Bovine Mastitis: Frontiers in Immunogenetics

Abstract

Mastitis is one of the most prevalent and costly diseases in the dairy industry with losses attributable to reduced milk production, discarded milk, early culling, veterinary services, and labor costs. Typically, mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland most often, but not limited to, bacterial infection, and is characterized by the movement of leukocytes and serum proteins from the blood to the site of infection. It contributes to compromised milk quality and the potential spread of antimicrobial resistance if antibiotic treatment is not astutely applied. Despite the implementation of management practises and genetic selection approaches, bovine mastitis control continues to be inadequate. However, some novel genetic strategies have recently been demonstrated to reduce mastitis incidence by taking advantage of a cow’s natural ability to make appropriate immune responses against invading pathogens. Specifically, dairy cattle with enhanced and balanced immune responses have a lower occurrence of disease, including mastitis, and they can be identified and selected for using the high immune response (HIR) technology. Enhanced immune responsiveness is also associated with improved response to vaccination, increased milk, and colostrum quality. Since immunity is an important fitness trait, beneficial associations with longevity and reproduction are also often noted. This review highlights the genetic regulation of the bovine immune system and its vital contributions to disease resistance. Genetic selection approaches currently used in the dairy industry to reduce the incidence of disease are reviewed, including the HIR technology, genomics to improve disease resistance or immune response, as well as the Immunity+™ sire line. Improving the overall immune responsiveness of cattle is expected to provide superior disease resistance, increasing animal welfare and food quality while maintaining favorable production levels to feed a growing population.

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Chamaecyparis Obtusa Essential Oil on Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

“…gland, which negatively affects livestock throughout the world [33]. Mastitis is mostly caused by pathogen infection from E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus agalactiae [2], and associated endotoxin (LPS) is closely related to inflammation of the mammary gland.…”

“…Mastitis is mostly caused by pathogen infection from E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus agalactiae [2], and associated endotoxin (LPS) is closely related to inflammation of the mammary gland. LPS initiates cellular inflammatory events and results in activation of NF-κB and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1β [1,24,33].…”

“…Bovine mastitis is known to be associated with decreased production and poor quality of milk [33]. Bovine mastitis is caused by many factors, such as microbial infections.…”

Melhoramento genético visando à resistência a mastite em bovinos leiteiros

“…A herdabilidade da resposta imune é semelhante ao que foi encontrado por Pritchard et al (2013) para características de produção de leite (0, 14-0, 30), indicando que seria possível fazer ganho genético significativo, dependendo de como a saúde do úbere é ponderada dentro do índice de seleção. A Semex Alliance utiliza essa tecnologia de alta resposta imune, denominado Immunity+™, as filhas de touros Immunity+™ tiveram uma redução de 44 % na mastite em um grande rebanho em os EUA, logo, as vacas com respostas imunes adaptativas superiores, apresentaram menor ocorrência de mastite (Thompson-Crispi et al, 2014b).…”

“…As soluções ideais para melhorar a resistência à mastite sugeridas por Thompson-Crispi et al (2014b) seriam provavelmente aquelas que incidem sobre um grande número de genes, usando informações de estudos de associação genômica ampla (GWAS -Genome-wide association studies) ou seleção baseada em valores genéticos de respostas imunes, que levam em conta as interações genéticas complexas entre os mecanismos de defesa a inata e adaptativa do hospedeiro, sem a necessidade de conhecer cada gene individualmente. Usando índices de seleção também oferece a vantagem de ajustar facilmente os pesos indicados para várias características.…”