Slow Recovery of Blood Glucose in the Insulin Tolerance Test during the Prepartum Transition Period Negatively Impacts the Nutritional Status and Reproductive Performance Postpartum of Dairy Cows

Abstract

AbSTRACT. In peripartum dairy cows, insulin resistance (IR) increases to adjust the direction of energy to lactation after calving. To investigate the effect of prepartum IR on postpartum reproductive performance, the insulin tolerance test (ITT) was applied to 15 cows at 3 weeks (Pre21) and 10 days (Pre10) before the predicted calving date. blood glucose area under the curve (AUC glu ) within 120 min after administration of 0.05 IU/kg-BW insulin was calculated. The occurrence of first ovulation, days to first artificial insemination (AI) and first AI conception rate were recorded. Nutritional status postpartum was evaluated by blood chemical analysis. Based on AUC glu changes from Pre21 to Pre10, cows were classified into either the AUC-up group (AUC glu increase, n=5) or the AUC-down group (AUC glu decrease, n=10). There was no difference in the decrease in blood glucose at 30 min after insulin injection between groups, although glucose recovery from 30 to 60 min during the ITT was slow at Pre10 in the AUC-up group. The AUC-up group had a higher number of days to first AI and high glucose, total protein, globulin, γ-glutamyltransferase, triacylglycerol levels and a low albumin-globulin ratio at the 14th day postpartum. The present study infers that prepartum slow glucose recovery rather than insulin sensitivity might increase the potential for subclinical health problems postpartum and thus suppress reproductive performance. During the prepartum transition period, glucose dynamics in the ITT can be considered as a new indicator for the postpartum metabolic status and reproductive performance of dairy cows.

Long-term reticuloruminal pH dynamics and markers of liver health in early-lactating cows of various parities fed diets differing in grain processing

“…The measured activities of AST, GGT, and GLDH corresponded with previous reports (Wille et al, 2010;Lee et al, 2012). In general, liver-associated variables were not affected by barley feeding in this study.…”

Relationship between the degree of insulin resistance during late gestation and postpartum performance in dairy cows and factors that affect growth and metabolic status of their calves

“…Therefore, the detailed changes in blood glucose in dairy cows during the ITT have not yet been elucidated. Our previous study indicated a relationship between a smaller dose of insulin injection at ITT for pregnant dairy cows and their pp performance [ 22 ]. As the calving day approached, our data showed that increased decline of blood glucose 120 min after the administration of insulin was associated with liver dysfunction and lower fertility during the pp period owing to the slow glucose recovery [ 22 ].…”

Status of carbohydrate metabolism in dairy cows with ketosis

“…By contrast, the concentration of branched chain amino acids such as valine and isoleucine was by 15.5 % (P<0.01) and 5.4 % respectively lower than in healthy animals. It is known that valine and isoleucine are essential amino acids, which are metabolized mainly in muscle tissue and play significant role in energy metabolism, in particular in the formation and deposition of glycogen [3]. Thus, it can be argued that the imbalance of the amino acid composition of the blood in cows suffering from ketosis is an unfavorable factor for the course of the disease.…”

“…Це свідчить про посилення глюконеогенезу у період енергетичного дефіциту за рахунок ліполізу та протеолізу. Водночас у плазмі крові хворих корів було зареєстровано вищий вміст кетогенних амінокислот та нижчий -глікогенних: вміст фенілаланіну, тирозину та лейцину зростав на 22,2 % (P<0,05), 3 Ключевые слова: КОРОВЫ, КЕТОЗ, ГЛЮКОНЕОГЕНЕЗ, МЕТАБОЛИЗМ УГЛЕВОДОВ, АМИНОКИСЛОТЫ, ИНСУЛИН, КОРТИЗОЛ Ketosis is a disease of ruminants characterized by profound metabolic disorders (mainly of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins) and accompanied by increased formation and a sharp increase in the content of ketone bodies in blood, urine and milk. There is a characteristic complex group of symptom in which ketonemia, ketonuria and ketonolactia are the main signs at the onset of the disease in cows [5].…”

“…An important role in the pathogenesis of ketosis belongs to amino acids, because they are involved in the synthesis of most endogenous biologically active compounds, structural proteins, enzymes, some hormones, nitrogenous bases, and neurotransmitters [3]. Metabolism of these compounds is controlled by various biochemical and physiological mechanisms that maintain the relatively constant concentration of amino acids in the blood and tissues.…”