It is well documented that blood neutrophils from parturient dairy cows do not perform as well as neutrophils from nonparturient cows in laboratory assays of adhesion, migration, or phagocytosis-induced respiratory burst. However, little is known about the possible molecular basis for parturition-induced changes in neutrophils. cDNA microarray analysis was used in the current study to explore p...

A total of 190 rabbit females were used to evaluate five feeding programmes from 9 weeks of age to the first parturition: CAL, fed ad libitum with a control diet (C: 11.0 MJ digestible energy (DE) and 114 g digestible protein (DP)/kg dry matter (DM)) until first parturition; CR, fed ad libitum with C diet until 12 weeks of age and then C diet restricted (140 g/day) until first parturition; F, f...

Forty-six beef heifers (16 to 23 mo) of two biological types (small = Red Poll-sired, large = Charolais-sired) were individually fed from d 90 of gestation through parturition to evaluate the effects of nutritional restriction on plasma LH and steroid hormone concentrations. Heifers were allotted to one of two nutritional treatments to achieve a BW reduction (loss, fed at 1% of BW/d) or to main...

The precise mechanisms that lead to parturition are incompletely defined. Surfactant protein-A (SP-A), which is secreted by fetal lungs into amniotic fluid (AF) near term, likely provides a signal for parturition; however, SP-A-deficient mice have only a relatively modest delay (~12 hours) in parturition, suggesting additional factors. Here, we evaluated the contribution of steroid receptor coa...

The effects of mastectomy and unilateral ovariectomy and their interaction during the postpartum period were examined in 26 Angus heifers. At birth, the animals were assigned to a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments: mastectomy and unilateral ovariectomy, mastectomy, unilateral ovariectomy and unoperated suckled control. Surgeries were performed at approximately 2 months of age, and anima...

ALL MY investigations into the hormonal control of myometrial function have been carried out on lower animals. My first excursions into the ovine field were made, appropriately enough, with an obstetrician, Dr Bengtsson. We felt that someone should take up the challenge for the sheep, for Short & Moore (1959) had reported that they could find no change in the level of blood progesterone at the ...

BACKGROUND Preterm birth accounting approximate 10% of pregnancies in women is a tremendous social, clinical and economic burden. However, its underlying causes remain largely unknown. Emerging evidence suggests that endocannabinoid signaling via cannabinoid receptor CB1 play critical roles in multiple early pregnancy events in both animals and humans. Since our previous studies demonstrated th...

Three-year-old Angus x Gelbvieh beef cows nutritionally managed to achieve a BCS of 4 +/- 0.07 (479.3 +/- 36.3 kg of BW) or 6 +/- 0.07 (579.6 +/- 53.1 kg of BW) at parturition were used in a 2-yr experiment (n = 36/yr) to determine the effects of prepartum energy balance and postpartum lipid supplementation on cow and calf performance. Beginning 3 d postpartum, cows within each BCS were assigne...

ALL MY investigations into the hormonal control of myometrial function have been carried out on lower animals. My first excursions into the ovine field were made, appropriately enough, with an obstetrician, Dr Bengtsson. We felt that someone should take up the challenge for the sheep, for Short & Moore (1959) had reported that they could find no change in the level of blood progesterone at the ...