Short communication: Circulating and milk adiponectin change differently during energy deficiency at different stages of lactation in dairy cows

Abstract

Adiponectin, one of the most abundant adipokines in circulation, is known for its role in regulation of body metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a negative energy balance (NEB) at 2 stages of lactation (lactational NEB at the onset of lactation and an induced NEB by feed restriction near 100 d of lactation) on circulating adiponectin concentrations. We also investigated the effect of feed restriction on adiponectin concentrations in milk and the relationships of blood and milk adiponectin with selected plasma or milk variables and with measures of body condition. Plasma adiponectin was measured in 50 multiparous Holstein dairy cows throughout 3 experimental periods [i.e., period 1 = 3 wk antepartum up to 12 wk postpartum, period 2 = 3 wk of feed restriction starting at around 100 d in milk with a control (n = 25) and feed-restricted group (50% of energy requirements; n = 25), and period 3 = subsequent realimentation period for 8 wk]. Milk adiponectin was investigated among 21 multiparous cows at wk 2 and wk 12 of period 1 and wk 2 of period 2. Adiponectin concentrations in plasma and skim milk were measured using an in-house ELISA specific for bovine adiponectin. Major changes in circulating adiponectin concentrations were observed during the periparturient period, whereas energy deficiency during established lactation at around 100 d in milk and subsequent refeeding did not affect plasma adiponectin. Together with lower adiponectin concentrations in milk (μg/mL), the reduction in milk yield led to decreased adiponectin secretion via milk (mg/d) at the second week of feed restriction. Irrespective of time and treatment, milk adiponectin represented about 0.002% of total milk protein. Mean adiponectin concentrations in milk (0.61 ± 0.03 μg/mL) were about 92% lower than the mean plasma adiponectin concentrations (32.1 ± 1.0 μg/mL). The proportion of the steady-state plasma adiponectin pool secreted daily via milk was 2.7%. In view of the similar extent of NEB in both periods of energy deficiency, decreasing adiponectin concentrations seems important for accomplishing the adaptation to the rapidly increasing metabolic rates in early lactation, whereas the lipolytic reaction toward feed restriction-induced NEB during established lactation seems to occur largely independent of changes in circulating adiponectin. Key words: adiponectin , milk , energy deficiency , dairy cow Short CommunicationWith the onset of lactation in high-producing dairy cows, milk synthesis leads to an approximately 4-fold increase in total energy requirements compared with pregnant and nonlactating state (Block et al., 2001), which is often accompanied by insufficient voluntary feed intake. The period of negative energy balance (NEB) is associated with changes in several metabolic key hormones, such as growth hormone and IGF-1, and the responsiveness of peripheral tissues for these hormones (Rhoads et al., 2007). The period of energy demand such as early lactation in dairy cattle is characterized by an incr...

Endocrine and metabolic changes in transition dairy cows are affected by prepartum infusions of a serotonin precursor

“…Those results are in agreement with Sadri et al (2011) who observed decreased leptin concentrations 1 d postpartum compared with values obtained 8 wk prepartum. Singh et al (2014) described that adiponectin concentrations also decreased as a consequence of the onset of lactation; however, in our study adiponectin remained unchanged throughout the entire study period. Possibly, adiponectin concentrations start to decrease several weeks prepartum, as demonstrated by Singh et al (2014), and therefore it was already low at the beginning of our study.…”

The rapid increase of circulating adiponectin in neonatal calves depends on colostrum intake

“…The presence of adiponectin has been documented for human milk (Martin et al, 2006;Bronskỳ et al, 2012). The concentrations of adiponectin in mature human milk (around 20 ng/mL; Bronskỳ et al, 2012) are far below the ones we recently reported for cow milk (610 ng/mL; Singh et al, 2014b), albeit the blood concentrations are comparable in the 1-to 2-digit μg/mL range in both species (Højlund et al, 2006;Singh et al, 2014a). In view of adiponectin's metabolic functions and of the expression of adiponectin receptor 1 in the small intestine of neonatal mice (Zhou et al, 2005), milk adiponectin may play an important role in infant development, both locally and systemically and may also exert a trajectory effect during later ages (Woo et al, 2012).…”

The dopamine antagonist domperidone increases prolactin concentration and enhances milk production in dairy cows

“…The amount of PRL released into the blood during milking was calculated by determining the area under the curve between 0 and 40 min relative to the start of milking, and basal PRL concentration was calculated by averaging the concentrations obtained between −20 and 0 min. The proportion of steady-state PRL secreted via milk, which equals the amount of PRL secreted via milk in 24 h multiplied by 100 and divided by the amount of PRL present in the circulation, was calculated according to Singh et al (2014). Differences were considered statistically significant when P < 0.05 and considered a trend when P < 0.15.…”