Acute phase proteins in serum and milk from dairy cows with clinical mastitis

Abstract

The serum concentrations of haptoglobin, serum amyloid A and alpha1 acid glycoprotein were determined in serum collected from healthy dairy cows and cows with clinical mastitis, graded as mild (clots in milk) or moderate (clots in milk and visible signs of inflammation in the mammary gland/s) to assess their relative diagnostic value in detecting the disease. The concentrations of haptoglobin and serum amyloid A were also measured in milk collected from infected and uninfected quarters. The concentrations of haptoglobin and serum amyloid A were higher in the serum and milk from the cows with mild or moderate mastitis. The diagnostic value of haptoglobin in differentiating between healthy animals and those with mastitis gave sensitivities and specificities of 82 per cent and 94 per cent respectively with serum and 86 per cent and 100 per cent with milk. The diagnostic value of serum amyloid A in differentiating between healthy animals and those with mastitis gave sensitivities and specificities of 83 per cent and 90 per cent with serum and 93 per cent and 100 per cent with milk. The diagnostic value of serum alpha1 acid glycoprotein in differentiating between healthy animals and those with mastitis gave sensitivities and specificities of 62 per cent and 91 per cent.

Serum amyloid A and TNF? in serum and milk during experimental endotoxin mastitis

“…2). This supports the idea that SAA must be produced and regulated both locally and systemically [5,17]. In serum, the peak concentration of SAA was significantly higher in LL than in EL, but otherwise the concentrations were comparable, and individual differences were minimal.…”

“…The concentrations were higher than those found in spontaneous mastitis [5]. SAA peaked earlier in the milk than in the serum, but the concentrations of serum SAA did not follow those of milk (Fig.…”

“…The concentration of SAA in serum and milk was determined using ELISA (Tridelta Development, Wicklow, Ireland) as described by Eckersall et al [5]. For high SAA concentrations, the samples were diluted as 654 T. Lehtolainen et al necessary.…”

“…SAA has been shown to reflect the severity of mastitis; cows with clinical mastitis had almost 100-fold levels of SAA in serum and milk compared with healthy cows [5]. SAA is mainly produced in the liver but is also produced extrahepatically by macrophages, endothelial cells and smooth-muscle cells [5,12,17,30].…”

“…The effects of SAA may differ locally and systemically and may be concentrationdependent [30]. Local and systemic production of SAA may also be governed by different control mechanisms [5].…”