Whey Protein Patterns of Milk from Cows with Experimentally Produced Mastitis

Abstract

Whey protein patterns were determined on milk samples from cows in which experimentally induced mastiffs was being studied. In two trials in which the cows showed increased temperatures, decreased production, and grossly abnormal milk, there were marked changes in the whey protein patterns. In the third trial, the attempt to produce mastitis resulted in increased cell counts and CMT scores, but no other definite evidence o mastiffs. The changes in the whey protein patterns of samples collected during this trial were slight. In the third trial, it appeared that increases in cell numbers and CMT scores were more sensitive than changes in whey proteins as indicators of inflammation of the mammary gland. Whey protein analysis may be useful in studying the physiological responses in attempts to experimentally induce mastiffs under controlled conditions. Blood serum albumin, immune globulins, alactalbumin and fl-lactoglobulin are proteins found in nfilk whey. The first two are blood proteins which pass into the milk; the latter two are synthesized in the mammary gland (1). Increased capillary permeability during inflammation may allow the passage of blood proteins from capillaries to milk at a rate faster than normal. Under these conditions the relative proportion of blood proteins in the whey could increase. Increases or decreases in the rate of protein synthesis in the mammary gland would likewise influence the relative proportion of each of the fractions present in the whey. It has been suggested that increases in the blood protein fractions in whey, especially the blood serum albumin fraction, may be a sensitive indicator of increased capillary permeability which occurs in inflammation (2).