Impact of Preweaning Vaccination on Host Gene Expression Patterns Linked to Future Bovine Respiratory Disease...

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) remains a major concern in cattle research, and the long-term effects of vaccination on health and immune responses are not well defined. This study compared gene expression in vaccinated (VAX) and unvaccinated (NOVAX) preweaned calves and subsequent BRD development during backgrounding.

Whole blood was collected at four timepoints (TIME; T1-4; median age 107, 114, 183, and 230, respectively) from 73 bull calves enrolled in a blinded randomized controlled trial; VAX calves received a commercial attenuated multivalent viral vaccine at T1 and T3.

Whole-blood transcriptomics was used to quantify mRNA, identifying 5364 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for TIME, 84 DEGs for vaccination (VAX), and 129 for BRD status using both glmmSeq and QLF testing (glmmSeq only DEGs: 11,068 TIME, 358 VAX, and 9241 BRD). VAX calves at T3 were clustered uniquely with the enrichment of pathways related to the cellular response to stress, neutrophil degranulation, and antigen processing and presentation compared to NOVAX cattle and VAX at other timepoints. Interferon pathways, natural killer cell responses, and neutrophil activity were generally absent across all timepoints, while antigen presentation pathways were persistently enriched. Regardless of vaccination or future BRD diagnosis, immunological development over time was indicated by DEGs related to adaptive immunity, lymphocyte development, and inflammatory resolution. At T4, cattle diagnosed with BRD during backgrounding had differential gene expression related to oxygen transport, hemoglobin function, and metabolic processes compared to cattle that remained healthy.

This study provides insights into the possible genomic mechanisms underlying vaccine responses and preclinical BRD susceptibility in preweaned beef cattle.