ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1664685
Effect of Haptoglobin and Serum Amyloid A Levels in Colostrum on Calf Immunity in Cases of Subclinical Mastitis
Provisionally accepted
- Aksaray University, Aksaray, Türkiye
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Colostrum plays a critical role in providing passive immunity in newborn calves, and its immunological effectiveness is closely linked to the health status of the producing cow. Subclinical mastitis, a condition characterized by inflammation of the mammary gland without obvious clinical signs, can negatively affect the immune components of colostrum. Haptoglobin (Hp) and Serum Amyloid A (SAA) are acute phase proteins that increase significantly during infection and inflammation, serving as key biomarkers for the subclinical diagnosis of mastitis and for monitoring its impact on calf welfare. In this study, Hp, SAA, and total immunoglobulin (Ig) levels were compared in colostrum from healthy cows and cows with subclinical mastitis, as well as in serum from their calves. Hp and SAA concentrations in the milk of subclinical mastitis cows were significantly higher, while colostrum Ig concentrations were significantly lower compared with the healthy group. Calves from the same cows also exhibited elevated serum Hp and SAA levels and reduced Ig concentrations. There was a positive correlation between colostral Hp and SAA levels and their respective concentrations in calf serum, and a negative correlation between colostrum Ig and both Hp and SAA levels. Four calves from the subclinical mastitis group developed diarrhoea in the first week of life and had low serum Ig levels, indicating increased susceptibility to infection with poor colostrum quality. Elevated systemic inflammatory markers in these calves may reflect failure of passive immunity transfer. These findings support the value of Hp and SAA as biomarkers not only for the early diagnosis of mastitis but also for monitoring calf health.
Keywords: biomarker, colostrum quality, Haptoglobin, Passive immune transfer, serum amyloid A
Received: 12 Jul 2025; Accepted: 12 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sanioğlu Gölen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Gökçenur Sanioğlu Gölen, Aksaray University, Aksaray, Türkiye
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