Proteomic analysis reveals greater abundance of complement and inflammatory proteins in subcutaneous adipose tissue from postpartum cows treated with sodium salicylate.

This study aimed to investigate sodium salicylate (SS) treatment effects on the proteome of adipose tissue (AT) in postpartum cows. Twenty Holstein cows were assigned to control (CON, n = 10) or SS (n = 10) provided via drinking water (2.3 g/L) during the first 7 d of lactation. Subcutaneous AT was collected on d 7 of treatment and label-free quantitative shotgun proteomics and immunoblotting were analyzed in a subset of 5 AT per group. Eighty out of 1422 proteins (5.6%) were differentially abundant between CON and SS [fold change ±1.5, P < 0.05]. Top canonical pathways differing between CON and SS (Ingenuity) were complement system, interleukin-10 signaling, and acute phase response signaling. The abundances of complement C1r, C1qC, C1qB and C6 were greater in SS than CON. Regarding IL-10 signaling, the abundances of BLVRB, STAT3, and lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) were greater in SS AT compared to CON. Immunoblots revealed increased abundance of paraoxanase-1 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, as well as a tendency for greater abundance of cluster differentiation 172a in SS AT, which may indicate of increased macrophage infiltration. SS treatment postpartum likely promotes inflammatory signaling in AT of dairy cows, perhaps due to immune cell recruitment. SIGNIFICANCE: This work demonstrates that treating early lactating cows with sodium salicylate, an anti-inflammatory agent that has been shown to have metabolic effects and increase milk production in dairy cows, affects the proteome of subcutaneous adipose tissue in early lactating dairy cows. Unexpectedly, sodium salicylate treatment enriched inflammatory pathways of the complement system, cytokine signaling, and acute phase response, as revealed by proteomic analysis of subcutaneous adipose tissues from cows at 7 d postpartum. These findings imply that SS treatment during the first 7 d of lactation likely promotes inflammatory signaling in AT of the dairy cow, perhaps due to immune cell recruitment. Tissue-specific impacts of systemic sodium salicylate requires further scrutiny.