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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #103156
Title: 1,25-DIHYDROXYVITAMIN D3 ENHANCES MILK ANTIBODY TITERS TO ESCHERICHIA COLI J5 VACCINE

Author
item Reinhardt, Timothy
item Stabel, Judith
item Goff, Jesse

Submitted to: Journal of Dairy Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/16/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Mastitis is one of the most costly diseases in animal agriculture, with estimated economic losses exceeding 2 billion dollars annually in the United States. In the well managed dairies, antibiotics play a limited role in mastitis treatment and control programs. On these dairies the most common form of mastitis is the result of coliform infection which cannot be eeffectively treated with antibiotics. While vaccination is not a substitute for proper management in controlling environmental mastitis, vaccines like the J5 vaccine do help control coliform mastitis. This vaccine has some efficacy in preventing or reducing the severity and duration of coliform mastitis despite being a poor vaccine. The purpose of this study was to determine if an animal's response to J5 vaccine could be improved if the vaccine was administered with the active form of vitamin D. The results of this study, which would greatly impact the dairy producers, show that the active form of vitamin D significantly enhanced a cow's ability to make antibodies to fight this specific kind of mastitis.

Technical Abstract: Recent evidence in cattle and mice has suggested that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 may stimulate T-lymphocyte differentiation pathways responsible for humoral immunity. The use of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 as an adjuvant for an Escherichia coli J5 vaccine was tested. Ten mid-lactation cows received J5 vaccine and were revaccinated 6 wk after the first vaccine administration. Five of these cows were given 200 ug of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 along with the primary vaccination and received an additional 200 ug of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 1 wk after the primary vaccination. No 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 was administered with the wk 6 J5 vaccine booster. Milk IgM, IgG and IgA antibodies to E. coli J5 were significantly increased in cows receiving 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 plus E. coli J5 vaccine compared to cows which received only E. coli J5 vaccine. Serum IgG and IgG1 antibodies of E. coli J5 were also significantly enhanced by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 treatment compared to cows receiving vaccine alone. In contrast, serum IgG2 titers tended to decline in cows receiving 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. Taken together, these data suggest that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 has potential usefulness in boosting humoral responses to vaccines such as J5 and may further enhance the protective qualities of vaccines.