Resistin in Dairy Cows: Plasma Concentrations during Early Lactation, Expression and Potential Role in Adipose Tissue

Abstract

Resistin is an adipokine that has been implicated in energy metabolism regulation in rodents but has been little studied in dairy cows. We determined plasma resistin concentrations in early lactation in dairy cows and investigated the levels of resistin mRNA and protein in adipose tissue and the phosphorylation of several components of insulin signaling pathways one week post partum (1 WPP) and at five months of gestation (5 MG). We detected resistin in mature bovine adipocytes and investigated the effect of recombinant bovine resistin on lipolysis in bovine adipose tissue explants. ELISA showed that plasma resistin concentration was low before calving, subsequently increasing and reaching a peak at 1 WPP, decreasing steadily thereafter to reach pre-calving levels at 6 WPP. Plasma resistin concentration was significantly positively correlated with plasma non esterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels and negatively with milk yield, dry matter intake and energy balance between WPP1 to WPP22. We showed, by quantitative RT-PCR and western blotting, that resistin mRNA and protein levels in adipose tissue were higher at WPP1 than at 5 MG. The level of phosphorylation of several early and downstream insulin signaling components (IRβ, IRS-1, IRS-2, Akt, MAPK ERK1/2, P70S6K and S6) in adipose tissue was also lower at 1 WPP than at 5 MG. Finally, we showed that recombinant bovine resistin increased the release of glycerol and mRNA levels for ATGL (adipose triglyceride lipase) and HSL (hormone-sensitive lipase) in adipose tissue explants. Overall, resistin levels were high in the plasma and adipose tissue and were positively correlated with NEFA levels after calving. Resistin is expressed in bovine mature adipocytes and promotes lipid mobilization in adipose explants in vitro.

Involvement of plasma adipokines in metabolic and reproductive parameters in Holstein dairy cows fed with diets with differing energy levels

“…Reduced leptin concentrations have been associated with delayed resumption of ovarian cyclicity (Kadokawa et al, 2000;Liefers et al, 2003). Changes in resistin concentrations in the present study, showing an increase after calving and positive correlation with fatty acids, are consistent with previously published results from our group (Reverchon et al, 2014b). Similarly, positive correlations between fatty acids and resistin have been reported in dairy cows (Weber et al, 2016) and during early lactation in dairy goats (Guzel and Belenli, 2015).…”

“…The existence of these relationships suggests that in dairy ruminants, resistin may contribute to the regulation of lipolysis during the peripartum period. Previous data showing that recombinant bovine resistin increases the release of glycerol and mRNA levels for adipose triglyceride lipase and hormone-sensitive lipase in dairy cow adipose tissue explants (Reverchon et al, 2014b) also support the former hypothesis that resistin contributes to regulation of lipolysis. In the present study, postpartum plasma resistin was higher in LE than in HE animals, suggesting that plasma resistin could be regulated by diet.…”

“…Fatty the diets applied here, our data suggest that adipose tissue mobilization is independent of nutrition and depends more on genetics. Concentrations of plasma leptin, adiponectin, and resistin were related to NEB status (Sadri et al, 2011;Giesy et al, 2012;Reverchon et al, 2014b) and clear links with the control of re-productive function have been reported (Kadokawa et al, 2000;Liefers et al, 2003;Reverchon et al, 2014a).…”

“…In the dairy cow, plasma adiponectin is negatively correlated with empty BW, back fat thickness, and adipose tissue mass (Singh et al, 2014;De Koster et al, 2017). Furthermore, plasma resistin levels are highly correlated with fatty acid mobilization, DMI, and energy balance (Reverchon et al, 2014b).…”

Insulin response of the glucose and fatty acid metabolism in dry dairy cows across a range of body condition scores

“…This dysregulated production is characterized by an increased production of proinflam-matory adipokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, resistin, IL6, and decreased production of adiponectin, an anti-inflammatory adipokine (Cornier et al, 2008). Recent investigations support an important role for resistin (Reverchon et al, 2014), adiponectin (Singh et al, 2014), tumor necrosis factor-α (Ohtsuka et al, 2001), and leptin (Ingvartsen and Boisclair, 2001) in the transition period of dairy cows. However, the underlying mechanism by which adipokines of enlarged adipocytes in overconditioned dairy cattle may influence insulin response of the glucose and FA metabolism requires further investigation.…”