Cattle temperament influences metabolism: metabolic response to glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity tests in beef steers

Abstract

Cattle temperament, defined as the reactivity of cattle to humans or novel environments, can greatly influence several physiological systems in the body, including immunity, stress, and most recently discovered, metabolism. Greater circulating concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs) found in temperamental cattle suggest that temperamental cattle are metabolically different than calm cattle. Further, elevated NEFA concentrations have been reported to influence insulin sensitivity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine whether cattle temperament would influence the metabolic response to a glucose tolerance test (GTT) and insulin sensitivity test (IST). Angus-cross steers (16 calm and 15 temperamental; 216 ± 6 kg BW) were selected based on temperament score measured at weaning. On day 1, steers were moved into indoor stanchions to allow measurement of individual ad libitum feed intake. On day 6, steers were fitted with indwelling rectal temperature probes and jugular catheters. At 9 AM on day 7, steers received the GTT (0.5-mL/kg BW of a 50% dextrose solution), and at 2 PM on day 7, steers received the IST (2.5 IU bovine insulin/kg BW). Blood samples were collected and serum isolated at -60, -45, -30, -15, 0, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 150 min relative to each challenge. Serum was stored at -80°C until analyzed for cortisol, glucose, NEFA, and blood urea nitrogen concentrations. All variables changed over time (P < 0.01). For the duration of the study, temperamental steers maintained greater (P < 0.01) serum NEFA and less (P ≤ 0.01) serum blood urea nitrogen and insulin sensitivity (calculated using Revised Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index) compared with calm steers. During the GTT, temperamental steers had greater (P < 0.01) serum glucose, yet decreased (P = 0.03) serum insulin and (P < 0.01) serum insulin: serum glucose compared to calm cattle. During the IST, temperamental steers had greater (P < 0.01) serum insulin and a greater (P < 0.01) serum insulin: serum glucose as compared with calm steers. These data demonstrate that differences exist in the manner in which temperamental steers respond to glucose and insulin, potentially a result of elevated serum NEFA concentrations, which may result in changes in utilization and redistribution of energy in temperamental vs calm cattle.

Use of a food neophobia test to characterize personality traits of dairy calves

“…Other behavioural characteristics appear to have implications for production; cows that were more fearful of humans (measured as avoidance of an unfamiliar human) 6,7 or were more reactive to milking (measured as more steps and kicks during milking) 8 produced less milk. Individual differences in behavioural responses during restraint and toward a human are also linked to physiological differences in metabolic responses to glucose and insulin challenge tests in beef cattle 9 . This evidence shows that cattle differ in how they respond to stressful events, including environmental and social novelty, which can have important impacts on the behaviour and physiology of individuals (reviewed by Neave et al 10 ).…”

Contemporary Knowledge on the Assessment of Temperament in Cattle and Its Impact on Production and Reproduction Including Some Immunological, Genetic and Metabolic Parameters

“…Blood serum from nervous steers contained a greater concentration of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), such as α-linoleic, γ-linoleic and eicosapentaenoic acids, compared with calm steers [ 107 , 108 ]. Excitable bulls may preferentially use alternative energy sources (i.e., NEFA) to a greater extent than those with calm and intermediate temperaments.…”

Adrenergic Tone as an Intermediary in the Temperament Syndrome Associated With Flight Speed in Beef Cattle

“…The search for proximate mechanisms underlying the associations between activity during handling and measures of animal productivity has found elevated basal cortisol and epinephrine (Fell et al, 1999;King et al, 2006;Petherick et al, 2009a;Burdick et al, 2011a,c;Cafe et al, 2011a), higher basal glucose, lactate (Petherick et al, 2009a;Boles et al, 2015;Williams et al, 2019) and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations in blood (Cafe et al, 2011a;Burdick Sanchez et al, 2016), higher basal temperature (Burdick et al, 2011c;Williams et al, 2019;Lees et al, 2020;Parham et al, 2021), and higher heart rate (Parham et al, 2021) in cattle with poor temperament. Few leukocyte variables differ between cattle with poor or good temperament (Fell et al, 1999;Hulbert et al, 2011).…”

“…Few leukocyte variables differ between cattle with poor or good temperament (Fell et al, 1999;Hulbert et al, 2011). Accurate estimates of baseline values are difficult to obtain without habituation of animals to handling and confinement, and subsequent collection of blood samples via indwelling catheters (Cafe et al, 2011a;Burdick Sanchez et al, 2016). In many studies and as acknowledged by the authors, the estimates of baseline values obtained from cattle mustered and handled through yards are likely to be influenced by HPA, SNS, and AHS responses to handling before blood samples are drawn (Petherick et al, 2009a;Williams et al, 2019).…”

“…Following epinephrine injection, temperamental cattle had a greater increase in blood lactate concentration than quiet cattle (Holmes et al, 1972). Following glucose and insulin challenges, temperamental calves had a lower insulin response, were slower to clear glucose from blood and exhibited relative insulin insensitivity (Burdick Sanchez et al, 2016). Studies of the cortisol response to ACTH challenge have found no association between FS and peak cortisol concentrations (Curley et al, 2008;Cafe et al, 2011a).…”