Short communication: A potential antiapoptotic phenotype in neutrophils of cows milked once daily in early lactation.

The objectives of this experiment were to compare the circulating concentrations of cortisol and determine whether these correlated with the expression profiles of a set of candidate apoptosis genes in neutrophils of Holstein-Friesian cows milked once vs. 3 times daily for 28 d postpartum. Cows on the once-daily milking regimen had significantly higher plasma cortisol concentrations on d 3, 14, and 28 postpartum than did those milked 3 times daily.