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11.
Maternal and fetal hair cortisol concentrations in beef cattle at delivery
Tanja Peric, Monica Probo, Antonella Comin, Maria Cristina Veronesi, Marta Montillo, Alberto Prandi, 2018, published scientific conference contribution abstract

Abstract: Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of both mother and fetus, is one of key mechanisms involved in fetal programming. Cortisol, the end-product of this axis, plays a critical role in regulating fetal and new-born metabolism and development. The aim of the study was to evaluate maternal and fetal cortisol concentrations shortly after delivery on hair samples non-invasively collected. The study was carried out on 11 pairs of beef cows and their calves (calves were 12 because of one case of twins) from the same farm and subjected to the same managerial conditions. Hair from new-born calves and from their mothers was collected on the day of birth shaving their withers to the level of the skin. The hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) were determined by RIA as previously described (Peric et al. 2013: J Dairy Sci 96:3023–3027). The results showed that fetal and maternal HCC ranged from 16.11 to 40.43 pg/mg and from 1.88 to 15.73 pg/mg respectively, with fetal and maternal mean ± SE HCC of 23.72 ± 2.21 and 6.40 ± 1.32 pg/mg respectively (p < 0.001). Fetal HCC were on average 3.5 higher than those of mothers but this ratio differed among the pairs. These differences were also found among the twin calves. These results indicate that in beef cows-and-calves pairs, although HCC at delivery were always higher in calves than in cows, the ratio between fetal and maternal HCC differs among pairs, suggesting an individuality in the fetal programming processes that may also rely on genetic and epigenetic factors.
Keywords: hair, cortisol, cattle, delivery
Published in RUNG: 09.04.2019; Views: 3384; Downloads: 0
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12.
A first survey on hair cortisol of an Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex) population.
Tanja Peric, Alberto Prandi, Mirco Corazzin, Antonella Comin, Monica Colitti, 2018, original scientific article

Abstract: Biometric measurements of horn, body and physiological variables of 35 Alpine ibex, Capra ibex ibex, (14 females and 21 males, age range: 2-15 years) were analysed in relation to gender and area of origin. Moreover, for the first time hair cortisol concentration was evaluated in this species. The ibexes were live-captured in spring in the Maritime Alps Natural Park. All the horn and body morphometric measurements were significantly different between genders and a statistical difference was found between horn and body data considering the area of origin of ibexes, with the exception of horn circumference and height as well of body and hock length. Among the physiological variables, female ibex showed higher heart rate and glycemia, but tended to have lower respiratory rate than male. The mean hair cortisol concentration was 22.40±1.44 pg/mg (±SE). A different distribution was described for the male hair cortisol concentrations compared to that in females. Obtained data indicate that the geographical area where Alpine ibex lives could affect the endurance of an ibex population but further investigations are needed to understand if intra- and inter-specific competition and different environment could be the basis of the HPA axis activation. Hair cortisol evaluation together with biometric values could be an interesting way to obtain information on the adaptation that the animal attempts to reach in relation to environmental factors and pursuing organism homeostasis. This feature could be important in attempting to preserve wildlife biodiversity that also depends from the state of animal welfare.
Keywords: allostatic load, Alps, ibex, biometry, hair cortisol
Published in RUNG: 06.03.2018; Views: 4310; Downloads: 0
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Hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits subjected to surgery
Tanja Peric, Antonella Comin, Mirco Corazzin, Marta Montillo, Federico Canavese, Marco Stebel, Alberto Prandi, 2018, original scientific article

Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess hair cortisol concentrations in New Zealand white rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) that were subjected to relocation and surgery to evaluate HPA-axis activity; in addition, we used this marker of cortisol secretion to evaluate the allostatic load of animals undergoing surgery. After a period of acclimatisation, which lasted 40 days from their arrival at the enclosure, 19 rabbits were subjected to T1–T12 dorsal arthrodesis (RS), 19 were sham-operated (SS), and 19 were non-operated (CON). Hair samples were collected at the time of arrival (ST1) at the animal facility, and seven other sets of hair samples were collected at 40-day intervals from the same area of skin for a period of 240 days as re-shaved hair (anagen phase): immediately before surgery (ST2) and after the surgery (ST3, ST4, ST5, ST6, ST7, and ST8). The transition from the rabbitry to the animal breeding facility led to a significant increase in cortisol concentration (ST2) in all of the groups. At ST3, the RS group presented higher cortisol concentrations than those of the SS group and the CON group. At ST4, the experimental groups showed similar values that remained constant until ST8. The results show that the management of rabbits undergoing surgery should be evaluated very carefully, and hair cortisol concentrations may provide a means of avoiding the dangerous cumulative effects of additional stressors close to surgery.
Keywords: animal welfare, cortisol, hair, HPA axis, rabbit, surgery
Published in RUNG: 09.02.2018; Views: 3972; Downloads: 0
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15.
Cortisol claws concentrations in dogs from birth to 60 days of age
Jasmine Fusi, Tanja Peric, Barbara Bolis, Alessandro Rota, Antonella Comin, Maria Cristina Veronesi, 2017, published scientific conference contribution abstract

Abstract: During the last fetal stage of development and in the neonatal period, the hypothalamic- pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis secretes cortisol (C), responsible for several physiologic processes. The claws were recently proved to be a useful, non- invasive matrix for long time- frame retrospective C levels analysis also in puppies (Veronesi et al. 2015, Theriogenology 84:791–796). Because of the scarce knowledge on canine perinatology, this study was aimed to assess the C concentrations in claws of newborn puppies collected at birth, 30 and 60 days of age, and to evaluate the possible influence of age, gender and type of birth on C claws accumulation. The study was performed on 58 large purebred, normal, healthy puppies, born by spontaneous or cesarean parturition. The mean C claws concentrations significantly decrease from birth (26 ± 16.39 pg/mg) to 30 (10 ± 4.53 pg/mg) and 60 (6 ± 3.12 pg/mg) days of age (p < 0.0001); a decrease was also seen from 30 to 60 days of age (p < 0.05). No influence of newborn gender and type of birth was found. This trend of decrease is in agreement with data reported by (Veronesi et al. 2015, Theriogenology 84:791–796) in dead puppies, and suggests the important role of C around the time of birth. However the exact source of the C accumulated in claws of puppies at birth must be clarified, while the source of C accumulated at 30, and even more at 60 days, can be supposed to be addressed to the newborn itself.
Keywords: Cortisol, claws, dog
Published in RUNG: 01.09.2017; Views: 4537; Downloads: 0
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Cortisol and DHEA concentrations in the hair of dairy cows managed indoor or on pasture
Tanja Peric, Mirco Corazzin, Alberto Romanzin, Stefano Bovolenta, Alberto Prandi, M. Montillo, Antonella Comin, 2017, original scientific article

Abstract: This study was conducted in order to assess the changes of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) concentrations in hair of Italian Simmental dairy cows managed indoor in tie-stall barns or grazing on high mountain pasture. In experiment I, animals were kept in tie-stalls throughout the year (n = 27). In experiment II, animals remained on mountain pastures during summer (from 20th June to 20th September) and then kept indoors in tie-stalls for the rest of the year (n = 18). At the end of July, following vertical transhumance, dairy cows were moved to a pasture located at a higher altitude. In the two studies, hair samples, obtained using clippers from the animal's forehead, were collected on the 20th June (P1), 20th July (P2), 20th August (P3), 20th September (P4) and 20th October (P5) and analysed for cortisol and DHEA. In experiment I, DHEA concentration was unaffected by sampling time (P > 0.05), whereas, cortisol/DHEA ratio was similar between P1 and P2 (P > 0.05) and then increased during the experimental period reaching the highest value at P5 (P < 0.05). In experiment II, dairy cows had higher concentration of DHEA during grazing compared to cows kept indoors (P < 0.05), conversely cortisol/DHEA ratio decreased from P1 to P2 (P < 0.05), remained constant from P2 to P3 (P > 0.05) and then increased from P3 to P4 (P < 0.05), the highest value was recorded at P5. In conclusion, cortisol and DHEA concentrations and their ratio measured in the hair of dairy cows can be useful to evaluate the allostatic load in animals managed indoor in tie-stall barn or grazing on mountain pasture.
Keywords: Dairy cow, Mountain pasture, Hair, Cortisol, DHEA
Published in RUNG: 28.05.2017; Views: 4633; Downloads: 0
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18.
Luteal activity and effect of dietary energy restriction on follicular development in lactating cows
Antonella Comin, Tanja Peric, M. Montillo, Alberto Cappa, Vittorio Marchi, Maria Cristina Veronesi, Alberto Prandi, 2017, original scientific article

Abstract: The aim of this research has been to evaluate the presence of anomalies in the ovarian cycle activity during postpartum and to verify whether 72-hr dietary fasting during the dominance phase, the phase before ovulation, might modify the ovarian follicle population. The presence of anomalies in ovarian cycle activity has been evaluated in 30 Italian Friesian cows starting from 20 days postpartum until 211 days of lactation. Long oestrus and brief dioestrus or scarce luteal activity have been the main anomalies found through measuring progesterone concentrations in the whey. Until 100 days of lactation, the BCS values of the problematic animals have been significantly lower than those in animals with normal ovarian activity. After 100 days of lactation, the ovarian anomalies continued to appear despite the fact that all the animals have reached comparable BCS values. Starting from the results of this trial, the effect of 72-hr dietary fasting on dominant follicles has been studied in six cows. Ultrasonography revealed that the diameter of the follicles at 71 days postpartum has been significantly lower than at 181 days. A 72-hr dietary restriction at 101 and 211 days postpartum did not affect the size of the dominant follicle. However, at 101 days postpartum, half of the animals presented follicular cysts. The effect of fasting differed if the animal has been in early postpartum or 211 days of lactation. Further researches are necessary to understand how different metabolic conditions can modify the follicular population but on the other hand the study shows the utility for farmers and field veterinarians of monitoring the resumption of the ovarian cycle postpartum through the whey progesterone concentrations.
Keywords: dairy cow, cyclic activity, follicles, fasting
Published in RUNG: 06.04.2017; Views: 4293; Downloads: 0
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19.
Hair cortisol and testosterone concentrations and semen production of Bos taurus bulls
Giuseppe Stradaioli, Tanja Peric, Marta Montillo, Antonella Comin, Mirco Corazzin, Maria Cristina Veronesi, Alberto Prandi, 2017, original scientific article

Abstract: The experiment was aimed to evaluate the usefulness of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in revealing the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis due to the passage of young bulls from genetic rearing stations to artificial insemination (AI) centre and the influence of this passage on hair testosterone concentrations (HTC). Hair samples on 33 yearling bulls were collected at the time of arrival (ST1) to the AI centre and 3 more hair samples (ST2, ST3, ST4) were collected at monthly intervals. After the end of quarantine each animal was submitted to the standard procedures for collection and production of semen. Overall HCC were significantly affected by period of collection (p<.01). In particular, HCC was higher in samples obtained after finishing the quarantine period (ST2) compared with those obtained on ST1. After ST2, the HCC decreased reaching at ST4 a value similar to that recorded at ST1. An effect of sampling time on HTC was not found (p>.05). The effect of breed was observed only for HTC that was higher in PRI than BS (p<.01). The HCC group have not influenced the semen variables (p>.05). On the contrary, the effect of breed was evident. The results of this study replicated the effects of a major environmental stressor on mean cortisol concentrations assessed in hair, and add to the growing body of evidence that HCC is an effective and simply collected marker for long-term activity of the HPA system in response to persistent environmental challenge.
Keywords: Hair, bulls, cortisol, testosterone, semen
Published in RUNG: 20.03.2017; Views: 5495; Downloads: 0
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20.
Use of hair cortisol analysis for comparing population status in wild red deer (Cervus elaphus) living in areas with different characteristics
Chiara Caslini, Antonella Comin, Tanja Peric, Alberto Prandi, Luca Pedrotti, Silvana Mattiello, 2016, original scientific article

Abstract: We tested a method to measure Hair Cortisol Concentration (HCC) in 174 red deer (Cervus elaphus) culled in the hunting season 2011/12 in four areas of Central Italian Alps, with different population densities (SPN, 11.8 deer/km2; HD-AV, 3.6 deer/km2; HD-SO, 2.1 deer/km2; HD-MO, 2.0 deer/km2) and environmental conditions. Our hypothesis was that higher population densities, associated with more difficult environmental conditions, may result in higher allostatic load for these wild ungulates. No significant differences in HCC were detected between sexes (males, 4.77 ± 0.69 pg/mg; females, 5.75 ± 0.63 pg/mg) nor among age classes (calves, 6.17 ± 0.66 pg/mg; yearlings, 4.47 ± 0.83 pg/mg; adults, 5.15 ± 0.74 pg/mg; least square mean ± SE), but HCC difference between calves and yearlings was close to statistical significance (P = 0.059). HCC showed high individual variation, but on average it was higher in areas with higher deer density (SNP, 7.45 ± 1.01 pg/mg; HD-AV, 6.07 ± 0.89 pg/mg; HD-SO, 4.67 ± 1.14 pg/mg; HD-MO, 2.87 ± 1.56 pg/mg), with significant differences between HD-AV and HD-MO (P = 0.01). Carcass weight was significantly lower in SNP (46.74 ± 1.49 kg) than in HD-MO (62.71 ± 4.01 kg), HD-SO (61.73 ± 2.9 kg) and HD-AV (62.07 ± 2.04 kg) (P < 0.001). These results seem to confirm our hypothesis that allostatic load is higher in areas with higher density and harder environmental conditions. We suggest that the methodology used in this study to measure HCC provides good information on long-term HPA axis activity and allostatic load and constitutes a highly promising, reliable and non-invasive method in wildlife management for assessing HPA axis activity over extended time periods.
Keywords: Red deer, Cervus elaphus, Hair, Cortisol, Allostatic load
Published in RUNG: 29.09.2016; Views: 4310; Downloads: 0
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