The purpose of this study was to assess the metabolic profile of plasma samples from cows with clinical and subclinical ketosis. According to clinical signs and 3-hydroxybutyrate plasma levels, 81 multiparous Holstein cows were selected from a dairy farm 7 to 21 d after calving. The cows were divided into 3 groups: cows with clinical ketosis, cows with subclinical ketosis, and healthy control cows. (1)H-Nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics was used to assess the plasma metabolic profiles of the 3 groups. The data were analyzed by principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis. The differences in metabolites among the 3 groups were assessed. The orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis model differentiated the 3 groups of plasma samples. The model predicted clinical ketosis with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100%. In the case of subclinical ketosis, the model had a sensitivity of 97.0% and specificity of 95.7%. Twenty-five metabolites, including acetoacetate, acetone, lactate, glucose, choline, glutamic acid, and glutamine, were different among the 3 groups. Among the 25 metabolites, 4 were upregulated, 7 were downregulated, and 14 were both upregulated and downregulated. The results indicated that plasma (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics, coupled with pattern recognition analytical methods, not only has the sensitivity and specificity to distinguish cows with clinical and subclinical ketosis from healthy controls, but also has the potential to be developed into a clinically useful diagnostic tool that could contribute to a further understanding of the disease mechanisms.

Background: Ketosis is an important metabolic disorder of dairy cows during the transition period. There have been many reports on the etiology of ketosis in periparturient cows, but little is known about its molecular etiology.Objectives: The objective of this study was to clarify the status of fat mobilization and mRNA abundance of leptin and hormone-sensitive lipase in cows with spontaneous clinical ketosis.Animals: Ten ketotic Holstein cows and 10 nonketotic Holstein cows were used as the experimental animals. Methods: Six blood biochemical parameters were evaluated by means of individual analysis method for 2 groups of cows. The mRNA abundance of leptin and hormone-sensitive lipase in tail fat tissue from 2 groups of cows was measured by real-time (RT)-PCR, with a fluorescent Taqman probe and a standard curve.Results: The plasma concentrations of glucose (P = 0.01), and leptin (P = 0.03), insulin (P = 0.05), and the ratio of insulin to glucagon (P = 0.04) were lower in ketotic compared with nonketotic cows, whereas there were marked increases in the plasma concentrations of nonesterified fatty acid and b-hydroxybutyric acid (P = 0.005). The mRNA abundance of leptin (P = 0.04) and hormone-sensitive lipase (P = 0.02) in the fat tissue of ketotic cows was lower relative to that of nonketotic cows.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The ketotic cows showed characteristics of type I ketosis and some adaptive changes to negative energy balance in the plasma leptin concentration and mRNA abundance of fat leptin and hormonesensitive lipase.

Background: The ability to respond to global change and coexist with other species depends on phenotypic plasticity and physiological adaptation techniques of the same species living in various places differ according to the region. Methods: Eothenomys miletus from Kunming (KM) and Dali (DL) under fasting and refeeding acclimation, we examined the thermogenic properties and the associated physiological indicators in the AMP dependent protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. Result: The results demonstrated that energy consumption in E. miletus was decreased by fasting and that the process of survival adaption was significantly influenced by body mass, ghrelin concentration and AMPK activity. Following refeeding, pertinent physiological markers leveled off in the control group, demonstrating the high phenotypic plasticity of E. miletus and the critical role that leptin, ghrelin and AMPK pathways play in energy metabolism and environmental adaption during food fasting. Moreover, there may be a connection between geographical variations in physiological indicators under fasting conditions and variations in the ambient temperature and the food available to E. miletus in various places.