beta-hydroxybutyrate levels in peripheral blood and ketone bodies supplemented in culture media affect the in vitro chemotaxis of bovine leukocytes

The role of ketone bodies on chemotactic capacities of leukocytes was chara cterized in two experiments. Experiment I was performed to investigate the association between serum beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations (BHB) and in vitro chemotaxis of leukocytes. Cows were divided into low-BHB, medium-BHB, and high-BHB ones and classified according to their BHB. Leukocytes from h igh-BHB cows had a significantly lower chemotactic differential than leukoc ytes from low-BHB cows (p < 0.01). The effect of adding ketone bodies into in vitro chemotaxis cultures on leukocytes chemotaxis was studied in Experi ment II. Either individual or a combination of commercial ketone bodies - s odium salts of BHB (BHBA), lithium salt of acetoacetate (ACAC), and acetone (Acetone) - were diluted in culture media and divided into eight concentra tions corresponding to concentrations of bovine subclinical and clinical ke tosis. For leukocytes from medium- and high-BHB cow, the chemotactic indexe s of leukocytes were reduced by ACAC and Acetone. Chemotactic differentials of cultures with ACAC and acetone supplementation from both sources of leu kocytes were significantly lower than that of the control culture (p < 0.05 ). For leukocytes from high-BHB cows, chemotactic indexes were suppressed i n a ketone-body environment. In conclusion, leukocytes from naturally-occur ring ketotic cows have lower chemotactic differentials than those from non- ketotic cows, and a chemotactic capacity indicated by a chemotactic differe ntial is impaired when leukocytes migrate in an environment with ketone bod ies in vitro. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.