Endocrine profiles of dairy cows following experimentally induced clinical mastitis during early lactation

Concentrations of LH, cortisol, estradiol-17beta (E(2)), prolactin and 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGFM) were determined in cows with experimentally induced clinical mastitis during early lactation. Cows free of intramammary infection (IMI) and in the luteal phase of the estrous cycle were balanced by lactation number and days in milk and assigned to either control (n=5) or treatment (n=5) groups. Treated cows were infected experimentally (day 0), in two mammary quarters, with Streptococcus uberis and developed clinical mastitis within 60 h after inoculation as evidenced by increased mastitis scores, elevated rectal temperatures, mammary swelling and isolation of S. uberis pathogen. Four days following bacterial challenge, blood samples were collected every 20 min for 8 h for determination of PGFM and LH following administration of oxytocin and GnRH, respectively. Blood samples were also collected on days 0, 4 and 7 of the experiment to determine concentrations of E(2), prolactin and cortisol. Four days after bacterial challenge, concentrations of cortisol were higher (P=0.04) in experimentally infected cows than controls. Experimentally challenged cows had increased (P=0.02) concentrations of cortisol on days 4 and 7 compared with day 0. Control cows had no significant increase in blood cortisol during the experimental period. Baseline concentrations of PGFM did not differ between groups; however, peak concentrations of PGFM following oxytocin challenge were elevated (P=0.006) in cows with clinical mastitis compared with control animals. Prolactin, E(2) and LH did not differ between cows with clinical mastitis or controls. Experimentally induced mastitis during early lactation elevated concentrations of cortisol during the luteal phase of the estrous cycle. Furthermore, mastitic cows demonstrated an increased PGFM response following oxytocin administration. Altered reproductive efficiency in cows with clinical mastitis caused by Gram-positive pathogens may be the result of increased uterine sensitivity to prostaglandin F(2alpha) (PGF(2alpha)).