Prepartal overfeeding alters the lipidomic profiles in the liver and the adipose tissue of transition dairy cows

Introduction: Physiological adaptations in the energy metabolism of dairy cows during the periparturient period are partly mediated by insulin resistance (IR), which may subsequently induce metabolic disorders postpartum. The molecular mechanisms underlying IR in dairy cows are largely unknown. Objective: This study aimed to find a novel insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying IR in dairy cows during the periparturient period by analyzing the effects of prepartal overfeeding on the lipidomic profiles in the liver and adipose tissue (AT). Methods: Sixteen cows were allocated to controlled-energy and high-energy feeding groups. Lipidomic profiling was conducted on liver and adipose tissue samples collected at 8 days prior to the predicted parturition, and 1 day (only AT) and 9 days after the actual parturition. Results: Five ceramides (Cers) were identified to be significantly increased by prepartal overfeeding in AT in the analysis of the variance between groups within time points. Principal component-linear discriminant analysis showed that lipidomic profiles between the feeding groups were mainly characterized by phosphatidylcholines (PC), phosphatidylethanolamines (PE), lysophophosphatidylcholines (LysoPC), and lysophosphatidylethanolamines (LysoPE) in the liver, and by Cer, PE, and phosphatidylinositols (PI) in AT. Lipid class levels indicated that prepartal overfeeding elevated the concentration of PE, PI, LysoPC, LysoPE, and sphingomyelin in the liver, and increased the concentration of Cer in AT during the periparturient period. Conclusion: Prepartal overfeeding significantly altered the concentrations of various sphingolipids, phospholipids, and lysophospholipids in the liver and AT of dairy cows during the periparturient period.