Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery Disbudding
Calf disbudding is a painful husbandry practice on dairy and beef cattle farms. An objective measurement of pain is useful to reliably evaluate the pain intensity and anti-nociceptive (analgesic) efficacy of therapeutic agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in peripheral leuco...
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/7/1187 |
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| author | Kavitha Kongara Venkata Sayoji Rao Dukkipati Hui Min Tai Axel Heiser Alan Murray James Webster Craig Brian Johnson |
| author_facet | Kavitha Kongara Venkata Sayoji Rao Dukkipati Hui Min Tai Axel Heiser Alan Murray James Webster Craig Brian Johnson |
| author_sort | Kavitha Kongara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Calf disbudding is a painful husbandry practice on dairy and beef cattle farms. An objective measurement of pain is useful to reliably evaluate the pain intensity and anti-nociceptive (analgesic) efficacy of therapeutic agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in peripheral leucocyte inflammatory cytokine gene expression in calves after disbudding, and to assess whether the changes in cytokine gene expression could be an indicator of the efficacy of analgesic drugs. In a randomised controlled study, 16 calves (aged 31 to 41 days and weighing 58 to 73 kg), undergoing routine disbudding, were randomly allocated into two groups (<i>n</i> = 8 in each group). Calves in the control group received no analgesic, while those in the treatment group received 0.5 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> meloxicam subcutaneously prior to disbudding. Disbudding was performed using an electric debudder. Blood (10 mL) was sampled from the jugular vein just before and 4 and 24 h post-disbudding, RNA was extracted from leukocytes, and the transcription of 12 genes of interest was assessed using nCounter gene expression assay. The results showed significantly higher transcription (compared to baseline values) of the studied genes (except <i>CRH</i>, <i>IFNγ</i>, and <i>IL10</i>) in the control group calves at either 4 or 24 h post-disbudding. The administration of meloxicam one hour before disbudding significantly attenuated the upregulation of <i>IL6</i>, <i>PGHS2</i>, <i>TAC1</i>, <i>NOS1</i>, and <i>CRH</i> gene transcription post-disbudding, while it did not suppress the elevated transcription of acute and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as <i>IL1β</i>, <i>IFNγ</i>, <i>IL8</i>, and <i>TNFα</i> genes. In conclusion, nCounter gene expression assay seems to be a promising tool to study the expression of cytokine genes and thus could be used for the pre-clinical evaluation of novel analgesics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:31:04Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:31:04Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-ed6e0a107fd0459eb0891319f66b0a702023-11-20T06:41:07ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-07-01107118710.3390/ani10071187Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery DisbuddingKavitha Kongara0Venkata Sayoji Rao Dukkipati1Hui Min Tai2Axel Heiser3Alan Murray4James Webster5Craig Brian Johnson6School of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4410, New ZealandSchool of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4410, New ZealandTown and Country Vets, 257 Great South Road, Drury, Auckland 2113, New ZealandSchool of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4410, New ZealandSchool of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4410, New ZealandAgResearch, Ruakura, Hamilton 3214, New ZealandSchool of Veterinary Science, Massey University, Palmerston North 4410, New ZealandCalf disbudding is a painful husbandry practice on dairy and beef cattle farms. An objective measurement of pain is useful to reliably evaluate the pain intensity and anti-nociceptive (analgesic) efficacy of therapeutic agents. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in peripheral leucocyte inflammatory cytokine gene expression in calves after disbudding, and to assess whether the changes in cytokine gene expression could be an indicator of the efficacy of analgesic drugs. In a randomised controlled study, 16 calves (aged 31 to 41 days and weighing 58 to 73 kg), undergoing routine disbudding, were randomly allocated into two groups (<i>n</i> = 8 in each group). Calves in the control group received no analgesic, while those in the treatment group received 0.5 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> meloxicam subcutaneously prior to disbudding. Disbudding was performed using an electric debudder. Blood (10 mL) was sampled from the jugular vein just before and 4 and 24 h post-disbudding, RNA was extracted from leukocytes, and the transcription of 12 genes of interest was assessed using nCounter gene expression assay. The results showed significantly higher transcription (compared to baseline values) of the studied genes (except <i>CRH</i>, <i>IFNγ</i>, and <i>IL10</i>) in the control group calves at either 4 or 24 h post-disbudding. The administration of meloxicam one hour before disbudding significantly attenuated the upregulation of <i>IL6</i>, <i>PGHS2</i>, <i>TAC1</i>, <i>NOS1</i>, and <i>CRH</i> gene transcription post-disbudding, while it did not suppress the elevated transcription of acute and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as <i>IL1β</i>, <i>IFNγ</i>, <i>IL8</i>, and <i>TNFα</i> genes. In conclusion, nCounter gene expression assay seems to be a promising tool to study the expression of cytokine genes and thus could be used for the pre-clinical evaluation of novel analgesics.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/7/1187calvesdisbuddinggene transcriptioncytokinespainmeloxicam |
| spellingShingle | Kavitha Kongara Venkata Sayoji Rao Dukkipati Hui Min Tai Axel Heiser Alan Murray James Webster Craig Brian Johnson Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery Disbudding Animals calves disbudding gene transcription cytokines pain meloxicam |
| title | Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery Disbudding |
| title_full | Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery Disbudding |
| title_fullStr | Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery Disbudding |
| title_full_unstemmed | Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery Disbudding |
| title_short | Differential Transcription of Selected Cytokine and Neuroactive Ligand-receptor Genes in Peripheral Leukocytes from Calves in Response to Cautery Disbudding |
| title_sort | differential transcription of selected cytokine and neuroactive ligand receptor genes in peripheral leukocytes from calves in response to cautery disbudding |
| topic | calves disbudding gene transcription cytokines pain meloxicam |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/7/1187 |
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