title: Innate immune responses of young bulls to a novel environment.
abstract: Animal welfare during transportation has been investigated in several studies, as opposed to post-transportation phases. In this study, we evaluated the effect of a novel environment after transportation on 26 Friesian bulls, 242 ± 42 day-old, from ten different dairy farms. Animals were shipped to a breeding center in different seasons, and selected parameters of innate immunity (serum bactericidal activity, hemolytic complement, serum albumin, α, β, and γ-globulins, interleukin-6, TNF-α) were monitored before and after the arrival at days--4/0/4/15/30. Our results showed significant differences of IL-6 and TNF-α protein levels at destination in December (94 ± 1.3 pg/ml) and June (+788 pg/ml), respectively. Moreover, the serum levels of these cytokines increased between days 0 and 15 after the arrival, the modulation of IL-6 being in agreement with established models of physical and/or psychological stress. Concerning the modulation of albumin, alpha and beta-globulins, the highest levels were detected in April, whereas a significant decrease was observed between day 15 and 30 after arrival; on the contrary, γ-globulin levels significantly increased after day 15. The results of this study highlight the occurrence of innate immune responses of young bulls to the combined effects of climate (season) and novel farming conditions.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna, Via A. Bianchi 9, 25124 Brescia, Italy; Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e valle d'Aosta, S.S Genova, Piazza Borgo Pila 24-39, 16129 Genova, Italy. Electronic address: elisabetta.razzuoli@izsto.it.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Razzuoli
authors.affiliation: Centro Genetico ANAFI, Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Olzi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-alimentari (DISTAL), Scuola di Agraria e Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Via Fanin 50, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Calà
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-alimentari (DISTAL), Scuola di Agraria e Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Via Fanin 50, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cafazzo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-alimentari (DISTAL), Scuola di Agraria e Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Via Fanin 50, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Magnani
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali (DAFNE), Università degli Studi della Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vitali
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali (DAFNE), Università degli Studi della Tuscia, 01100 Viterbo, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lacetera
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna, Via A. Bianchi 9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Archetti
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e valle d'Aosta, S.S Genova, Piazza Borgo Pila 24-39, 16129 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lazzara
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e valle d'Aosta, S.S Genova, Piazza Borgo Pila 24-39, 16129 Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agro-alimentari (DISTAL), Scuola di Agraria e Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Via Fanin 50, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nanni Costa
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna, Via A. Bianchi 9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amadori
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000276:immunology*; D002980:Climate; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008297:Male; D013696:Temperature; D014186:Transportation
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines
keywords: Acute phase proteins; Cytokines; Innate immunity; Stress; Young bulls