title: The effect of implanting an antigen release device on lactoferrin concentration in serum and milk.
abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of implanting an Antigen Release Devices (ARD) into dairy cows during the lactation cycle to induce an immune response. Subsequently, the concentrations of lactoferrin in serum and milk were measured. Forty healthy adult Chinese Holstein cows were divided into two equal groups: a test group and a control group. Animals in the test group received ARD implants, whereas the control group animals were not treated. An even spread across the two groups was maintained with animal selection based on parity, the lactation days and milk yields. The concentrations of lactoferrin in the serum and milk of all forty animals were measured using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The results show that the implantation of an ARD did not significantly increase the concentration of lactoferrin in the serum and milk throughout the whole experiment period except on two occasions. The levels of lactoferrin in the milk and serum significantly increased on day 7 and on day 11 after implantation (p<0.05). There was a strong correlation between milk lactoferrin and serum lactoferrin (r=0.564, P<0.01). Three separate ARDs were used releasing its antigen load on day 0, 14 and 28 to induce a primary, secondary and tertiary response respectively. As the significant increases in the lactoferrin levels were only observed after the first ARD release, the effects of lactoferrin appears to be associated with the early phase of the immune response, consistent with its role in the host's innate defense system.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haidian, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: J Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: S P A
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Iaschi
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: L Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Tay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D000941:Antigens / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle; D004343:Drug Implants / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007774:Lactation; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase / Q000276:immunology; D008892:Milk / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000941:Antigens; D004343:Drug Implants; D008071:Lipoprotein Lipase; D007781:Lactoferrin