Polymorphonuclear neutrophil profile in genital discharge vis-à-vis pregnancy outcome in crossbred cows: Effect of varying cow fertility and insemination from different bulls

Abstract The study investigated the relationship between count and/or viability percentage of polymorphonuclear neutrophil(s) (PMN) in genital discharge and pregnancy outcome during 180 estrous periods in 163 normal and repeat breeder. The relationship was also evaluated as a response to AI by three of the most frequently used bulls. The estrous periods leading to pregnancy in the normal cows were considered fertile (FE; n  = 66), whereas others with pregnancy failure were considered non-fertile in the remaining normal (NFE; n  = 86) and the entire group of repeat breeder cows (RB; n  = 28) cows. Another set of reproductively healthy cows, not inseminated, were also studied (C; n  = 10). The PMN characteristics were investigated in 3 μl fraction of cervical discharge, aspirated initially at mid-estrus in C/pre-AI in the inseminated cows and subsequently 18 to 24 h later. The first sample did not reveal PMN in all the cows. However, there was a variable PMN response in the second sample. The PMN count of 9.3 ± 1.9 in the C group was least and significantly less than the FE and NFE groups. A count of 90.9 ± 8.4 in the FE group was greater ( P P  = 0.10) and HF-5 (38.5 ± 10.1 compared with 92.9 ± 26.5; P