Invited review: Inflammation during the transition to lactation: New adventures with an old flame

Abstract

For dairy cattle, the first several weeks of lactation represent the highest-risk period in their lives after their own neonatal period. Although more than 50% of cows during this period are estimated to suffer from at least one subclinical disorder, the complicated admixture of normal adaptations to lactation, infectious challenges, and metabolic disorders has made it difficult to determine which physiological processes are adaptive and which are pathological during this time. Subacute inflammation, a condition that has been well documented in obesity, has been a subject of great interest among dairy cattle physiologists in the past decade. Many studies have now clearly shown that essentially all cows experience some degree of systemic inflammation in the several days after parturition. The magnitude and likely persistence of the inflammatory state varies widely among cows, and several studies have linked the degree of postpartum inflammation to increased disease risk and decreased whole-lactation milk production. In addition to these associations, enhancing postpartum inflammation with repeated subacute administration of cytokines has impaired productivity and markers of health, whereas targeted use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs during this window of time has enhanced whole-lactation productivity in several studies. Despite these findings, many questions remain about postpartum inflammation, including which organs are key initiators of this state and what signaling molecules are responsible for systemic and tissue-specific inflammatory states. Continued in vivo work should help clarify the degree to which mild postpartum inflammation is adaptive and whether the targeted use of anti-inflammatory drugs or nutrients can improve the health and productivity of dairy cows.