Acute phase proteins in cattle, swine
The major acute phase proteins (APPs) in cattle are haptoglobin (Hp) and serum amyloid A (SAA), and in swine, they are Hp, SAA, C-reactive protein (CRP) and Pig major acute phase protein (Pig-MAP). Many methodologic assays are presently available to measure these parameters, which are still being improved to increase their specificity, sensitivity, user-friendliness and economic availability.
This review article was authored by Yolanda Saco and Anna Bassols and published in December 2022 in Veterinary Clinical Pathology. The authors said that in cattle, the main applications are the diagnosis and monitoring of frequent diseases such as mastitis and metritis in dairy cows and respiratory problems in young calves.
In pigs, APPs are useful in the control of bacterial and viral infections, and they may be used at the slaughterhouse to monitor subclinical pathologies and to improve food safety.
The utility of APP in animal production must not be overlooked. Optimization of protocols to improve performance, welfare and nutrition may benefit from the use of APPs.
Other sample types besides serum or plasma have potential uses. APP determination in milk is a powerful tool in the control of mastitis, saliva is a non-invasive sample type and meat juice is easily obtained at the slaughterhouse. Increasing our knowledge of reference intervals and the influence of variables such as age, breed, sex and the season is important. Worldwide harmonization and standardization of analytical procedures will help to expand the use of APPs.
The authors conclude in the article that the main limitation of using APPs is the lack of specificity. Nevertheless, this is also the main strength. Acute phase proteins have been extensively investigated in diseases, but their use as monitoring tools for production and welfare purposes deserves to be recognized and further explored. One important bottleneck identified long ago is the standardization and harmonization of diagnostic testing and the establishment of reference intervals.
Yolanda Saco and Anna Bassols. “Acute phase proteins in cattle and swine: A review.” Vet Clin Pathol. 16 December 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/vcp.13220
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