Detailed biological analyses (e.g. epidemiological, genetic) of animal health and fitness in the field are limited by the lack of large-scale recording of individual animals. An alternative approach is to identify immune traits that are associated with these important functions and can be subsequently used in more detailed studies. We have used an experimental dairy herd with uniquely dense phenotypic data to identify a range of potentially useful immune traits correlated with enhanced (or depressed) health and fitness. Blood samples from 248 dairy cows were collected at two-monthly intervals over a 10-month period and analysed for a number of immune traits, including levels of serum proteins associated with the innate immune response and circulating leukocyte populations. Immune measures were matched to individual cow records related to productivity, fertility and disease. Correlations between traits were calculated using bivariate analyses based on animal repeatability and random regression models with a Bonferroni correction to account for multiple testing. A number of significant correlations were found between immune traits and other recorded traits including: CD4(+):CD8(+) T lymphocyte ratio and subclinical mastitis; % CD8(+) lymphocytes and fertility; % CD335(+) natural killer cells and lameness episodes; and serum haptoglobin levels and clinical mastitis. Importantly these traits were not associated with reduced productivity and, in the case of cellular immune traits, were highly repeatable. Moreover these immune traits displayed significant between-animal variation suggesting that they may be altered by genetic selection. This study represents the largest simultaneous analysis of multiple immune traits in dairy cattle to-date and demonstrates that a number of immune traits are associated with health events. These traits represent useful selection markers for future programmes aimed at improving animal health and fitness.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3680463 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0065766 | PLOS |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Babesiosis and Sickle Red blood Cells: Loss of Deformability, Heightened Osmotic fragility, and Hypervesiculation.
Blood
January 2025
New York Blood Center, New York, New York, United States.
Babesiosis in sickle cell disease (SCD) is marked by severe anemia but the underlying red blood cell (RBC) rheological parameters remain largely undefined. Here, we describe altered RBC deformability from both primary (host RBC sickle hemoglobin mediated) and secondary changes (Babesia parasite infection mediated) to the RBC membrane using wild type AA, sickle trait AS and sickle SS RBCs. Our ektacytometry (LORRCA) analysis demonstrates that the changes in the host RBC bio-mechanical properties, pre- and post- Babesia infection, reside on a spectrum of severity, with wild type infected AA cells, despite showing a significant reduction of deformability under both shear and osmolarity gradients, exhibiting only a mild phenotype; compared to infected AS RBCs which show median changes in deformability and infected SS RBCs which exhibit the most dramatic impact of infection on cellular rheology, including an increase in Point of Sickling values.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite considerable advances in identifying risk factors for obesity development, there remains substantial gaps in our knowledge about its etiology. Variation in obesity (defined by BMI) is thought to be due in part to heritable factors; however, obesity-associated genetic variants only account for a small portion of heritability. Epigenetic regulation, defined by genetic and/or environmental factors with changes in gene expression, may account for some of this "missing heritability".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Childhood vaccines are a vital procedure for preventing infectious diseases and are a regular component of a child's medical care. However, vaccines are among the first and most frequently encountered painful procedures that can cause indicators of anxiety in relation to immunizations. This study aimed to identify and assess the impact of the ShotBlocker and Buzzy approaches on pain, anxiety and satisfaction with the tetanus-diphtheria vaccine in school-aged children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCD47 is a tumor cell-derived exosomal signature and regulates tumor immune microenvironment and immunotherapy responses.
Transl Oncol
January 2025
Wuxi Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, The Affiliated Women's Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214002, PR China. Electronic address:
Background: The pathogenesis of ovarian cancer (OvCa) involves a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors. With the in-depth exploration of tumor ecosystem, exosomes can mediate the immunological status of tumor microenvironment (TME). Therefore, we aimed to recognize the tumor-derived exosomes (TEXs) which can distinguish the immune-hot and cold tumors and reflect the immunotherapeutic responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCausal relationships between immune cells, inflammatory factors, and preeclampsia: A two-step, two-sample mendelian randomization study.
J Reprod Immunol
January 2025
Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Female Reproductive Health and Eugenics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China. Electronic address:
Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a complex hypertensive disorder that occurs during pregnancy, with the immune system playing a key role. Although immune modulation is implicated in PE progression, the roles of specific immune cells and inflammatory mediators remain unclear.
Methods: We conducted a two-sample, two-step Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, primarily using the inverse-variance weighted method, to investigate the causal effect of immune cell traits on PE.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!