Lipolysis inhibition as a treatment of clinical ketosis in dairy cows, a randomized clinical trial.

Excessive and protracted lipolysis in adipose tissues of dairy cows is a major risk factor for clinical ketosis (CK). This metabolic disease is common in postpartum cows when lipolysis provides fatty acids (FA) as an energy substrate to offset negative energy balance. Lipolysis in cows can be induced by the canonical (hormonally induced) and inflammatory pathways. Current treatments for CK focus on improving glucose in blood (i.e., oral propylene glycol (PG), or IV dextrose). However, these therapies do not inhibit the canonical and inflammatory lipolytic pathways. Niacin (NIA) can reduce activation of the canonical pathway. Blocking inflammatory responses with cyclooxygenase inhibitors such as flunixin meglumine (FM) can inhibit inflammatory lipolytic activity. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of including NIA and FM in the standard PG treatment for postpartum CK on circulating concentrations of ketone bodies. A 4-group, parallel, individually randomized trial was conducted in multiparous Jersey cows (n = 80) from a commercial dairy in Michigan during a 7-mo period. Eligible cows had CK symptoms (lethargy, depressed appetite, and milk yield) and hyperketonemia [blood β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) ≥ 1.2 mmol/L]. Cows with CK were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups; T1) PG: 310 g oral once per day for 5 d; T2) PG for 5 d + NIA: 24 g oral once per day for 3 d; T3) PG for 5 d + NIA for 3 d + FM: 1.1 mg/kg IV once per day for 3 d. The control group consisted of cows that were clinically healthy (HC; untreated; BHB <1.2 mmol/L, n = 27) matching for parity and DIM with T1, T2, and T3. Animals were sampled at enrollment (d0), d3, d7, and d14 to evaluate ketone bodies and circulating metabolic and inflammatory biomarkers. Effects of treatment, sampling day, and their interactions were evaluated using mixed effects models. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) of returning to normoketonemia (BHB <1.2 mmol/L). Compared with HC, enrolled CK cows exhibited higher blood concentrations of dyslipidemia markers, including nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and BHB, and lower glucose and insulin levels. Cows with CK also had increased levels of biomarkers of pain (substance P), inflammation, including LPS binding protein (LBP), haptoglobin (Hp), and serum amyloid A (SAA), and proinflammatory cytokines IL-4, MCP-1, MIP-1α, and TNFα. Importantly, 72.2% of CK cows presented endotoxemia and had higher circulating bacterial DNA compared with HC. By d7, the percentage of cows with normoketonemia were higher in PGNIAFM = 87.5%, compared with PG = 58.33%, and PGNIA = 62.5%. At d7 the OR for normoketonemia in PGNIAFM cows were 1.5 (95% CI, 1.03-2.17) and 1.4 (95% CI, 0.99-1.97) relative to PG and PGNIA, respectively. At d3, d7, and d14, PGNIAFM cows presented the lowest values of BHB (PG = 1.36; PGNIA = 1.24; PGNIAFM = 0.89 ± 0.13 mmol/L), NEFA (PG = 0.58; PGNIA = 0.59; PGNIAFM = 0.45 ± 0.02 mmol/L), and acute phase proteins. Cows in PGNIAFM also presented the highest blood glucose increment across time points and insulin by d7. These data provide evidence that bacteremia/endotoxemia, systemic inflammation, and pain may play a crucial role in CK pathogenesis. Additionally, targeting lipolysis and inflammation with NIA and FM during CK effectively reduces dyslipidemia biomarkers, improves glycemia, and improves overall clinical recovery.

Informations de copyright

© 2023, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).