Liver metabolism and health in dairy cows during the periparturient period are affected by plane of nutrition prepartum. Long-term adaptations in hepatic gene expression are important for complete understanding of liver function. We examined temporal gene expression profiles during the dry period and early lactation in liver of Holstein cows fed moderate dietary energy ad libitum or restricted during the entire dry period using a microarray consisting of 7,872 annotated cattle cDNA inserts and

more »

... uantitative RT-PCR. We identified 85 genes with expression patterns that were affected by level of energy intake prepartum over time. Restricted energy intake prepartum resulted in more pronounced upregulation of genes with key functions in hepatic fatty acid oxidation (CPT1A, ADI-POR2), gluconeogenesis (PC), and cholesterol synthesis (SC4MOL). Ad libitum feeding upregulated a number of genes associated with liver triacylglycerol synthesis (DGAT1) and proinflammatory cytokines (TNFAIP3). Genomic responses to ad libitum feeding were accompanied by increased incorporation of palmitate to esterified products in vitro and increased liver triacylglycerol concentration in vivo. Overall, gene expression profiles due to plane of nutrition prepartum partly explained differences in rates of liver palmitate metabolism, blood serum metabolite concentrations, and liver tissue triacylglycerol concentration. Our data show that moderate overfeeding of energy in the dry period, in the absence of obesity, results in transcriptional changes predisposing cows to fatty liver and perhaps compromising overall liver health during the periparturient period. In this context, controlled energy intake may confer an advantage to the cow by triggering hepatic molecular adaptations well ahead of parturition. lactation; bovine; energy balance; metabolism THE MAJORITY OF HEALTH PROBLEMS affecting dairy cows occur during the "periparturient" period (i.e., the 6-wk period around parturition; Refs. 10, 14) . Suboptimal nutritional management during the periparturient period can impact the incidence of clinical or subclinical disease and thus animal well-being. Many of the common periparturient health disorders are strongly linked to energy balance (36). Increasing evidence implicates subclinical ketosis and fatty liver as predisposing factors for energy-associated disease as well as other metabolic and infectious problems (14, 3). Hepatocyte differentiation and Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: J.