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Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves

Youngstock such as nulliparous pregnant dairy heifers are not typically considered for active cooling, as they are thought to be more heat tolerant than mature cows. Recently, the benefits of heat stress abatement in pregnant heifers were studied, but the effect of in utero hyperthermia on the calf...

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Autores principales: Davidson, B.D., Dado-Senn, B., Ouellet, V., Dahl, G.E., Laporta, J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9623764/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36339508
http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2020-0069
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author Davidson, B.D.
Dado-Senn, B.
Ouellet, V.
Dahl, G.E.
Laporta, J.
author_facet Davidson, B.D.
Dado-Senn, B.
Ouellet, V.
Dahl, G.E.
Laporta, J.
author_sort Davidson, B.D.
collection PubMed
description Youngstock such as nulliparous pregnant dairy heifers are not typically considered for active cooling, as they are thought to be more heat tolerant than mature cows. Recently, the benefits of heat stress abatement in pregnant heifers were studied, but the effect of in utero hyperthermia on the calf is still unknown. Herein, we aimed to investigate the effects of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on the growth, immune, and thermoregulatory responses of their calves. Pregnant nulliparous dams were randomly selected for either active cooling (CL; fans and soakers; n = 15) or heat stress (HT; n = 16) 60 d before expected calving. After birth, respiration rate, rectal temperature, skin temperature, and sweating rate were obtained from their heifer calves at 24 h and on d 14, 28, 42, and 56. Blood samples and body weights were both collected for measurement of total protein and hematocrit and calculation of average daily gains, respectively. Gestation length was shorter in HT heifers (272 vs. 276 ± 1.28 d) relative to CL heifers. Birth weights, weaning weights, body weights up to d 56, and average daily gain from birth to weaning were not different between in utero HT (IUHT; n = 13) and in utero CL (IUCL; n = 12) calves. Apparent efficiency of absorption of immunoglobulin G tended to be lower in IUHT calves (26.3 vs. 42.7 ± 9.0%), and serum IgG concentrations from birth to d 56 were significantly lower in IUHT calves relative to IUCL calves (22.0 vs. 32.4 ± 4.47 g/L). Postnatal respiration rate, rectal temperature, sweating rate, total protein, and hematocrit were not different between in utero treatments. There was a tendency for IUHT calves to have lower skin temperature at 24 h (34.9 vs. 36.9 ± 1.05°C), and skin temperature tended to be elevated in IUHT calves at d 56 (29.6 vs. 27.9 ± 1.05°C). In summary, the lack of heat stress abatement during late gestation reduces gestation length of nulliparous heifers. Additionally, providing active cooling to nulliparous heifers during the prepartum period confers immune benefits to their offspring, although it does not translate to growth improvements.
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spelling pubmed-96237642022-11-04 Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves Davidson, B.D. Dado-Senn, B. Ouellet, V. Dahl, G.E. Laporta, J. JDS Commun Physiology Youngstock such as nulliparous pregnant dairy heifers are not typically considered for active cooling, as they are thought to be more heat tolerant than mature cows. Recently, the benefits of heat stress abatement in pregnant heifers were studied, but the effect of in utero hyperthermia on the calf is still unknown. Herein, we aimed to investigate the effects of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on the growth, immune, and thermoregulatory responses of their calves. Pregnant nulliparous dams were randomly selected for either active cooling (CL; fans and soakers; n = 15) or heat stress (HT; n = 16) 60 d before expected calving. After birth, respiration rate, rectal temperature, skin temperature, and sweating rate were obtained from their heifer calves at 24 h and on d 14, 28, 42, and 56. Blood samples and body weights were both collected for measurement of total protein and hematocrit and calculation of average daily gains, respectively. Gestation length was shorter in HT heifers (272 vs. 276 ± 1.28 d) relative to CL heifers. Birth weights, weaning weights, body weights up to d 56, and average daily gain from birth to weaning were not different between in utero HT (IUHT; n = 13) and in utero CL (IUCL; n = 12) calves. Apparent efficiency of absorption of immunoglobulin G tended to be lower in IUHT calves (26.3 vs. 42.7 ± 9.0%), and serum IgG concentrations from birth to d 56 were significantly lower in IUHT calves relative to IUCL calves (22.0 vs. 32.4 ± 4.47 g/L). Postnatal respiration rate, rectal temperature, sweating rate, total protein, and hematocrit were not different between in utero treatments. There was a tendency for IUHT calves to have lower skin temperature at 24 h (34.9 vs. 36.9 ± 1.05°C), and skin temperature tended to be elevated in IUHT calves at d 56 (29.6 vs. 27.9 ± 1.05°C). In summary, the lack of heat stress abatement during late gestation reduces gestation length of nulliparous heifers. Additionally, providing active cooling to nulliparous heifers during the prepartum period confers immune benefits to their offspring, although it does not translate to growth improvements. Elsevier 2021-03-12 /pmc/articles/PMC9623764/ /pubmed/36339508 http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2020-0069 Text en © 2021. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Physiology
Davidson, B.D.
Dado-Senn, B.
Ouellet, V.
Dahl, G.E.
Laporta, J.
Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves
title Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves
title_full Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves
title_fullStr Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves
title_full_unstemmed Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves
title_short Effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin G, and thermoregulation of their calves
title_sort effect of late-gestation heat stress in nulliparous heifers on postnatal growth, passive transfer of immunoglobulin g, and thermoregulation of their calves
topic Physiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9623764/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36339508
http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jdsc.2020-0069
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