Differential haptoglobin responsiveness to a Mannheimia haemolytica challenge altered immunologic, physiologic, and behavior responses in beef steers.

Indicator traits associated with disease resiliency would be useful to improve the health and welfare of feedlot cattle. A post-hoc analysis of data collected previously (Kayser et al., 2019a) was conducted to investigate differences in immunologic, physiologic, and behavioral responses of steers (N = 36, initial BW = 386 ± 24 kg) that had differential haptoglobin (HPT) responses to an experimentally-induced challenge with Mannheimia haemolytica (MH). Rumen temperature, DMI and feeding behavior data were collected continuously, and serial blood samples were collected following the MH challenge. Retrospectively, it was determined that 9 of the 18 MH-challenged steers mounted a minimal HPT response, despite having similar leukocyte and temperature responses to other MH-challenged steers with a greater HPT response. Our objective was to examine differences in behavioral and physiological responses between MH-challenged HPT responsive (RES; n = 9), MH-challenged HPT non-responsive (NON; n = 9), and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)-inoculated controls (CON; n=18). Additionally, 1H NMR analysis was conducted to determine if the HPT responsive phenotype affected serum metabolite profiles. The RES steers had lesser (P < 0.05) cortisol concentrations than NON and CON steers. The magnitude of the increases in neutrophil concentrations and rumen temperature, and the reduction in DMI following the MH challenge were greatest (P < 0.05) in RES steers. Univariate analysis of serum metabolites indicated differences between RES, NON and CON steers following the MH challenge, however, multivariate analysis revealed no difference between HPT responsive phenotypes. Prior to the MH challenge, RES steers had longer (P < 0.05) head down and bunk visit durations, slower eating rates (P < 0.01) and greater (P < 0.05) daily variances in bunk visit frequency and head down duration compared to NON steers, suggesting that feeding behavior patterns were associated with the HPT responsive phenotype. During the 28-d post-challenge period, RES steers had decreased (P < 0.05) final BW, tended (P = 0.06) to have lesser DMI, and had greater (P < 0.05) daily variances in head down and bunk visit durations compared to NON steers, which may have been attributed to their greater acute-phase protein response to the MH challenge. These results indicate that the HPT responsive phenotype affected feeding behavior patterns and may be associated with disease-resiliency in beef cattle. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Citation

Lauren R Wottlin, Gordon E Carstens, William C Kayser, William E Pinchak, Jennifer M Thomson, Valerie Copié, Galen P O'Shea-Stone. Differential haptoglobin responsiveness to a Mannheimia haemolytica challenge altered immunologic, physiologic, and behavior responses in beef steers. Journal of animal science. 2020 Dec 22

PMID: 33351092

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