K-State researchers discover biomarker to detect cattle liver abscesses

MANHATTAN (KSNT) – A new discovery by two K-State University researchers found a method that may be used to detect liver abscesses in cattle.

The discovery found biochemicals unique to liver abscesses that could be biomarkers to detect liver abscesses in live cattle.

K-State Researchers Raghavendra Amachawadi and T.G. Nagaraja in the College of Veterinary Medicine led a team who published their findings in the Journal of Animal Science under ‘Metabolome of purulent materials of liver abscesses from crossbred cattle and Holstein steers fed finishing diets with or without in-feed tylosin‘.

“The major reason why we did the study is there is no diagnostic test available that detects whether an animal has an abscessed liver or not,” Nagaraja said. “The only time we see a liver abscess is after the animal is deceased. People have tried a number of different methods to diagnose; none of them is effective in detecting liver abscesses in a live animal, so our main goal is to develop a diagnostic test.”

The research will likely lead to methods to identify animals with abscessed livers while they’re still alive, according to Nagaraja. Abscesses aren’t usually discovered until cattle are deceased after spending three-to-five months in a feedlot. The finding could accelerate intervention testing.

In total, 759 biochemicals were found in naturally occurring abscesses found on the livers of deceased animals, according to K-State. The research will create a comprehensive biochemical analysis using the material collected from the liver abscesses.

The next step would be to identify which biomarkers from the study are present in living cattle, according to Amachawadi.

“Then we will pick a couple of them and make sure these are the molecules really important in causing an abscess,” Amachawadi said. “That helps us come up with intervention strategies to prevent this from happening.”

The study could help diagnose cattle with liver abscesses and assist in managing cattle by providing information on liver abscess status to feedlots, according to Nagaraja.

The study is the first part of a comprehensive analysis, according to K-State.