Case – Control study: Evaluation of plasma procalcitonin concentration as an indicator of inflammation in healthy and sick cows

Case–Control Study: Endogenous Procalcitonin and Protein Carbonylated Content as a Potential Biomarker of Subclinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows

“…Indeed, in this study, a different ELISA kit was used, and it is the only study in cattle that used serum as the matrix. A potential explanation for the differences between our study and that of Bonelli et al [ 23 ] lies in the specific diseases investigated. Our study focused on subclinical and localized disease, which triggers a limited systemic response [ 60 ], while in Bonelli et al’s [ 23 ] study, the cows included were affected by diseases that required hospitalization.…”

“…A potential explanation for the differences between our study and that of Bonelli et al [ 23 ] lies in the specific diseases investigated. Our study focused on subclinical and localized disease, which triggers a limited systemic response [ 60 ], while in Bonelli et al’s [ 23 ] study, the cows included were affected by diseases that required hospitalization. In contrast, El-Deeb et al [ 22 ] examined mastitis associated only with Staphylococcus aureus infection, and it is well documented in human medicine that PCT levels vary depending on the etiological agent [ 13 ].…”

“…The results of our study revealed an interesting finding, indicating that PCT can effectively differentiate healthy cows from those with subclinical mastitis. These results are in line with the existing literature on calves [ 25 , 26 , 27 ], cows [ 22 , 23 , 24 ], horses [ 4 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 57 ], and foals [ 20 ]. In humans, it has been observed that PCT increases in response to stimulation by TNF-α and IL-1β [ 7 ].…”

“…The mean sensitivity and specificity achieved at the best cut-off value was acceptable (66.2% and 69.2%, respectively). These results were comparable to those found in cows hospitalized for bacterial infection (Se 73.6% and Sp 60%) [ 23 ] and better than those observed in cows with subclinical mastitis in Neumann et al’s study (Se 66%; Sp 35%) [ 24 ]. Previous studies in horses, calves, and cows have reported sensitivity and specificity for the determined cut-off values ranging from 81% to 100% and from 69% to 97.1%, respectively [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…In veterinary medicine, PCT was also found to be a reliable biomarker for various diseases condition. Several studies have been conducted in large animals using PCT as a biomarker of bacterial infections, for example, in adult horses [ 4 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], foals [ 20 , 21 ], adult cows [ 22 , 23 , 24 ], and calves [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. In all these studies, plasma PCT levels have demonstrated the ability to distinguish between sick and healthy animals, but the deep knowledge that PCT brings for human medicine is still missing in veterinary species.…”