Supplementation with rumen-protected methionine or choline during the transition period influences whole-blood immune response in periparturient dairy cows

Abstract

Methionine, together with Lys, is the most limiting AA for milk production in dairy cows. Besides its crucial role in milk production, Met and its derivate metabolites (e.g., glutathione, taurine, polyamines) are well-known immunonutrients in nonruminants, helping support and boost immune function and activity. In the present study, the effects of Met or choline, as its precursor, were investigated using an ex vivo whole blood challenge. The study involved 33 multiparous Holstein cows (from a larger cohort with a factorial arrangement of treatments) assigned from d -21 to +30 relative to parturition to a basal control (CON) diet, CON plus rumen-protected Met (MET, Smartamine M, Adisseo NA, Alpharetta, GA) at a rate of 0.08% of dry matter, or CON plus rumen-protected choline (CHOL, ReaShure, Balchem Inc., New Hampton, NY) at 60 g/d. Blood was sampled on d -15, -7, 2, 7, and 20 for ex vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, and on d 1, 4, 14, and 28 relative to parturition for phagocytosis and oxidative burst assays. The MET cows had greater energy-corrected milk production and milk protein content. Overall, IL-6 response to LPS increased around parturition, whereas IL-1β remained constant, casting doubt on the existence of systemic immunosuppression in the peripartal period. Supplementation with MET dampened the postpartal blood response to LPS (lower IL-1β), while improving postpartum neutrophil and monocyte phagocytosis capacity and oxidative burst activity. In contrast, CHOL supplementation increased monocyte phagocytosis capacity. Overall, the data revealed a peripartal immune hyper-response, which appeared to have been mitigated by MET supplementation. Both MET and CHOL effectively improved immune function; however, MET affected the immune and antioxidant status before parturition, which might have been beneficial to prepare the cow to respond to metabolic challenges after parturition. These results provide insights on potential differences in the immunomodulatory action of methionine and choline in dairy cows. As such, the effects observed could have implications for ration formulation and dietary strategies.

Effect of including herbal choline in the diet of a dairy herd; a multiyear evaluation

“…The reduction in replacements in the herd when fed the plant additive could be explained by improvements in health due to the metabolic functions of choline, particularly those that stimulate immune response (Lewis et al, 2016). Cows supplemented with RPC showed improved immunological functions (Sun et al, 2016, Vailati-Riboni et al, 2017.…”

Supply of methionine and arginine alters phosphorylation of mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), circadian clock proteins, and α-s1-casein abundance in bovine mammary epithelial cells

“…[10][11][12]36 Increasing the post-ruminal supply of Met in dairy cows to levels in IPAA by feeding rumenprotected supplements has positive effects on production performance, 6 milk protein content, 37,38 and other physiological functions such as the immune response. 39,40 As for Arg, com- Table 4 Effects of incubating primary bovine mammary cells with the ideal AA profile (IPAA; Lys : Met 2.9 : 1, Lys : Arg 2 : 1), and increased supply of Arg (incArg), Met (incMet), or both (incMet + incArg) on relative protein abundance and/or phosphorylation status a of α-s1-casein and components of the mTOR, insulin, and energy metabolism pathways Means within a row with different superscripts differ (Met × Arg, P < 0.05). a The intensity of GAPDH (arbitrary units) was used to normalize target protein abundance (i.e.…”

Inflammation and oxidative stress transcription profiles due to in vitro supply of methionine with or without choline in unstimulated blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes from lactating Holstein cows

“…Specific to immune cells, it is noteworthy that Met coupled with Chol supplementation has been associated with an improvement of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) responses to whole-blood LPS stimulation (Vailati-Riboni et al, 2017). At the molecular level, data on gene expression indicated a lower inflammation response and overall better redox status in PMNL during the transition period in response to Met and Chol supply (Zhou et al, 2018).…”