Short-term energy restriction during late gestation of beef cows decreases postweaning calf humoral immune response to vaccination1

Abstract

Our objectives were to evaluate the pre- and postweaning growth and measurements of innate and humoral immune response of beef calves born to cows fed 70 or 100% of NEm requirements during the last 40 d of gestation. On d 0 (approximately 40 d before calving), 30 multiparous Angus cows pregnant to embryo transfer (BW = 631 ± 15 kg; age = 5.2 ± 0.98 yr; BCS = 6.3 ± 0.12) were randomly allocated into 1 of 10 drylot pens (3 cows/pen). Treatments were randomly assigned to pens (5 pens/treatment) and consisted of cows limit-fed (d 0 to calving) isonitrogenous, total-mixed diets formulated to provide 100 (CTRL) or 70% (REST) of daily NEm requirements of a 630-kg beef cow at 8 mo of gestation. Immediately after calving, all cow-calf pairs were combined into a single management group and rotationally grazed on tall fescue pastures (6 pastures; 22 ha/pasture) until weaning (d 266). All calves were assigned to a 40-d preconditioning period in a drylot from d 266 to 306 and vaccinated against infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), , and spp. on d 273 and 287. Blood samples from jugular vein were collected from cows on d 0, 17, and 35 and from calves within 12 h of birth and on d 266, 273, 274, 276, 279, and 287. By design, REST cows consumed less ( ≤ 0.002) total DMI, TDN, and NEm but had similar CP intake ( = 0.67), which tended ( = 0.06) to increase BW loss from d 0 to calving, than CTRL cows (-1.09 vs. -0.70 ± 0.14 kg/d, respectively). However, gestational NEm intake did not affect ( ≥ 0.30) plasma concentrations of cortisol, insulin, and glucose during gestation and BCS at calving as well as postcalving pregnancy rate, BW, and BCS change of cows. Calf serum IgG concentrations and plasma concentrations of haptoglobin and cortisol at birth as well as calf pre- and postweaning BW and ADG did not differ ( ≥ 0.15) between calves born to REST and CTRL cows. However, calf postweaning overall plasma concentrations of cortisol; plasma haptoglobin concentrations on d 274, 276, and 279; and serum BVDV-1a titers on d 306 were less for REST calves than for CTRL calves ( ≤ 0.05). Hence, a NEm restriction to 70% of daily requirements during the last 40 d of gestation had minimal effects on cow precalving growth and did not affect postcalving cow growth and reproductive performance. However, it decreased postweaning vaccination-induced humoral immunity, inflammatory, and physiological stress responses of calves.

Impact of energy restriction during late gestation on the muscle and blood transcriptome of beef calves after preconditioning

“…These findings suggest that the CRTL responded better to the immune challenge which may be due to a better development of the immune system during prenatal phase. Also, these data are in agreement with Moriel et al [ 18 ], who using part of the same data used in this study, showed that 70% of energy restriction during the last 40 days of gestation decreased post-weaning vaccination-induced humoral immunity, inflammatory, and physiological stress responses in calves. Our results support the hypothesis that maternal energy restriction during pregnancy can alter gene expression in the offspring associated with immune response which may reflect on the productive performance of the animal.…”

“…From weaning (day 0) until 40 days post weaning (dpw), calves were assigned to a preconditioning period. Additional detailed information regarding the nutritional information of the diets, feeding strategies, and the design of the study has been described in Moriel et al [ 18 ] .…”

Impact of a Ration Negative in Dietary Cation–Anion Difference and Varying Calcium Supply Fed before Calving on Colostrum Quality of the Dams and Health Status and Growth Performance of the Calves

“…In contrast, metabolic acidosis in calves born to cows fed low DCAD diets prepartum did not change the efficiency of IgG absorption [8]. Similarly, calves from dams receiving anionic salts before calving −100 mEq/kg DM) had similar serum IgG concentrations (15.1 vs. 14.4 g/L) and apparent efficiency of absorption compared to calves born from control dams [38].…”

“…Reduced DMI during the late stage of gestation does not always have negative consequences for the birth weight of calves. For example, restricting beef cows to 70% of their net energy requirements for the last 40 days prior to calving did not affect the weight of their calves [38]. Collazos et al [8] reported that extending the duration of feeding acidogenic diets (−70 and −180 mEq/kg DM) from 21 to 42 d prepartum reduced the average birth weight of calves from 42.9 to 40.0 kg; which is similar to the numerical difference in birth weight between calves from low Ca and low DCAD cows (−2.2 kg) in this study.…”

Supplementing organic-complexed or inorganic Co, Cu, Mn, and Zn to beef cows during gestation: postweaning responses of offspring reared as replacement heifers or feeder cattle

“…Despite differences noted in plasma cortisol and haptoglobin herein, supplementing AAC or INR to gestating beef cows resulted in similar vaccine efficacy in the offspring. Maternal nutrition has been shown to impact offspring humoral response to vaccination against BRD pathogens ( Moriel et al, 2016 ); however, research is still limited and warranted in this area ( Cooke, 2019 ).…”