Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Livestock Issues Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #351943
Research Project: Nutritional Intervention and Management Strategies to Reduce Stress and Improve Health and Well-being in Cattle and Swine

Location: Livestock Issues Research

Title: Transdermal flunixin meglumine minimally alters neutrophil functionality in beef heifers administered a respiratory disease challenge

Author
item WORD, ALYSSA - Texas Tech University
item Broadway, Paul
item LIANG, Y - Texas Tech University
item NEWCOMB, HERALD - Merck Animal Health
item Sanchez, Nicole
item CAPIK, SARA - Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory
item LITTLEJOHN, BRITTNI - Texas A&M University
item HOLLAND, BEN - Cactus Feeders, Inc
item ELLIS, GUY - Merck Animal Health
item JACQUES, A - Merck Animal Health
item HUTCHESON, JOHN - Merck Animal Health
item BALLOU, MICHAEL - Texas Tech University
item Carroll, Jeffery - Jeff Carroll

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science Supplement
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2018
Publication Date: 12/7/2018
Citation: Word, A.B., Broadway, P.R., Liang, Y.L., Newcomb, H., Sanchez, N.C., Capik, S., Littlejohn, B.P., Holland, B.P., Ellis, G., Jacques, A., Hutcheson, J.P., Ballou, M.A., Carroll, J.A. 2018. Transdermal flunixin meglumine minimally alters neutrophil functionality in beef heifers administered a respiratory disease challenge. Journal of Animal Science Supplement. 96(Suppl 3):24.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The objectives were to determine the effects of altering time of transdermal flunixin meglumine (BTD; Banamine Transdermal, Merck Animal Health) administration relative to a viral-bacterial challenge in beef heifers. Thirty-two heifers (170 ± 21.1 kg BW) were assigned to one of four treatments: 1) Control (CON), receiving no BTD, 2) Arrival (ARR), receiving BTD the day after arrival (-144h; 3.33 mg/kg BW), 3) Viral (VIR), receiving BTD at viral challenge (-72h), or 4) Bacterial (BAC), receiving BTD at bacterial challenge (0h). At -72h, all cattle received 1x10^8 PFU bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) intra-nasally and returned to outdoor group-pens. At 0h, all cattle were challenged intra-tracheally with 1.18x10^6 CFU average dose of Mannheimia haemolytica, fitted with an indwelling jugular catheter, and moved to individual stanchions. Whole blood was collected at -144, -72, 0, and 72h relative to M. haemolytica challenge. Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure of SAS specific for repeated measures with fixed effects of treatment, time, and their interaction. A treatment×time interaction tended (P = 0.07) to occur for neutrophil oxidative burst capacity (OB). Non-orthogonal contrasts revealed that OB decreased (P = 0.005) in ARR and VIR at 0h compared to (BAC + CON)/2. A treatment×time interaction also tended to occur (P = 0.09) for phagocytic activity, and ARR tended (P = 0.07) to be decreased at 0h when compared to (BAC + CON)/2. Finally, a treatment×time interaction (P = 0.004) occurred for change in neutrophil L-selectin expression, whereas expression was decreased among VIR at 0h (P = 0.001) and BAC at 72h (P = 0.09) when compared to all other treatments at those sample times. These data indicate that BTD applied before or during a respiratory disease challenge may reduce neutrophil function, which provides evidence that flunixin meglumine may reduce neutrophil-associated inflammation.