Relationships between Maternal and Fetal Liver Copper, Iron, Manganese, and Zinc Concentrations and Fetal Development in California Holstein Dairy Cows

Abstract

Abstract. Associations between maternal trace element deficiencies and abortion have been made for many mammalian species. Objectives of this study were to estimate and correlate maternal and fetal hepatic Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations through gestation. Additionally, aborted fetuses, stratified by cause of abortion (infectious or noninfectious), were compared to size-matched nonaborted fetuses to examine for magnitude and direction of change in hepatic trace element status. Dam and fetal liver were removed at slaughter from 103 Holstein dairy cows judged grossly normal by ante-and postmortem examination. Liver samples were collected from fetuses submitted by veterinarians for routine diagnosis of abortion (n = 80). Hepatic Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations were determined by flame spectrophotometry. Comparisons of groups, estimations of correlations, and derived prediction equations were made by least-squares methods. Maternal liver Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations did not vary during gestation. Compared with the dam, fetal liver Fe and Zn concentrations were higher (P < 0.05), fetal Cu concentrations were similar (P > 0.05), and fetal liver Mn concentrations were lower (P < 0.05). As fetal size increased, fetal liver Cu and Zn concentrations increased ( P < 0.05), fetal liver Fe concentration decreased (P < 0.05), and fetal liver Mn did not change (P > 0.05). Aborted fetuses had lower liver Cu, Mn, and Zn concentrations than did nonaborted fetuses (P < 0.05). Liver Fe concentration was lower in aborted fetuses than in nonaborted fetuses in the second trimester only ( P < 0.05). Consistently lower liver Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations in aborted fetuses suggest a nonspecific change in trace element status, which implies an effect of abortion, not a cause of abortion.Associations between maternal mineral deficiencies and abnormal fetal development, including fetal loss, have been made for many mammalian species in controlled experiments and under field conditions. 7,16,21,27 Abnormal fetal development can include structural and metabolic defects and result in direct fetal loss from abortion. In cattle and women, only 20-40% of aborted fetuses submitted for diagnosis have a defined etiologic cause. 1,32,33 Although many infectious agents have been associated with bovine abortion, little is known about the multicausality of abortion, particularly with respect to trace elements. It is uncommon for diagnosticians to examine abortion cases for trace element deficiencies, in part because we do not have accurate estimates of maternal and fetal trace element status, through ges- Received for publication March 4, 1993. tation, from cows with adequate trace element reserves. Hepatic concentrations of trace elements are commonly used to estimate trace element storage pools because dietary intake is rarely available and nutrient interactions affect availability or retention. 25,44 In cattle, relationships of hepatic maternal and fetal trace elements have been reported for Cu, Mn, and sulfur, Se and vitamin E, ...

Effect of Gestation and Maternal Copper on the Fetal Fluids and Tissues Copper Concentrations in Sheep

“…While (Graham et al, 1994) found that maternal liver Cu was not correlated with fetal size. Fetal liver Cu increased as fetal age increased and was less than to maternal Cu in early gestation and there was no differences between maternal and fetal liver Cu in late gestation, while fetal liver Cu was significantly higher than that of the maternal liver through gestation (Gonneratne and Christensen, 1989a), as well as Cu concentration was significantly increased in early gestation than that of late gestation in the fetal liver (Abdelrahman and Kincaid, 1993) and kidney while (Richards, 1999) found that in fetal kidney, Cu concentration did not change significantly with gestation.…”

“…Ovine maternal and fetal liver Cu were negatively correlated in this and previous reports (Gonneratne and Christensen, 1989a). Presence of significant negative relationship between age of the fetus and maternal liver Cu concentration as well as the relationships between maternal liver and amniotic and allantoic fluid Cu concentrations were significantly negative, while the relationship between age of the fetus and maternal plasma, fetal liver, amniotic fluid, allantoic fluid and fetal kidney Cu concentrations were significantly positive may indicate that, the dam and fetus depend on the maternal liver Cu contents during gestation and it can be used as an indicator of the Cu status through gestation and fetuses have a capacity to sequester maternal Cu, even when the dam is Cu deficient (Graham et al, 1994). Parkinson et al (1981) found that amniotic fluid copper concentration gradually increased during pregnancy.…”

Iatrogenic Copper Toxicosis Induced by Administering Copper Oxide Boluses to Neonatal Calves

“…This approach can lead to unnecessary expense with no appreciable decrease in disease prevalence and, occasionally, poisoning. 2,5,8,17,20,22,24,25 Supplementation of cattle with intrareticular copper boluses at label doses is reported to be safe and effective. 4,6,21 Epidemiologic and pathologic features of chronic copper intoxication of suckling calves improperly supplemented with intrareticular copper boluses are documented in this report.…”

“…Poisoning with these boluses was reported in Nebraska and Wyoming, but descriptive features and epidemiologic details were limited. 8 A 410-cow crossbred beef cattle operation in North Dakota experienced an increase in calf mortality during the summer of 1993. Received for publication September 7, 1996. was not observed, and abdominal pain was suspected to be responsible for this behavior.…”

“…This is supported by a recent report in the literature. 8 Liver and kidney samples from eight calves were available for copper analysis (Table 1). Figure 1 depicts a linear regression comparing these levels.…”