Immunosuppression, sialic acid, and sialyltransferase of neonatal and maternal bovine serum.

Serum samples of 7 cows from -10 to +10 days following parturition and of 7 calves from 0 to 20 days following birth were tested for the ability to inhibit mitogen-stimulated proliferation of lymphocytes, for cortisol and progesterone concentrations, and for sialic acid and sialyltransferase activity. Calf serum inhibited phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated proliferation of lymphocytes, with maximal inhibition at 12-24 h following birth, whereas no consistent immunosuppressive activity was detected in the maternal serum. Sialic acid was greatly elevated in calf serum (4.8 +/- 0.2 mumol/ml) relative to adult control values (1.3 +/- 0.1) and decreased continuously from day 0 to day 20. Sialic acid of maternal serum was slightly elevated prior to parturition (1.7 +/- 0.1) and increased to peak at 2.5 +/- 0.1 on day 8 following parturition. Sialyltransferase of both maternal and calf serum increased dramatically following parturition to peak at day 2. For calf serum, a moderate correlation was observed between sialic acid and cortisol concentration (r = 0.71) and between sialic acid and suppression of PHA-stimulated proliferation (r = 0.60). The results demonstrate that serum of 12-24 h-old calves is immunosuppressive in vitro, and suggest that changes in sialic metabolism may accompany cortisol-related immunosuppression in these animals.