Publicaties

Due to the critical contribution of the uterine-associated microbiota in reproductive health, physiology, and performance, culture-independent methods have been increasingly employed to unravel key aspects of microbial ecology in the uterus of cattle. Nowadays, we know that bacterial diversity is crucial to maintain uterine health, however, there is still no consensus on the exact composition of a healthy uterine microbiota (or eubiosis). ...

Up to 50 % of dairy cows fail to resolve uterine involution and develop chronic clinical (CE) or subclinical endometritis (SE) 21 days after calving. Clinical endometritis is associated with purulent discharge, while SE is not associated with overt clinical signs. Along with numerous knowledge gaps related to its pathogenesis, SE does not allow for a straightforward and effective therapy. Therefore, it is crucial to unravel differences in the ...

Abortions and perinatal mortalities (APM) substantially affect cattle industry efficiency. Various infectious and noninfectious factors have been associated with bovine APM worldwide. Infections are often considered pivotal due to their abortifacient potential, leading laboratories to primarily investigate relevant infectious agents for APM cases. Some infectious causes, such as Brucella abortus, have also a zoonotic impact, necessitating ...

Udder cleft dermatitis (UCD) is a skin condition affecting the anterior parts of the udder in dairy cattle. In the present study, we aimed to shed light on the microbiota in severe UCD lesions versus healthy udder skin by putting forward a taxonomic and functional profile based on a virulence factor analysis. Through shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we found a high proportion of bacteria in addition to a low abundance of archaea. A distinct ...

Simple Summary In the present study, white blood cells (neutrophils) were isolated from the blood of postpartum dairy cows and subjected in vitro to conditions designed to mimic an inflammatory reaction induced by the bacterial toxin named lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The production of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), reactive oxygen species (ROS), gene expression of NETs-related proteins and inflammatory factors were quantified. The results ...

Simple Summary This review critically examined the literature on the interaction between insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic inflammation in transition dairy cows. Our review emphasizes how IR and metabolic inflammation mutually influence each other, leading to heightened lipolysis, immune activation, and tissue inflammatory pathways. These processes contribute to a harmful cycle where inflammatory mediators exacerbate IR and metabolic ...

Cumulus expansion is an important indicator of oocyte maturation and has been suggested to be indicative of greater oocyte developmental capacity. Although multiple methods have been described to assess cumulus expansion, none of them is considered a gold standard. Additionally, these methods are subjective and timeconsuming. In this manuscript, the reliability of three cumulus expansion measurement methods was assessed, and a deep learning ...

In brief: Opposing conclusions have been drawn regarding the presence of viable bacteria in the healthy pregnant uterus. Current evidence in humans and animals suggests that fetomaternal tissues present only traces of bacteria whose viability is still to be proven. The debate about the pioneer colonization of the fetus is still open, being the 'in utero colonization' hypothesis versus the 'sterile womb paradigm' the two opposing sides. The seed ...

The concept of developmental programming suggests that environmental influences during preand early postnatal life that can have long-term effects on future health and performance. In dairy cattle, maternal body growth, age, parity and milk yield, as well as environmental factors during gestation, have the potential to create a suboptimal environment for the developing fetus. As a result, the calf's phenotype may undergo adaptations. Moreover, ...

The transition period is one of the most challenging periods in the lactation cycle of high-yielding dairy cows. It is commonly known to be associated with diminished animal welfare and economic performance of dairy farms. The development of data-driven health monitoring tools based on on-farm available milk yield development has shown potential in identifying health-perturbing events. As proof of principle, we explored the association of these ...