Table 4.

Least squares means of immune biomarker concentrations in blood in transition cows supplemented with rumen-protected methionine (MET) or unsupplemented (CON) at -10, +7, and +30 d. This data only represents the subset of cows used for polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) gene expression

Parameter	Diet		SEM1	P-value
	MET	CON		Diet	Time	Diet × Time
IL-1β2	3.63a	5.74b	0.69	0.05	0.17	0.70
ROM	12.29a	14.20b	0.23	<0.01	<0.01	0.05
MPO	466.87a	405.18b	15.89	0.02	0.14	0.44

^a,bStatistical difference (P ≤ 0.05) among time points within the same group

¹Largest standard error of the mean

²Significance (P < 0.05) for parity in the model