Antibody responses in protein-energy restricted beef cows and their cold stressed progeny

Antibody titers were measured in serum and colostral whey of pregnant beef cows immunized with tetanus toxoid and chicken red blood cells while being fed diets either restricted or nonrestricted in protein and/or metabolizable energy during the last 150 days of gestation. Serum antibody titers were also measured in the colostrum-fed, cold and noncold stressed progeny that were actively immunized with dinitrophenol conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin. In general, there were no major or sustained differences in humoral immune responses to injection of tetanus toxoid or chicken red blood cells between cows fed diets that were adequate or restricted in protein or metabolizable energy. In the few cases where serum antibody titers to tetanus toxoid or chicken red blood cells differed (P less than 0.05) between adequately fed or restricted cows, the differences were no greater than twofold. Anti-chicken red blood cell titers were uniformly low (P less than 0.05) by a magnitude of two to threefold in colostral whey of cows restricted in protein and/or metabolizable energy when compared to titers in cows fed adequate amounts of protein and metabolizable energy. With one exception, neither maternal dietary restriction nor cold exposure had a major effect on the ability of the calves to absorb antitetanus toxoid and chicken red blood cell antibodies from colostrum. The humoral immune responses of all calves to injection of keyhole limpet hemocyanin and dinitrophenol were similar in magnitude.