This study investigated the effect of phytonutrients (PN) supplied postruminally on nutrient utilization, gut microbial ecology, immune response, and productivity of lactating dairy cows. Eight ruminally cannulated Holstein cows were used in a replicated 4×4 Latin square. Experimental periods lasted 23 d, including 14-d washout and 9-d treatment periods. Treatments were control (no PN) and daily doses of 2g/cow of either curcuma oleoresin (curcumin), garlic extract (garlic), or capsicum oleoresin (capsicum). Phytonutrients were pulse-dosed into the abomasum of the cows, through the rumen cannula, 2 h after feeding during the last 9 d of each experimental period. Dry matter intake was not affected by PN, although it tended to be lower for the garlic treatment compared with the control. Milk yield was decreased (2.2 kg/d) by capsicum treatment compared with the control. Feed efficiency, milk composition, milk fat and protein yields, milk N efficiency, and 4.0% fat-corrected milk yield were not affected by treatment. Rumen fermentation variables, apparent total-tract digestibility of nutrients, N excretion with feces and urine, and diversity of fecal bacteria were also not affected by treatment. Phytonutrients had no effect on blood chemistry, but the relative proportion of lymphocytes was increased by the capsicum treatment compared with the control. All PN increased the proportion of total CD4(+) cells and total CD4(+) cells that co-expressed the activation status signal and CD25 in blood. The percentage of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) that proliferated in response to concanavalin A and viability of PBMC were not affected by treatment. Cytokine production by PBMC was not different between control and PN. Expression of mRNA in liver for key enzymes in gluconeogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, and response to reactive oxygen species were not affected by treatment. No difference was observed due to treatment in the oxygen radical absorbance capacity of blood plasma but, compared with the control, garlic treatment increased 8-isoprostane levels. Overall, the PN used in this study had subtle or no effects on blood cells and blood chemistry, nutrient digestibility, and fecal bacterial diversity, but appeared to have an immune-stimulatory effect by activating and inducing the expansion of CD4 cells in dairy cows. Capsicum treatment decreased milk yield, but this and other effects observed in this study should be interpreted with caution because of the short duration of treatment.

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Citation Pate JL, Toyokawa K, Walusimbi S, Brzezicka E. The interface of the immune and reproductive systems in the ovary: lessons learned from the corpus luteum of domestic animal models. Am J Reprod Immunol 2010 The dynamic changes that characterize the female reproductive system are regulated by hormones. However, local cell‐to‐cell interactions may mediate responsiveness of tissues to hormonal signals. The corpus luteum (CL) is an excellent model for understanding how immune cells are recruited into tissues and the role played by those cells in regulating tissue homeostasis or demise. Leukocytes are recruited into the CL throughout its lifespan, and leukocyte‐derived cytokines have been found in corpora lutea of all species examined. The proinflammatory cytokines inhibit gonadotropin‐stimulated steroidogenesis, profoundly stimulate prostaglandin synthesis by luteal cells, and promote apoptosis. However, there is mounting evidence that leukocytes and luteal cells communicate in different ways to maintain homeostasis within the functional CL. Domestic animals have provided important information regarding the presence and role of immune cells in the CL.

Abstract. The role and interaction of microtubules and microfilaments, which are important for progressing the events during oocyte maturation and activation, are not well understood. This study was designed to examine the cytoskeletal changes of the porcine oocyte activated electrically or by sperm with relation to the effects of oocyte aging and the paternal and maternal contributions. During electric activation, fusion of the first polar body (PBI) into the oocyte was attempted to evaluate changes in the cytoskeleton induced by incorporation of maternal chromatin in comparison with penetrated sperm (paternal) chromatin. Aged oocytes matured for 50-60 h displayed an elongated spindle and a less dense distribution of microfilaments compared to young oocytes matured for 44 h. Oocytes were effectively activated with double electric pulses regardless of aging (93-100%). Fusion of PBI into the oocyte declined with oocyte aging (from 52% to 22%). When fusion occurred, PBI chromatin was incorporated into the microtubule networks of the ooplasm and was frequently transformed into one "extra" nuclear-like structure. Young parthenotes possessed one microtubulerich domain including one or more pronuclei. In aged parthenotes, however, the cortical and cytoplasmic microfilaments decreased in density, resulting in frequent fragmentation of eggs. In zygotes, male and female pronuclei were included in separate domains of microtubules, respectively, anchored by microfilaments. The present results suggest that the instability of cytoskeleton of the oocyte induced by aging may increase egg fragmentation and that there may be a difference between the paternal and maternal contributions to the cytoskeletal reorganization during pronuclear formation and migration. Key words: Porcine oocyte, Aging, Electric activation, IVF, Cytoskeleton (J. Reprod. Dev. 48: [293][294][295][296][297][298][299][300][301] 2002) uring mammalian oocyte maturation and fertilization, many dynamic events occur to ensure successful development. These include the resumption of meiosis, chromosome condensation, spindle formation, polar body emission, sperm incorporation and pronuclear formation and migration. Cytoskeleton organization is well known to be important for the progression of these events in mammals such as the mouse [1-4], rat [5], rabbit [6], sheep [7,8], cattle [9,10], pig [11][12][13][14][15] and human [16]. Our previous studies showed that cytoskeletal alteration is involved in the dynamic change of the cumulus-oocyte cell communication during oocyte maturation, and that the cumulus mass condition affects oocyte maturation in the pig [17,18].Observations of the early events of fertilization have indicated the paternal inheritance of a microtubule-organizing center in oocytes of rabbits [6], sheep [7], cattle [9], and pigs [12][13][14][15]19]. In pig oocytes, sperm aster enlarged during sperm decondensation and extended throughout the cytoplasm at the time of pronuclear apposition [12,13]. Recent reports have described the origin of the activ...

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