Mogens Vestergaard

High body weight gain and reduced bovine mammary growth: physiological basis and implications for milk yield potential

Available evidence concerning the relationship between growth rate, mammary growth and milk yield in heifers leads to these conclusions: 1) Increased growth rate due to high feeding level before puberty onset can lead to reduced pubertal mammary growth and reduced milk yield potential. 2) Increased growth rate due to high feeding level after puberty and during pregnancy have no effect on mammary growth and milk yield. 3) Higher body weight gain due to higher genetic potential for growth is positively related to milk yield. The negative effect of high feeding level before puberty occurs in all breeds, but the level of feeding causing reduced yield varies. Variation in responses between experiments suggests that feeding regimes that support high growth rates without negative effect on yield can be developed. A breakthrough most likely will originate from increased knowledge of the physiological relationship between nutrition and mammary development. Our investigations suggest that blood growth hormone (GH) is important for mammary development, and that the negative effect of high feeding level on mammary development may be due to reduced blood GH. GH, however, does not bind to mammary tissue. Experiments with exogenous GH suggest that GH acts on mammary tissue via IGF-I, but IGF-I is increased by high feeding level - not decreased as GH. This paradoxical relationship cannot be explained by changes in circulating IGF binding proteins. However, the sensitivity of mammary tissue to IGF-I is reduced by high feeding level, probably due to the action of locally produced binding proteins and/or growth factors.

Long-term changes in performance and meat quality of Danish Landrace pigs: a study on a current compared with an unimproved genotype.

An experiment was conducted in 1995 in order to examine muscle growth, muscle histochemical properties, muscle metabolism and meat quality of two types of Danish Landrace pigs representing the growth potential of years 1976 and 1995, respectively. Danish Landrace pigs representing 1976 (slow-growing, SG) originated from a breeding station where the population was maintained without being selected for production traits such as daily gain, food conversion ratio and meat content. Pigs representing Danish Landrace of 1995 (fast-growing, FG) were bought from certified Danish pig breeders. The pigs were simultaneously tested for performance from 40 to 95 kg live weight. The daily gain, food conversion ratio and meat content of the carcass were improved proportionately by 0·43, 0·24 and 0·03 in FG pigs compared with SG pigs. In m. longissimus dorsi (LD), the cross-sectional area of muscle fibres was smaller in FG pigs compared with SG pigs indicating increased muscle fibre number. Data further suggest increased satellite cell proliferation in muscles of FG pigs. Serum from FG pigs stimulated the proliferation of C2C12 muscle cells to a greater extent than serum from SG pigs, although the serum level of insulin-like growth factor 1 did not differ between pig types. The effect of serum on protein turn-over of C2C12 myotubes did not depend on pig type. The glycogen concentration in the LD did not differ significantly between pig types, while the activity of citrate synthase, 3-OH-acyl-CoA-dehydrogenase, and lactate dehydrogenase were higher in the LD of SG pigs compared with FG pigs. Pork chop colour of FG pigs was proportionately 0·09 lighter (L ⋆ ) and 0·13 less red (a ⋆ ) than pork chops of SG pigs. The total muscle pigment concentration in the LD, m. biceps femoris and m. vastus intermedius was proportionately reduced by 0·17, 0·19 and 0·11, respectively, in FG pigs compared with SG pigs. In the LD, the concentration of myoglobin was proportionately reduced by 0·17 in FG pigs. The chemical composition of the LD differed between pig types such that the water content was higher and protein content lower in LD from FG pigs compared with SG pigs. The pH of the LD measured 45 min and 24 h post mortem, drip loss and thawing loss were similar for both pig types. Meat tenderness of conditioned pork chops of FG pigs was slightly reduced in accordance with a decreased intensity of the 31 kDa peptide band and increased cooking loss. The present study suggests that increased muscle fibre number and rate of muscle DNA deposition (satellite cell proliferation) have contributed to the increased muscle growth as a result of selection for performance in pigs under Danish conditions. However, the increase in growth performance was accompanied by deterioration in muscle colour and slightly reduced tenderness.

Effects of a four-day hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp in early and mid-lactation dairy cows on plasma concentrations of metabolites, hormones, and binding proteins

The effects of insulin, using a 4 d hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp, on plasma concentrations of hormone, metabolites, and binding proteins were evaluated in four Holstein dairy cows during wk 4 and 17 of lactation. Insulin was infused at 1 microg/kg/hr for 96 hr during the clamp period. Compared with the pre-clamp period, plasma insulin concentrations increased 7-fold and 4-fold during the clamp periods in early and mid-lactation, respectively. The total amount of glucose infused was higher (P < 0.05) during the clamp in early lactation. The clamp decreased plasma concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (P < 0.001) during early lactation while differences in mid-lactation were minor. The clamp also decreased plasma concentration of beta-hydroxybutyrate (P < 0.001), plasma urea nitrogen (P < 0.001), and true protein (P < 0.01) although the patterns of decline differed between early and mid-lactation. Growth hormone (GH) concentrations decreased (P < 0.001) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) increased (P < 0.01) during the clamp period suggesting a direct effect of insulin on the un-coupling of the GH/IGF-1 axis. Levels of IGF binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) decreased (P < 0.01) during the clamp period. The relative proportion of IGFBP-2 decreased (P < 0.001) and that of IGFBP-3 increased (P < 0.001) during the clamp period. There were no interactions between the clamp period and stage of lactation on GH, IGF-1, or IGFBPs. Overall, most plasma variables measured were affected in the same way during the two clamps, but the pattern of change often varied with stage of lactation.

Local IGF-I Axis in Peripubertal Ruminant Mammary Development

The regulation of mammary growth and development in heifers is accomplished by complexinteractions of hormones, growth factors, and extracellular matrix molecules. Many of thesegrowth stimulators are believed to be locally produced in the mammary gland and to beaffected by developmental and nutritional status. Although estrogen and growth hormone areconsidered critical to pubertal mammogenesis, results summarized in this review suggest thatIGF-I6 and IGF binding proteins are especially important locally-produced growth regulatorsin peripubertal ruminants. This assertion is supported by studies of ovariectomized heifers, inwhich increased stromal IGFBP-3 and reduced IGF-I correspond with a failure of udderdevelopment. Similarly, reduced mammary development with overfeeding coincides withreduced mitogenic activity of mammary tissue extracts and altered concentrations of IGF-Iand IGFBPs. In vitro studies convincingly demonstrate that much of the mitogenic activity ofmammary extracts or serum can be attributed to IGF-I and that alterations in IGFBP-3 modulateits effectiveness. Thus by analogy to second messenger mechanisms of action for proteinhormones, local mammary-derived growth factors likely explain many of the effects attributedto the classic mammogenic hormones.

Biological activity of bovine milk on proliferation of human intestinal cells.

To evaluate the bioactivity of bovine milk from different stages of lactation on human intestinal tissue, a human fetal small intestinal cell line was used as a model system. Milk samples representing six stages of lactation: days 1, 2-3, 6-7 and weeks 12 and 24 after parturition, 1 week before drying off, and milk-like secretion from two stages of the dry period: 7 weeks and 3-4 weeks before expected calving, were collected from 64 Holstein Friesian cows. The whey fraction of the milk or milk-like secretion was added to the culture medium in concentrations ranging from 0.078% to 10%. The growth-promoting activity of whey was measured by determining the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA for the last 24 h of the culture period. Whey fractions from all six stages of lactation stimulated growth of intestinal cells. The growth-promoting activity of colostrum or milk significantly decreased within the first week after calving. The growth-promoting activity in mature milk increased gradually during lactation to reach a level significantly higher than that obtained with colostrum. The growth-promoting activity of whey from milk-like secretion collected after drying off was lower than that of colostrum. Whey from different stages of lactation contained significantly different concentrations of TGF-beta1 (0.5-27 ng/ml) and TGF-beta2 (12-1219 ng/ml). However, neither the differences in TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta2, nor the differences in IGF-I and IGF-binding proteins could fully explain the differences in growth-promoting activity of colostrums or milk from different stages of lactation, suggesting that other factors were also involved. The present study showed that bovine milk contained a number of biologically active components that affected growth and development of human intestinal tissue. The results showed that the growth-promoting activity of colostrum and milk was dependent on the stage of lactation in accordance with previous results obtained with mammary epithelial cells. The changes in growth-promoting activity with stage of lactation were probably related to changes in concentrations of several growth factors.

Compensatory Growth and its Effect on Muscularity and Technological Meat Quality in Growing Pigs

This study investigated the effect of various feeding levels from weaning (day 28) to day 170 of age on growth, muscularity and technological meat quality in female pigs. From day 28 to day 90 of age (growing period) and from day 90 to day 170 of age (finishing period), the pigs were fed either ad libitum (A) or restrictively (R) in a 2 2 2 factorial design with treatments named AA, AR, RA and RR. In the growing period, the growth rate of A pigs was 35% higher than that of R pigs. In the finishing period, the growth rate was dependent on the feed intake in the growing period, i.e. pigs fed restrictively in the growing period had 6-8% higher growth rate in the finishing period (RA and RR) than pigs fed ad libitum in the growing period (AA and AR). Furthermore, despite RA pigs being 11 kg lighter at day 90 of age they produced as much muscle tissue at slaughter as did AA pigs, but less subcutaneous fat, which resulted in a 5% higher meat content of the carcass. The increased muscle growth of RA pigs in the finishing period (compensatory growth) was probably accomplished by increased satellite cell proliferation (muscle DNA accumulation) and increased capacity for protein synthesis, as indicated by a higher RNA concentration. Feeding level did not affect the lightness of meat, the ultimate pH or the drip loss. However, a change in feeding level at day 90 of age (RA and AR) led to a reduction in meat redness. The present data suggest that feed restriction in the growing period results in compensatory growth of muscle tissue in the finishing period if ad libitum feeding was applied during this period, accomplished by increased satellite cell proliferation and increased capacity for protein synthesis, without significantly affecting the technological meat quality.

Growth hormone and mammary development

Classic studies in rodents conducted in the 1950s showed that growth hormone (GH) is essential for mammary development both in the pubertal phase and during pregnancy. Since then, a considerable number of experiments have been carried out in ruminants to investigate the role of GH for regulation of normal mammary development and to examine the possibility of enhancing mammary growth by administration of GH. The available evidence demonstrates that GH treatment stimulates mammary growth before puberty, but the data do not convincingly support the idea that the effect is translated into increased milk yield. GH treatment during late pregnancy seems to stimulate both mammary growth and milk yield during lactation. The limited data concerning the effect of GH on mammary growth during lactation indicate that mammary growth is unaffected by GH treatment in early lactation, whereas GH seems to increase the amount of mammary parenchyma in mid-lactation. The mechanism of action of GH remains a puzzle, but the effect of exogenous GH most likely involves insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Full understanding of the role of endogenous GH for regulation of normal mammary development requires more knowledge about the interaction between GH and IGF-I and the interplay between the GH-IGF-I axis and locally produced factors, including receptors, binding proteins, and growth factors.

Effect of growth rate on tenderness development and final tenderness of meat from Friesian calves

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of growth rate of calves on the activity of the calpain system post mortem, post mortem desmin degradation, myofibrillar fragmentation index and meat tenderness of m. longissimus lumborum (LL) and m. supraspinatus (SS). Twenty-four Friesian heifer calves were allocated to two treatment groups: MM and HH. The MM calves were given food to achieve a moderate growth rate (678 g/day from 5 days of age to 90 kg body weight (BW) (period I) and 770 g/day from 90 kg BW to slaughter at 250 kg BW (period II)) and the HH calves were given food to achieve a high growth rate (period I: 895 g/day and period II: 1204 g/day). The myofibril fragmentation index (MFI), desmin degradation and the activity of µ-calpain, m-calpain and calpastatin were measured in LL and SS at slaughter, and 1 and 7 days post mortem. Shear force was measured in LL and SS after 1 and 7 days of ageing and a sensory panel evaluated the eating quality of the loin aged 7 days. MFI (P

Consequences of two or four months of finishing feeding of culled dry dairy cows on carcass characteristics and technological and sensory meat quality

Finishing feeding was evaluated as a way to improve carcass-, meat- and eating quality of culled dairy cows. In total, 125 Danish Friesian cows were purchased from commercial dairy herds. Cows were culled for various typical reasons at different stages of lactation, were non-pregnant and had milk yield at culling ranging from 1 to 25kg/d and had LW varying from 330 to 778kg. Cows were housed in tie-stalls and had free access to barley straw and water during a 7-d drying-off period. Cows were allocated to three equal treatment groups based on parity, LW, BCS, and culling reason. A control group (C) was slaughtered immediately after drying-off (n=43), a group (F2) was finishing-fed for 63 days (n=41), and a group (F4) was finishing-fed for 126 days (n=41). In the finishing period, cows had free access to a TMR (10.6 MJ ME and 130g CP per kg of DM). Cows on treatment, F2 and F4 gained 1.16±0.05kg/d in the finishing period. Compared with C-cows, F2- and F4-cows had 56 and 97kg higher carcass weight, 10% and 21% larger Longissimus muscle area, and 14 and 70% more backfat, respectively, at time of slaughter. EUROP conformation scores were 2.2 (C), 3.4 (F2) and 4.4 (F4) and EUROP fat scores were 1.9, 3.0 and 3.7. Finishing feeding increased IMF, improved meat flavour and colour, and tended to reduce shear force value and improve tenderness and juiciness. The F4 cows also had higher fat trim than C- and F2-cows. Cows were divided into two parity groups (1st parity and older cows). Compared with 1st parity cows, older cows ate 12% more feed, had similar daily gain, were heavier, and had higher BCS and fatness including IMF. The results show that it is possible to dry-off and finish-feed culled dairy cows resulting in larger muscles, increased fatness, improved overall carcass quality and better technological as well as sensory quality characteristics.

Biological activity of bovine milk

Abstract The mitogenic activity of milk from different stages of lactation was studied in primary cultures of undifferentiated bovine mammary epithelial cells. The mitogenic activity, measured as DNA synthesis, was 3–4-fold higher in colostrum than in basal medium. The mitogenic activity declined rapidly after calving, and in mid and late lactation the effect was inhibitory, not stimulatory. The content of IGF-I in milk varied with stage of lactation declining from more than 300 ng per ml in colostrum to 1–2 ng per ml in mid lactation and increasing to 20 ng per ml in late lactation. The difference in mitogenic activities between colostrum and mature milk was closely related to the difference in IGF-I content. The changes in IGF-I, however, cannot account for the inhibitory effect of mid and late lactation milk and the difference in the mitogenic effect of colostrum and BPMS (bovine prepartum milk-like secretion). The amounts of IGF binding proteins (24, 28, 34 and 41–44 kDa) in milk followed the same pattern as IGF-I with high content in early lactation and low content in mid lactation. The discrepancies between mitogenic activity and IGF-I content may in some, but not all, cases be related to the content of binding proteins.