title: Effect of selenium and vitamin E on antibody production by dairy cows vaccinated against Escherichia coli.
abstract: Sixty clinically healthy Holstein cows were randomly assigned to one of four groups according to their age and parity and vaccinated in late pregnancy (day 190) with a multivalent vaccine against Escherichia coli. The 15 cows in the first group (SeE) were injected intramuscularly with a solution of sodium selenite (0.1 mg Se/kg bodyweight) and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol acetate, 8 U/kg bodyweight), the cows in the second group (Se) received only selenium and the cows in the third group (E) received only vitamin E at the same doses and by the same route of administration; the cows in the fourth group were used as controls. The vaccination and the injections of selenium and vitamin E were repeated 42 days later. The concentration of selenium in whole blood and of vitamin E in serum was determined by fluorometric methods. Specific antibody titres against E coli were determined in serum samples by ELISA. The results showed that the injection of selenium either alone or in combination with vitamin E significantly improved the production of specific antibodies against E coli, and that the production of specific antibodies was greater after the administration of selenium alone.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Productive Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Panousis
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roubies
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karatzias
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frydas
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papasteriadis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002417:Cattle / Q000276:immunology*; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003612:Dairying; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D012643:Selenium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary*; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014810:Vitamin E; D012643:Selenium