Med. Weter. 74 (11), 727-730, 2018
full text

| YUANYUAN CHEN, ZHIHAO DONG, RUIRUI LI, CHUANG XU |
| Changes in selected biochemical parameters during subclinical and clinical ketosis
in dairy cows |
| Negative energy balance (NEB) is a common pathological cause of ketosis. As the major organs of lipid
metabolism, the liver and fat tissue take part in regulating lipid oxidative capacity and energy demands, which
is also a key metabolic pathway that regulates NEB development during the perinatal period. Fibroblast
Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) is a novel metabolic regulator involved in the control of fatty acid oxidation and
lipid metabolism during a prolonged negative energy balance. Our study determined a correlation between
serum FGF21 and β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) levels in dairy cows with ketosis. We used sixty cows with
low milk yield, abnormal glucose metabolism, and ketosis. Serum FGF21 and BHBA levels were measured
using commercial kits. Serum FGF21 increased with increasing BHBA levels up to 1.6 mmol/L. At BHBA
levels > 1.6 mmol/L, FGF21 decreased. Serum FGF21 levels were positively associated with BHBA levels,
particularly in dairy cows with subclinical ketosis (r = 0.647, P < 0.01). At BHBA levels between 1.2 mmol/L
and 1.6 mmol/L, FGF21 was more closely correlated with BHBA than with other metabolic parameters. At
BHBA levels > 1.6 mmol/L, the association between FGF21 and BHBA was not significant. In conclusion, our
results show that FGF21 was closely related with SK in cows. FGF21 may be a promising regulator in the
prevention of subclinical ketosis. |
| Key words: β-hydroxybutyric acid, dairy cows, fibroblast growth factor 21, subclinical ketosis |