Morning Ag Clips logo
  • Subscribe ❯
  • PORTAL ❯
  • LOGIN ❯
  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Subscribe to our
    daily email
    ❯
  • Portal Registration❯
  • Login❯
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

Morning Ag Clips

  • By Keyword
  • By topic
  • By state
  • policy
  • tractors & machinery
  • education
  • conservation
  • webinars
  • business
  • dairy
  • cattle
  • poultry
  • swine
  • corn
  • soybeans
  • organic
  • specialty crops
  • Home
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Store
  • Advertise
Home » Examining the role of serotonin during the peripartum period in dairy cows
LIVESTOCK HEALTH ... Comments

Examining the role of serotonin during the peripartum period in dairy cows

Serotonin found to be an important factor in calcium homeostasis in dairy cows

PUBLISHED ON November 18, 2021

Research over the last decade has focused on understanding the shift in calcium metabolism, with an emphasis on the relationship of serotonin with calcium during the transition period and lactation. (Public Domain)

PHILADELPHIA — Maternal physiology of dairy cows shifts at the onset of lactation to adapt to the immense nutrient demands by the mammary gland, resulting in altered tissue metabolism. Research over the last decade has focused on understanding the shift in calcium metabolism, with an emphasis on the relationship of serotonin with calcium during the transition period and lactation. In a new review in the December issue of the Journal of Dairy Science® researchers examine the current knowledge on calcium metabolism, mammary calcium transport, serotonin metabolism, and the serotonin-calcium axis.

This review by scientists from the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA), focuses on dairy cows during the period just before, during, and after giving birth. “Due to the rapid and robust demand for calcium at the onset of lactation by the mammary gland, a dynamic change in calcium metabolism ensues as the mammary gland’s demand for calcium in the blood and extracellular pools outpaces the rate at which pools can be maintained,” said first author Meghan K. Connelly, PhD student.

Increased 5HT concentrations induce changes in key Ca transporters (ORAI1 and PMCA2). Increased expression of ORAI1 and PMCA2 will result in Ca excreted into milk, resulting in transient hypocalcemia (A). The resulting declines in blood Ca concentrations inactivate the Ca sensing receptor (CaSR), stimulating synthesis and secretion of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) by the mammary gland, indirectly modulating Ca metabolism (B). Serotonin may directly stimulate mammary-derived PTHrP (C). Upon release into circulation, PTHrP may then travel to bone, bind, and act to liberate bone Ca stores to recover blood Ca concentrations (D). (Image: Journal of Dairy Science)

Without accommodating for this shift in calcium metabolism, disruptions in calcium balance can lead to an increased risk of displaced abomasum, ketosis, mastitis, and metritis. Research has found that as much as 50% of cows who have previously given birth experience subclinical hypocalcemia, with older cows experiencing greater calcium balance disruptions than cows who have not previously given birth.

Blood calcium levels are tightly regulated through an integrated homeostatic process that is controlled by hormones, vitamin D, and proteins in a negative-feedback loop. The synthesis and secretion of these hormones, including parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP), is prompted by low blood calcium concentrations. More recently, PTHrP has been found to correlate with serotonin during lactation.

Recent data have shown that lactation results in a substantial increase in serotonin concentrations in the blood. “Recently, an interesting relationship between serotonin and calcium has been demonstrated during lactation, with significant changes in both calcium and serotonin physiology occurring at the onset of lactation and being mammary driven,” said Connelly.

Mammary serotonin drives mammary production of hormones and peptides that ultimately modulate mammary calcium transport. Additionally, prepartum infusion of 5-HTP (the immediate precursor to serotonin) increases serotonin levels in the adult dairy cow and improves calcium metabolism postpartum. This increase in serotonin is thought to cause a transient hypocalcemia as calcium is directed out of blood and into milk. The resulting decrease in calcium concentration in blood allows the bone to release calcium into peripheral pools to support mammary calcium demand, driving calcium metabolism.

The review concludes with strategies to mitigate hypocalcemia, including feeding a negative dietary cation-anion difference diet or a calcium binder for prevention, or oral, intravenous, and subcutaneous calcium therapies postpartum for treatment. Connelly and colleagues note that although the exact mechanisms of serotonin’s ability to improve calcium metabolism remain unclear, further consideration of serotonin as a hormone in calcium metabolism is warranted.

–Elsevier
via EurekAlert!

Click Here to find out more about your favorite topics

dairy livestock health research

Spread the word

Browse More Clips

Oklahoma Beef Council approves FY 2022 plan of work

2021 Vermont Maple Conference: Dec. 8-11

Primary Sidebar

MORE

CALIFORNIA CLIPS

U.S. potato exports show continued signs of recovery
May 19, 2022
U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol doubles grower participation in 2nd year
May 19, 2022
Sonoma County Farm Bureau hosts inaugural 2022 Water Summit
May 19, 2022
Celebrate 10 years of California Avocado Month this June
May 19, 2022
New market program rewards farmers for regenerative agriculture
May 18, 2022
  • Trending
  • Latest

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE...

UW names Glenda Gillaspy CALS dean
May 20, 2022
Rotational grazing of livestock provides a perfect opportunity to make cover crops and other forages a financially viable part of a farm in the long-term. If you’d like to learn more, join the Land Stewardship Project and the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota Jan. 19 for a “Bringing Livestock Back” workshop, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Glenwood, Minn. (Courtesy of The Land Stewardship Project)
USDA seeks feedback from producers
May 20, 2022
DBIA awards $1.7 Million to 38 dairy businesses
May 19, 2022
Infographic explains integration of Livestock + Crops
May 19, 2022
State veterinarian advises poultry markets to close
May 19, 2022

Footer

MORNING AG CLIPS

  • Sponsors
  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Customer & Technical Support

CONNECT WITH US

  • Like Us on Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

TRACK YOUR TRADE

  • Markets & Economy
  • Cattle Updates
  • Dairy News
  • Policy & Politics
  • Corn Alerts

QUICK LINKS

  • Account
  • Portal Membership
  • Invite Your Friends
  • Subscribe to RSS
  • WeatherTrends
  • Just Me, Kate

© 2022 Morning Ag Clips, LLC. All Rights Reserved.