: progesterone and oestradiol-17P concentration s and the presence of ovarian follicles in relation to the timing of artificial insemination. British Veterinary Journal 140: 398–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar