The Impacts of Protein Supplementation and Semen Exposure on Uterine Cytokines in Beef Heifers

Kyle J. McLean (), Kiernan J. Brandt, Taylor B. Ault-Seay, Rebecca R. Payton, Liesel G. Schneider, J. Lannett Edwards, Phillip R. Myer and Justin D. Rhinehart
Additional contact information
Kyle J. McLean: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Kiernan J. Brandt: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Taylor B. Ault-Seay: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Rebecca R. Payton: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Liesel G. Schneider: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
J. Lannett Edwards: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Phillip R. Myer: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Justin D. Rhinehart: Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-10

Abstract: Reproductive efficiency is largely impacted during heifer development, which generally requires nutrient supplementation for proper maturation. Nutritional status can also influence inflammation within the reproductive tract. Therefore, we hypothesized that cytokine concentrations in uterine luminal fluid (ULF) will be impacted by protein supplementation following exposure to semen via artificial insemination (AI). Commercial heifers ( n = 60) were utilized to determine the effects of protein supplementation and AI on cytokine concentrations in ULF. Heifers were randomly assigned to one of three crude protein (CP) treatments (11%, 15%, and 19% overall CP) via supplementation: (1) CON (10% CP), (2) P20 (20% CP), and (3) P40 (40% CP). All heifers underwent estrus synchronization and ULF was collected 14 d after insemination. Cytokine profiles were constructed in MetaboAnalyst 5.0, and R Studio was used for individual cytokine analyses. Control heifers had increased ( p = 0.05) MIP-1β concentrations (148.7 ± 123.9 pg) over P20 heifers (42.3 ± 123.9 pg), and P40 heifers (75.5 ± 123.9 pg) had intermediate concentrations. Semen exposure (1877 ± 550 pg) showed a trend ( p = 0.06) to increase concentrations of IP-10 compared with heifers who were not inseminated (1556 ± 550 pg). In conclusion, although protein supplementation and semen exposure had minimal effects on overall cytokine profiles, MIP-1β, IP-10, and MIP-1α were identified as potential key regulators of uterine inflammation during early gestation.

Keywords: bovine; cytokines; inflammation; protein supplementation; uterine fluid (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/15/1642/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/15/1642/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:15:p:1642-:d:1713136

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().