Distribution of inflammation and association between active and chronic alterations within the endometrium of dairy cows

Abstract

Objectives of this study were twofold: (i) to assess the association between polymorphonuclear (PMN) counts and chronic alterations within the bovine endometrium and (ii) to determine the distribution of inflammation throughout the endometrium of clinically healthy dairy cows. Holstein-Friesian cows (n = 32) from a single dairy farm were selected for this experiment. Before slaughtering, a complete reproductive examination was performed to discard any type of clinical disease. After slaughtering, reproductive tracts were collected, and the endometrium was sampled at 8 pre-defined locations. At each location, endometrial biopsies (EBs) and cytology (CY) samples were harvested. Histopathology samples were stained with haematoxylin-eosin (EB-HE) and naphthol-AS-D-chloroacetate-esterase (EB-naphthol), while CY samples were stained with Wright-Giemsa. In the EB-HE samples, parameters assessed were epithelium height, mononuclear cells infiltration, lymphocytic aggregates, periglandular fibrosis, angiosclerosis and haemorrhage. In EB-naphthol and CY slides, PMNs counts were evaluated. Binomial logistic regression was used to assess the association between the number of PMNs present in both the EB-naphthol and CY samples and alterations identified in the EB-HE samples and to analyse the distribution of the histopathological alterations (EB-HE). A Poisson mixed-effect model was used to analyse the distribution of PMNs within the endometrium. A significant positive association was found between the PMN counts and the mononuclear cells infiltration. The presence of erythrocytes was associated with higher odds to detect PMNs in the stratum compactum. Significantly, higher infiltration of PMNs and mononuclear cells were detected in the uterine body and the right horn region. Concluding, CY is a technique that allows the evaluation of PMN counts and therefore only evaluates active inflammation. A complete assessment of endometrial health can only be obtained using EB. To optimize the sensitivity to diagnose endometrial inflammation in cows, adjacencies of the corpus uteri should be considered as the preferred region to harvest samples.

Reproducibility of endometrial cytology using cytobrush technique and agreement for the diagnosis of subclinical endometritis between five predefined endometrial sites

“…With the assumption that the most frequently used sampling site for endometrial cytology is the corpus uteri (Pascottini et al, ), the degree of agreement (Cohen´s kappa) with the other sites is illustrated in Figure .…”

“…An increased proportion of polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) cells in cytological specimen of the endometrium indicates an inflammation and is diagnostic for SE (Dubuc et al, ; Kasimanickam et al, ). The sampling of the endometrium by use of the cytobrush (CB) technique was first described by elsewhere (Kasimanickam et al, ) and was used by several other authors (Pascottini et al, ; Plöntzke, Madoz, De la Sota, Drillich, & Heuwieser, ). The cytological results of CB technique are considered to be very reliable (Barlund, Carruthers, Waldner, & Palmer, ; Kasimanickam et al, ).…”

“…Hence, these assessments do not reflect the complete methodology, as within‐cow variability was not tested in the aforementioned studies. Recently, PMN counts of eight different sites in the endometrium of slaughtered cows were evaluated and significantly more PMN were found in the corpus uteri section and in the right horn compared with other sites in the uterus (Pascottini et al, ). Most studies applied the CB sampling in the corpus uteri (Dubuc et al, ; Senosy, Izaike, & Osawa, ) or at the base of an uterine horn (Kasimanickam et al, ).…”

Diagnosis and Treatment of Postpartum Uterine Diseases in Dairy Cows: A Review With Emphasis on Subclinical Endometritis

“…La esterasa [61,62] y vacas [54,[63][64][65]. En general, estos estudios leucocitaria es una enzima producida por neutrófilos demuestran que el acuerdo estadístico (valor Kappa) y por lo tanto se sabe que es indicativa de inflamación.…”

“…De hecho, después de recuperarse de de citología endometrial [70,72], inicialmente no se una endometritis activa (infiltración de PMN), correlacionaron con la fertilidad subsecuente de la pueden persistir alteraciones crónicas en el vaca [70]. No obstante, en un reciente estudio de endometrio [7], quedando desapercibidas cuando campo [73], se encontró una fuerte correlación entre sólo se aplica el análisis citológico [65]. Por lo tanto, los resultados de las TEL y la probabilidad de preñez.…”