{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T08:55:33Z","timestamp":1773996933330,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]],"date-time":"2026-03-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773792000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008099","name":"Estonian University of Life Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008099","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Newborn sheep rely on passive transfer of immunity via colostrum as well as innate immunity for survival and adaptation to the extrauterine environment. This study examined associations between immunomodulatory constituents of colostrum, namely, immunoglobulin G (IgG), acute-phase proteins (APPs; serum amyloid A (SAA), and haptoglobin) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and their corresponding concentrations in serum of 2\u20133-day-old offspring in a cohort of 296 Dorper lambs across three consecutive years. It also assessed the effects of these immunological markers on average daily weight gain (ADWG) during the first four months of life. IgG, APP, and IL-6 concentrations were measured, and mixed linear regression models were used for all analyses. Colostrum and serum concentrations of IgG and IL-6 were positively associated, whereas SAA levels in colostrum were negatively associated with IgG concentrations in serum. Serum IL-6 concentration was negatively associated with colostrum concentrations of IgG and SAA. Serum IgG concentration was positively associated with ADWG, while SAA and IL-6 concentrations were negatively associated with ADWG. These results show the importance of immunomodulating factors in colostrum other than IgG and emphasize the long-term effect of the serum concentrations of these factors on growth performance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16060952","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]],"date-time":"2026-03-18T14:14:05Z","timestamp":1773843245000},"page":"952","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effect of Colostrum Components on Early Inflammatory Response, IgG Concentration and Weight Gain in Lambs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Marina","family":"Erm","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8245-8287","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ma\u00eblle","family":"Beck","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Joanna","family":"Bajzert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Wroc\u0142aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wroc\u0142aw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ants","family":"Kuks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8982-211X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tadeusz","family":"Stefaniak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Wroc\u0142aw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wroc\u0142aw, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kristel","family":"Peetsalu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4895-8029","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Toomas","family":"Orro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Estonian University of Life Sciences, 51006 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jri.2010.08.062","article-title":"A review of immune transfer by the placenta","volume":"87","author":"Chucri","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Reprod. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104624","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2021.104624","article-title":"Lambs need colostrum: A review","volume":"251","author":"Agenbag","year":"2021","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Puppel, K., Go\u0142\u0119biewski, M., Grodkowski, G., Sl\u00f3sarz, J., Kunowska-Sl\u00f3sarz, M., Solarczyk, P., \u0141ukasiewicz, M., Balcerak, M., and Przysucha, T. (2019). Composition and factors affecting quality of bovine colostrum: A review. Animals, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani9121070"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.2527\/jas.2008-1377","article-title":"Immune components of bovine colostrum and milk","volume":"87","author":"Stelwagen","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"831","DOI":"10.1017\/S1751731114003243","article-title":"Colostrum production in ewes: A review of regulation mechanisms and of energy supply","volume":"9","author":"Banchero","year":"2015","journal-title":"Animal"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104033","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2020.104033","article-title":"The relationship between colostrum quality, passive transfer of immunity and birth and weaning weight in neonatal calves","volume":"238","author":"Turini","year":"2020","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5536","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2010-3253","article-title":"The influence of colostral immunoglobulin concentration in heifer calves\u2019 serum on their health and growth","volume":"94","author":"Rzasa","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"204","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2014-8350","article-title":"The effect of colostrum source (goat vs. sheep) and timing of the first colostrum feeding (2 h vs. 14 h after birth) on body weight and immune status of artificially reared newborn lambs","volume":"98","author":"Torres","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"119","article-title":"Maternal immunoglobulin in the serum of newborn lambs and its relation with neonatal mortality","volume":"10","author":"Demis","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Anim. Feed Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111","DOI":"10.2460\/javma.229.1.111","article-title":"Effect of passive transfer status on preweaning growth performance in dairy lambs","volume":"229","author":"Massimini","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rvsc.2018.10.013","article-title":"Acute phase response in organic lambs associated with colostrum serum amyloid A, weight gain, and Cryptosporidium and Giardia infections","volume":"121","author":"Niine","year":"2018","journal-title":"Res. Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6608","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2013-7571","article-title":"Effect of the mass of immunoglobulin (Ig) G intake and age at first colostrum feeding on serum IgG concentration in Holstein calves","volume":"97","author":"Osaka","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2733","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2020-20114","article-title":"Invited review: The importance of colostrum in the newborn dairy calf","volume":"105","author":"Lopez","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105988","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2023.105988","article-title":"Defining optimal thresholds for digital Brix refractometry to determine IgG concentration in ewe colostrum and lamb serum in Scottish lowland sheep flocks","volume":"218","author":"Hamer","year":"2023","journal-title":"Prev. Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2019.01.002","article-title":"Serum amyloid A and haptoglobin concentrations in relation to growth and colostrum intake in neonatal lambs","volume":"220","author":"Peetsalu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"387","article-title":"Interrelationships of serum and colostral IgG (passive immunity) with total protein concentrations and health status in lambs","volume":"25","year":"2018","journal-title":"Kafkas Univ. Vet. Fak. Derg."},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"3706","article-title":"Colostrum composition of Santa In\u00eas sheep and passive transfer of immunity to lambs","volume":"98","author":"Alves","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5542","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2018-16235","article-title":"Immunoglobulin G content and colostrum composition of different goat and sheep breeds in Switzerland and Germany","volume":"102","author":"Kessler","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"183","DOI":"10.1016\/S0165-2427(00)00213-0","article-title":"Detection of cytokines in bovine colostrum","volume":"76","author":"Hagiwara","year":"2000","journal-title":"Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"366","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022029916000273","article-title":"A proteomics study of colostrum and milk from the two major small ruminant dairy breeds from the Canary Islands: A bovine milk comparison perspective","volume":"83","author":"Almeida","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Dairy Res."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4207","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jprot.2012.04.004","article-title":"Acute phase proteins in ruminants","volume":"75","author":"Ceciliani","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Proteom."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1077","DOI":"10.1002\/prca.201600028","article-title":"Acute phase proteins as promising biomarkers: Perspectives and limitations for human and veterinary medicine","volume":"10","author":"Wendler","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proteomics Clin. Appl."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"621","DOI":"10.1042\/bj2650621","article-title":"Interleukin-6 and the acute phase response","volume":"265","author":"Heinrich","year":"1990","journal-title":"Biochem. J."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"74","DOI":"10.1016\/0167-5699(94)90137-6","article-title":"The acute phase response","volume":"15","author":"Baumann","year":"1994","journal-title":"Immunol. Today"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"335","DOI":"10.1615\/CritRevImmunol.v32.i4.40","article-title":"Immune functions of serum amyloid A","volume":"32","author":"Eklund","year":"2012","journal-title":"Crit. Rev. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"182","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tvjl.2007.02.010","article-title":"Temporal changes in serum concentrations of acute phase proteins in newborn dairy calves","volume":"176","author":"Orro","year":"2008","journal-title":"Vet. J."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6207","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2021-21562","article-title":"Effect of colostrum on the acute-phase response in neonatal dairy calves","volume":"105","author":"Peetsalu","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Shinya, U., Yamato, O., Iwamura, Y., Kato, T., Hamada, Y., Widodo, O.S., Taniguchi, M., and Takagi, M. (2025). Serum amyloid A concentrations in young Japanese Black Cattle: Relationship with colostrum intake and establishing cut-off concentrations. Animals, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15091239"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hern\u00e1ndez-Castellano, L.E., Almeida, A.M., Ventosa, M., Coelho, A.V., Castro, N., and Arg\u00fcello, A. (2014). The effect of colostrum intake on blood plasma proteome profile in newborn lambs: Low abundance proteins. BMC Vet. Res., 10.","DOI":"10.1186\/1746-6148-10-85"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1292\/jvms1939.44.15","article-title":"Quantitative determination of bovine serum haptoglobin and its elevation in some inflammatory diseases","volume":"44","author":"Makimura","year":"1982","journal-title":"Jpn. J. Vet. Sci."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.1080\/01652176.1994.9694410","article-title":"Concentrations of serum amyloid-A (SAA) and haptoglobin (HP) as parameters of inflammatory diseases in cattle","volume":"16","author":"Alsemgeest","year":"1994","journal-title":"Vet. Q."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.17221\/57\/2020-VETMED","article-title":"Passive immunity in lambs: Colostral and serum \u03b3-glutamyltransferase as a predictor of IgG concentration and related to the diseases from birth to 12 weeks of life","volume":"66","author":"Kirmizigul","year":"2021","journal-title":"Vet. Med."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.32707\/ercivet.1517202","article-title":"Relationship between growth performance, passive immunity and health in preweaned lambs","volume":"21","author":"Cihan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Erciyes \u00dcniv. Vet. Fak. Derg."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100796","DOI":"10.1016\/j.animal.2023.100796","article-title":"Review: Implantation and placentation in ruminants","volume":"17","author":"Davenport","year":"2023","journal-title":"Animal"},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"249","article-title":"Colostrum requirement of newborn lambs. 2. Communication: Feeding duration","volume":"20","author":"Klobasa","year":"1992","journal-title":"Terarztl. Prax."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"535","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cvfa.2019.07.005","article-title":"Colostrum management for dairy calves","volume":"35","author":"Godden","year":"2019","journal-title":"Vet. Clin. N. Am. Food Anim. Pract."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"431","DOI":"10.1051\/rnd:2006023","article-title":"From birth to colostrum: Early steps leading to lamb survival","volume":"46","author":"Nowak","year":"2006","journal-title":"Reprod. Nutr. Dev."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1053","DOI":"10.1111\/cmi.12257","article-title":"Commensal microbiota stimulate systemic neutrophil migration through induction of serum amyloid A","volume":"16","author":"Kanther","year":"2014","journal-title":"Cell Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Murdoch, C.C., Espenschied, S.T., Matty, M.A., Mueller, O., Tobin, D.M., and Rawls, J.F. (2019). Intestinal serum amyloid A suppresses systemic neutrophil activation and bactericidal activity in response to microbiota colonization. PLOS Pathog., 15.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.ppat.1007381"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1007\/s11259-025-10646-7","article-title":"Deciphering the colostral-immunity transfer: From mammary gland to neonates small intestine","volume":"49","author":"Abdelrahman","year":"2025","journal-title":"Vet. Res. Commun."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Qian, S., Li, C., Liu, X., Jia, X., Xiao, Y., and Li, Z. (2021). Activation of the JNK\/MAPK signaling pathway by TGF-\u03b21 enhances neonatal Fc receptor expression and IgG transcytosis. Microorganisms, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms9040879"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2999","DOI":"10.4049\/jimmunol.179.5.2999","article-title":"NF-kappaB signaling regulates functional expression of the MHC class I-related neonatal Fc receptor for IgG via intronic binding sequences","volume":"179","author":"Liu","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Immunol."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"414","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-2143(98)90112-3","article-title":"Effect of serum amyloid A on selected in vitro functions of isolated human neutrophils","volume":"132","author":"Gatt","year":"1998","journal-title":"J. Lab. Clin. Med."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bbrc.2020.12.024","article-title":"Demonstration of fibrinogen-FcRn binding at acidic pH by means of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy","volume":"536","author":"Vesco","year":"2021","journal-title":"Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1029","DOI":"10.1189\/jlb.0703306","article-title":"Fc\u03b3RIIa expression with Fc\u03b3RI results in C-reactive protein-and IgG-mediated phagocytosis","volume":"75","author":"Gregory","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Leukoc. Biol."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"697","DOI":"10.1111\/jvim.16647","article-title":"Effect of plasma transfusion on serum amyloid A concentration in healthy neonatal foals and foals with failure of transfer of passive immunity","volume":"37","author":"Palmisano","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Vet. Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"435","DOI":"10.1002\/2211-5463.12383","article-title":"Serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) protein in human colostrum","volume":"8","author":"Sack","year":"2018","journal-title":"FEBS Open Bio"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7043","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2022-22448","article-title":"Association between transfer of passive immunity, health, and performance of female dairy calves from birth to weaning","volume":"106","author":"Sutter","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/j.livsci.2016.12.007","article-title":"Health and growth of Finnish beef calves and the relation to acute phase response","volume":"196","author":"Eerola","year":"2017","journal-title":"Livest. Sci."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6353","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2022-22669","article-title":"Associations of neonatal acute phase response with first lactation performance in dairy cows","volume":"106","author":"Loch","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1758","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2008-1847","article-title":"Improving passive transfer of immunoglobulins in calves. II: Interaction between feeding method and volume of colostrum fed","volume":"92","author":"Godden","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101082","DOI":"10.1016\/j.animal.2024.101082","article-title":"Intramammary administration of lipopolysaccharides at parturition enhances immunoglobulin concentration in goat colostrum","volume":"18","author":"Torres","year":"2024","journal-title":"Animal"}],"container-title":["Animals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/6\/952\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T05:28:44Z","timestamp":1773984524000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/6\/952"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]]},"references-count":52,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["ani16060952"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani16060952","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2615"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2615","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,18]]}}}