Markers of inflammation in free-living African elephants (Loxodonta africana): Reference intervals and diagnostic performance of acute phase reactants.
Vet Clin Pathol
; 52 Suppl 1: 75-86, 2023 Feb.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36303463
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Acute phase reactants (APRs) have not been investigated in free-living African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and there is little information about negative APRs albumin and serum iron in elephants.OBJECTIVES:
We aimed to generate reference intervals (RIs) for APRs for free-living African elephants, and to determine the diagnostic performance of APRs in apparently healthy elephants and elephants with inflammatory lesions.METHODS:
Stored serum samples from 49 apparently healthy and 16 injured free-living elephants were used. The following APRs and methods were included albumin, bromocresol green; haptoglobin, colorimetric assay; serum amyloid A (SAA), multispecies immunoturbidometric assay, and serum iron with ferrozine method. Reference intervals were generated using the nonparametric method. Indices of diagnostic accuracy were determined by receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis.RESULTS:
Reference intervals were albumin 41-55 g/L, haptoglobin 0.16-3.51 g/L, SAA < 10 mg/L, and serum iron 8.60-16.99 µmol/L. Serum iron and albumin concentrations were lower and haptoglobin and SAA concentrations were higher in the injured group. Serum iron had the best ability to predict health or inflammation, followed by haptoglobin, SAA, and albumin, with the area under the ROC curve ranging from 0.88-0.93.CONCLUSIONS:
SAA concentrations were lower in healthy African vs Asian elephants, and species-specific RIs should be used. Serum iron was determined to be a diagnostically useful negative APR which should be added to APR panels for elephants.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Proteínas de Fase Aguda
/
Elefantes
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
África do Sul