Association of Bovine Leukocyte Antigen (BoLA) DRB3.2 with Immune Response, Mastitis, and Production and Type Traits in Canadian Holsteins

Data collected from 328 Canadian Holsteins in a research herd at the University of Guelph were used to study associations among expression of bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA) DRB3.2 alleles, immune response, mastitis resistance via somatic cell counts (SCC), and clinical mastitis, as well as to extend these results to production and type traits. Accordingly, groups of cows were evaluated in vivo for both the antibody-mediated immune response (AMIR) and the cell-mediated immune response (CMIR), which generally predominate in responses to extracellular and intracellular pathogens, respectively. Of note was that associations between BoLA DRB3.2 alleles and immune responses tended to be in the opposite sign for the 2 AMIR and CMIR traits examined. For example, alleles DRB3.2*3 and *24 were associated with higher AMIR but lower CMIR, whereas allele *22 was associated with lower AMIR but higher CMIR. This finding is in agreement with the hypothesis that both traits are genetically independent and represent opposing type 1 and type 2 immune responses. Additionally, BoLA DRB3.2*3 and *11 were associated with lower SCC, whereas alleles *22 and *23 were associated with higher SCC. Finally, allele DRB3.2*3 was also associated with less clinical mastitis, whereas allele *8 was associated with higher mastitis risk. Allele *3 was of particular relevance because it was associated with increased antibodies, as well as reduced mastitis and SCC. This could be due to an indirect relationship between the ability to produce a high antibody response and enhanced defense against intrammamary infections caused by extracellular pathogens. Consequently, the BoLA DRB3.2*3 allele should be investigated further as a candidate for resistance to some types of intramammary infections, the important caveat being its association with lower CMIR, particularly with one of the test antigens used to evaluate delayed-type hypersensitivity. The results of associations between BoLA DRB3.2 and production traits were, in some cases, antagonistic in that BoLA DRB3.2 alleles *11 and *23, which are associated with increased production traits, were associated with lower and higher SCC, respectively. Collectively, these findings advocate the use of alleles *3, *23, and *22 as reference points for more detailed mechanistic studies. This does not imply that genetic selection for mastitis resistance should be based on BoLA alleles, but that information on a variety of genes may aid in identification and selection for improved health.