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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Livestock Issues Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #288450
Title: Changes in immune indices in response to primary vaccination in weaned Brahman calves exposed to prenatal transportation

Author
item Sanchez, Nicole
item PRICE, DEBORAH - Texas A&M Agrilife
item Carroll, Jeffery - Jeff Carroll
item LITTLEJOHN, BRITTANI - Texas A&M Agrilife
item NEUENDORFF, D - Texas A&M Agrilife
item LEWIS, ANDY - Texas A&M Agrilife
item VANN, RHONDA - Texas A&M Agrilife
item LAWHON, SARA - Texas A&M Agrilife
item WELSH JR, THOMAS - Texas A&M Agrilife
item RANDEL, RONALD - Texas A&M Agrilife

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science Supplement
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/27/2012
Publication Date: 7/1/2013
Citation: Sanchez, N.C., Price, D.M., Carroll, J.A., Littlejohn, B.P., Neuendorff, D.A., Lewis, A.W., Vann, R.C., Lawhon, S.D., Welsh Jr, T.H., Randel, R.D. 2013. Changes in immune indices in response to primary vaccination in weaned Brahman calves exposed to prenatal transportation. Journal of Animal Science Supplement. 91(E-Suppl. 2):21 (Abstract #57).

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This study was designed to determine if prenatal transportation influenced changes in immune indices in response to vaccination at weaning. Forty-two pregnant Brahman cows, matched by age and parity, were separated into a transported group (TRANS, n = 20; transported for 2 hours on gestational day 60, 80, 100, 120, and 140) and an untouched control group (CONT, n = 22). Blood samples for complete blood cell count (CBC) were collected from the calves via jugular venipuncture into vacutainers containing EDTA at day 0, 2, 6, and 9 relative to weaning and vaccination (176 ± 2 days of age). Samples were processed within 30 minutes after collection using the IDEXX Procyte Dx Hematology Analyzer. Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure of SAS specific for repeated measures, with treatment, sex, day, and their interactions included as fixed effects, temperament included as a covariate, and calf within treatment as the subject. Temperament accounted for a significant amount of variation in total white blood cell (WBC), lymphocyte, and neutrophil counts (P < 0.01). All blood cell counts changed over day (P < 0.01). There was a tendency (P < 0.07) for a treatment by sex interaction for total WBC such that the average WBC count was greater in CONT bulls (12.3 ± 0.5 K/microliter) than CONT heifers (10.8 ± 0.4 K/microliter), but no difference between TRANS bulls (11.5 ± 0.5 K/microliter) and TRANS heifers (11.8 ± 0.5 K/microliter) was observed. A similar tendency (P < 0.07) was observed in neutrophil counts between CONT bulls (3.9 ± 0.2, K/microliter) and heifers (3.2 ± 0.2 K/microliter) and TRANS bulls (3.4 ± 0.2 K/microliter) and heifers (3.5 ± 0.2 K/microliter). There was an effect of sex in eosinophils count such that heifers (0.25 ± 0.02 K/microliter) had a greater average eosinophil count than bulls (0.17 ± 0.03 K/microliter; P = 0.02). Additionally, there was a trend for CONT calves (0.0071 ± 0.0009 K/microliter) to have a greater average basophil count than TRANS calves (0.0048 ± 0.0010 K/microliter; P = 0.10). These data demonstrate that weaning and vaccination, calf sex, and prenatal transportation can influence CBC in weaned calves. This is one of the first studies of its kind to measure changes in CBC in calves post-vaccination.