Association of inflammatory cytokine profiles in the cervical mucus with the mode of calving ease after induction of parturition in overdue cows

During normal cervical ripening in cows, there is an increase in the concentrations of various cytokines in the cervical mucus, which may be a marker of the progression of cervical ripening. However, the cytokine dynamics during abnormal delivery remain unclear. We aimed to clarify the relationship between the concentrations of various cytokines in the cervical mucus of cows past the expected date of calving and the occurrence of dystocia after calving. Cervical mucus was collected from 145 Japanese Black cows with a gestational period of 295 days or longer (overdue cows), and calving was induced immediately after collection. Interleukin (IL)-1α, 1β, 6, 8, 10, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α concentrations in the mucus were determined. Cytokine concentrations were compared between the eutocia (n = 121) and dystocia (n = 24) groups. Concentrations of IL-1α, IL-8, and TNFα were lower in the dystocia group than in the eutocia group (P < 0.05). To evaluate the accuracy of dystocia prediction, the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for IL-1α, IL-8, and TNFα were calculated, with values of 0.638, 0.712, and 0.709, respectively. In conclusion, IL-1α, IL-8 and TNFα concentrations in cervical mucus of overdue cows may be suitable indicators for screening animals at risk of dystocia.