1H-Nuclear magnetic resonance-based plasma metabolic profiling of dairy cows with clinical and subclinical ketosis

The purpose of this study was to assess the metabolic profile of plasma samples from cows with clinical and subclinical ketosis. According to clinical signs and 3-hydroxybutyrate plasma levels, 81 multiparous Holstein cows were selected from a dairy farm 7 to 21 d after calving. The cows were divided into 3 groups: cows with clinical ketosis, cows with subclinical ketosis, and healthy control cows. H-1-Nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics was used to assess the plasma metabolic profiles of the 3 groups. The data were analyzed by principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis. The differences in metabolites among the 3 groups were assessed. The orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis model differentiated the 3 groups of plasma samples. The model predicted clinical ketosis with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 100%. In the case of subclinical ketosis, the model had a sensitivity of 97.0% and specificity of 95.7%. Twenty-five metabolites, including acetoacetate, acetone, lactate, glucose, choline, glutamic acid, and glutamine, were different among the 3 groups. Among the 25 metabolites, 4 were upregulated, 7 were downregulated, and 14 were both upregulated and downregulated. The results indicated that plasma H-1-nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics, coupled with pattern recognition analytical methods, not only has the sensitivity and specificity to distinguish cows with clinical and subclinical ketosis from healthy controls, but also has the potential to be developed into a clinically useful diagnostic tool that could contribute to a further understanding of the disease mechanisms.