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Veterinary Sciences
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Recent Advances in the Diagnosis, Pathogenesis, and Control of Metabolic...
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Recent Advances in the Diagnosis, Pathogenesis, and Control of Metabolic and Immunological Diseases in Cattle

A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 4823

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lin Lei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Interests: clinical veterinary medicine; animal nutrition and metabolic diseases
Dr. Yuxiang Song

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Interests: immunity; metabolism; gut microbiota; ruminant health and disease prevention
Prof. Dr. Zipei Fan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Artificial Intelligence, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Interests: convolutional neural networks; attention mechanism; graph neural networks

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Animal stress physiology is an important and rapidly developing field that explores how animals respond to internal and external stressors, including transport, heat, disease, nutrition, and reproductive challenges. These stress responses are closely associated with metabolic balance, immune regulation, oxidative status, and overall animal welfare. This Special Issue welcomes original research and reviews on stress-related physiological changes in animals, with a particular focus on biomarkers, endocrine and immune responses, oxidative stress, and management strategies to improve health and productivity.

Dr. Lin Lei
Dr. Yuxiang Song
Prof. Dr. Zipei Fan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • transport stress
  • heat stress
  • pregnancy stress
  • nutritional stress
  • animal physiology
  • oxidative status
  • hormonal response
  • cortisol
  • thiol–disulfide balance
  • livestock health

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 231 KB  
Article
Serum Oxidative Status and Thiol-Disulfide Homeostasis in Late-Gestation Holstein Heifers with and Without a History of Mid-Gestation Transport
by Güzin Özkurt, Recep Bozkurt, Tamer Kayar, Seynur Ali Hatib and Ayşenur Baydar
Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(4), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13040356 - 5 Apr 2026
Viewed by 277
Abstract
Pregnancy in dairy cattle is characterized by marked metabolic adaptations that may influence oxidative balance. In this study, oxidative stress markers and thiol–disulfide homeostasis were evaluated in transported and non-transported Holstein heifers during the last trimester of gestation. Clinically healthy 2-year-old heifers were [...] Read more.
Pregnancy in dairy cattle is characterized by marked metabolic adaptations that may influence oxidative balance. In this study, oxidative stress markers and thiol–disulfide homeostasis were evaluated in transported and non-transported Holstein heifers during the last trimester of gestation. Clinically healthy 2-year-old heifers were divided into transported pregnant (n = 21) and non-transported pregnant (n = 9) groups. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein approximately 90 days (3 months) after the mid-gestation transport event. These samples were analyzed for total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), malondialdehyde (MDA), native thiol (NTL), total thiol (TTL), and disulfide levels. Total oxidant status and oxidative stress index values were significantly higher in the non-transported group (p < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed between groups in total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde, or thiol–disulfide parameters (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that metabolic adaptations specific to late gestation may influence systemic oxidant levels independently of transport exposure. Under the conditions of this study, transport did not induce a marked redox imbalance in pregnant Holstein heifers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis, Pathogenesis, and Control of Metabolic and Immunological Diseases in Cattle)
13 pages, 1746 KB  
Article
Knockout of the C4BPA Gene Promotes Mitophagy via Activation of the Pink1/Parkin Pathway and Alleviates the Inflammatory Response by Inhibiting the NF-κB Signalling Pathway in Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells
by Yanlong Zhou, Zhihui Zhao, Xuanxu Chen, Weihua Shao, Qiwen Lu, Qiuyan Tao, Qianchao Xu, Ruiwen Chen, Ping Jiang, Ziwei Lin and Haibin Yu
Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(2), 151; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13020151 - 4 Feb 2026
Viewed by 881
Abstract
Mastitis is a prevalent disease in the dairy cattle industry and has adverse effects on dairy cows’ health and milk quality. Importantly, mastitis is associated with the inflammatory response and mitophagy. As a complement-regulatory factor, C4b-binding protein alpha (C4BPA) has been shown to [...] Read more.
Mastitis is a prevalent disease in the dairy cattle industry and has adverse effects on dairy cows’ health and milk quality. Importantly, mastitis is associated with the inflammatory response and mitophagy. As a complement-regulatory factor, C4b-binding protein alpha (C4BPA) has been shown to modulate inflammatory factors. This study further investigates its role and mechanisms in regulating mitophagy and inflammatory responses. Following C4BPA knockout, bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) exhibited reduced expression of TLR4 and key pro-inflammatory cytokines, namely the tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Electron microscopy revealed a marked increase in mitochondrial membrane rupture, as well as cristae disorder and damage and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Moreover, Pink1 and Parkin protein levels were increased, as was LC3B lipidation (LC3B-II), whereas p62 protein expression was significantly downregulated. Immunofluorescence indicated substantially increased LC3 colocalization with mitochondria, suggesting that C4BPA gene knockout activated Pink1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy. The fact that C4BPA knockout decreased the levels of p-IκB and p-p65 while increasing those of IκBα and p65 therefore indicates its regulatory role in the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response. Together, these findings reveal that C4BPA deficiency in BMECs not only activates Pink1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy but also suppresses the NF-κB-mediated inflammatory response. This study provides novel potential molecular targets for predicting mastitis in dairy cattle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis, Pathogenesis, and Control of Metabolic and Immunological Diseases in Cattle)
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13 pages, 4878 KB  
Article
SideCow-VSS: A Video Semantic Segmentation Dataset and Benchmark for Intelligent Monitoring of Dairy Cows Health in Smart Ranch Environments
by Lei Yao, Jin Liu, Weinan Hong, Fanrong Kong, Zipei Fan, Lin Lei and Xinwei Li
Vet. Sci. 2025, 12(11), 1104; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12111104 - 19 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1021
Abstract
Accurate and non-invasive monitoring of dairy cows is a cornerstone of precision livestock farming, paving the way for proactive health management and earlier disease detection. The development of robust, AI-driven diagnostic tools, however, is hindered by a dual challenge: scarce realistic video datasets [...] Read more.
Accurate and non-invasive monitoring of dairy cows is a cornerstone of precision livestock farming, paving the way for proactive health management and earlier disease detection. The development of robust, AI-driven diagnostic tools, however, is hindered by a dual challenge: scarce realistic video datasets and a lack of standardized benchmarks for deep learning models. To confront these issues, this study puts forward SideCow-VSS, a video semantic segmentation dataset comprising 921 side-view clips with dense, pixel-level annotations of dairy cows under variable on-farm conditions. We systematically evaluated eight deep learning architectures, from classic convolutional neural networks to state-of-the-art Transformers. The evaluation highlighted a clear performance trade-off: the Mask2Former model with a Swin-L backbone yielded the highest mIoU at 97.32%, making it well-suited for detailed morphological analysis. In contrast, the lightweight PIDNet-s model achieved the fastest inference speed of 59.5 FPS, demonstrating its potential for real-time behavioral alerting systems. This work delivers a foundational resource and quantitative framework to inform model selection, accelerating the creation of computer vision systems for automated health monitoring and adopting preventive strategies against key metabolic and immunological disorders in dairy production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis, Pathogenesis, and Control of Metabolic and Immunological Diseases in Cattle)
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Review

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20 pages, 1640 KB  
Review
Choline as a Modulator of Periparturient Diseases in Dairy Cows
by Fenghong Wang, Yuanyin Guo, Xiu Su and Jie Cao
Vet. Sci. 2025, 12(10), 1016; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12101016 - 21 Oct 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1919
Abstract
Dairy cows experiencing negative energy balance (NEB) are prone to metabolic and inflammatory disorders, including ketosis, fatty liver, mastitis, endometritis, and hypocalcemia, which impair productive and reproductive performance. NEB elevates non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), leading to disrupted lipid metabolism characterized [...] Read more.
Dairy cows experiencing negative energy balance (NEB) are prone to metabolic and inflammatory disorders, including ketosis, fatty liver, mastitis, endometritis, and hypocalcemia, which impair productive and reproductive performance. NEB elevates non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), leading to disrupted lipid metabolism characterized by increased fatty acid synthesis (via SREBP-1c, ACC, FASN), impaired lipid export (downregulated MTTP, ApoB100, ACAT2), and reduced oxidation (suppressed SIRT1–PPARα–CPT1A/2 pathway), resulting in triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation and ketosis. Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) trigger oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis through JNK, p53/Nrf2, and PERK–eIF2α signaling, while HIF-2α–mediated hypoxia aggravates hepatic damage. Elevated NEFA/BHBA impair polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) chemotaxis and phagocytosis, promoting mastitis and endometritis, and hypocalcemia further weakens immune defense. Rumen-protected choline (RPC) improves lipid metabolism by enhancing VLDL assembly and TAG export (upregulating MTTP, ApoB100, ATG3; inhibiting SREBF1, DGAT2), stimulating fatty acid oxidation (activating AMPK–PPARα–CPT1α), and reducing oxidative stress (suppressing ROS–ERN1). Moreover, RPC decreases IL-6 and TNF-α levels and enhances antioxidant capacity and PMN function. Overall, RPC alleviates NEB-induced metabolic and inflammatory diseases, supporting its inclusion in periparturient management to mitigate NEB and associated disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis, Pathogenesis, and Control of Metabolic and Immunological Diseases in Cattle)
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