Hemolytic complement levels of neonatal calves delivered from protein-energy malnourished dams and subjected to cold stress.
Beef cows were placed on protein-deficient and/or energy deficient rations for the last 150 days of pregnancy. After birth their calves were placed on 1 or 21 C environmental chambers for 3 days, and sera were collected for determination of complement (C) levels. At birth, the mean complement hemolytic (CH50) titer of all calves was 46.0 +/- 1.7 units, but the titer rapidly dropped (P < 0.01) to 31.6 +/- 1.2 by 12 hours after birth. Levels of C activity then began to rise and reached a mean titer of 76.3 +/- 3.0 by 3 days of age. A quadratic curve of predicted CH50 values was constructed from the data. Differences between principal and control groups of calves were not detected. These results suggest that maternal protein-calorie deprivation and limited cold stresses have little effect on levels of C activity in the bovine neonate. Possible explanations for the decrease in CH50 levels after birth are discussed.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000276:immunology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000276:immunology*; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006461:Hemolysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*
D003165:Complement System Proteins