Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows

Cows can spontaneously recover from postpartum endometritis. An early predictive diagnosis could avoid unnecessary treatment of recovery cows thus limiting the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, and provide timed treatment to persistent cases. This study first characterised the presence, proport...

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Main Authors: C. Anastácio, G. Pereira, E. Silva, R. Bexiga, L. Capela, J. Dupont, P. Humblot, L. Lopes-da-Costa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Animal
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731125001648
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author C. Anastácio
G. Pereira
E. Silva
R. Bexiga
L. Capela
J. Dupont
P. Humblot
L. Lopes-da-Costa
author_facet C. Anastácio
G. Pereira
E. Silva
R. Bexiga
L. Capela
J. Dupont
P. Humblot
L. Lopes-da-Costa
author_sort C. Anastácio
collection DOAJ
description Cows can spontaneously recover from postpartum endometritis. An early predictive diagnosis could avoid unnecessary treatment of recovery cows thus limiting the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, and provide timed treatment to persistent cases. This study first characterised the presence, proportion and phenotype of endometrial macrophages (Mφ) in postpartum dairy cows (n = 173) with distinct endometrial health status. Neutrophils (PMN) and Mφ counts were evaluated in Diff-Quickstained uterine cytology slides at 21 and 42 days postpartum (DPP). At 21 DPP, the Mφ proportion was higher in cows later recovering than in cows with persistent endometritis until 42 DPP, and the PMN:Mφ ratio was higher in persistent than in recovery cows. Immuno-labelling showed that at 21 DPP, recovery cows had higher M2 (CD163+) counts and lower M1:M2 ratio than cows with persistent endometritis, whereas M1 (CD86+) counts were not different. Immuno-labelling of tissue sections from biopsy samples collected at 42 DPP showed that total Mφ and M2 counts were higher in cows with persistent endometritis than in recovery cows. In conclusion, results evidence that the persistence of endometritis is associated with a retarded/failure of Mφ-driven, namely M2-driven, pro-resolving mechanisms. This suggests that endometrial Mφ content at 21 DPP shows the potential to assist in predicting the recovery or persistence of postpartum endometritis in dairy cows, and prompts for comprehensive validation studies.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1751-7311
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spelling doaj-art-31591e12fc9d432385fcf4ced447e8a72025-08-20T03:50:50ZengElsevierAnimal1751-73112025-07-0119710158110.1016/j.animal.2025.101581Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cowsC. Anastácio0G. Pereira1E. Silva2R. Bexiga3L. Capela4J. Dupont5P. Humblot6L. Lopes-da-Costa7CIISA- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Science (AL4AnimalS), Lisbon, PortugalCIISA- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Science (AL4AnimalS), Lisbon, PortugalCIISA- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Science (AL4AnimalS), Lisbon, PortugalCIISA- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Science (AL4AnimalS), Lisbon, PortugalCIISA- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Science (AL4AnimalS), Lisbon, PortugalPhysiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRA-CNRS-Université Tours-Haras Nationaux UMR6175, Nouzilly, FranceDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, Uppsala, SwedenCIISA- Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477 Lisbon, Portugal; Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Science (AL4AnimalS), Lisbon, Portugal; Corresponding author.Cows can spontaneously recover from postpartum endometritis. An early predictive diagnosis could avoid unnecessary treatment of recovery cows thus limiting the emergence of antimicrobial resistance, and provide timed treatment to persistent cases. This study first characterised the presence, proportion and phenotype of endometrial macrophages (Mφ) in postpartum dairy cows (n = 173) with distinct endometrial health status. Neutrophils (PMN) and Mφ counts were evaluated in Diff-Quickstained uterine cytology slides at 21 and 42 days postpartum (DPP). At 21 DPP, the Mφ proportion was higher in cows later recovering than in cows with persistent endometritis until 42 DPP, and the PMN:Mφ ratio was higher in persistent than in recovery cows. Immuno-labelling showed that at 21 DPP, recovery cows had higher M2 (CD163+) counts and lower M1:M2 ratio than cows with persistent endometritis, whereas M1 (CD86+) counts were not different. Immuno-labelling of tissue sections from biopsy samples collected at 42 DPP showed that total Mφ and M2 counts were higher in cows with persistent endometritis than in recovery cows. In conclusion, results evidence that the persistence of endometritis is associated with a retarded/failure of Mφ-driven, namely M2-driven, pro-resolving mechanisms. This suggests that endometrial Mφ content at 21 DPP shows the potential to assist in predicting the recovery or persistence of postpartum endometritis in dairy cows, and prompts for comprehensive validation studies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731125001648BovineEndometritisMacrophageNeutrophilsPuerperium
spellingShingle C. Anastácio
G. Pereira
E. Silva
R. Bexiga
L. Capela
J. Dupont
P. Humblot
L. Lopes-da-Costa
Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows
Animal
Bovine
Endometritis
Macrophage
Neutrophils
Puerperium
title Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows
title_full Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows
title_fullStr Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows
title_full_unstemmed Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows
title_short Associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows
title_sort associations between endometrial macrophages and persistence of endometritis in postpartum dairy cows
topic Bovine
Endometritis
Macrophage
Neutrophils
Puerperium
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731125001648
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