Longitudinal analysis of acute-phase proteins in saliva in pig farms with different health status

Abstract

This study assesses the utility of saliva samples to monitor the time course of the acute-phase response to different viruses in pigs under field conditions by using time-resolved immunofluorometric assays (TR-IFMA). A total of 30 pigs from three different farms, located in Southeast Spain, were used. Farm 1 had outbreaks of porcine circovirus type 2, farm 2 had infections with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and farm 3 had concomitant infections with both viruses. Serology was used to determine the time of seroconversion of pigs to two different pathogens. The levels of two acute-phase proteins (APPs), C-reactive protein (CRP) and haptoglobin (Hp), were measured in saliva and serum samples and compared with pig's serology. Kinetic curves of both APPs across the study obtained in saliva samples were similar to those of serum, with R of 0.68 and 0.78 for CRP and Hp, respectively. The median CRP and Hp concentrations in saliva were higher around the theorized time of infection, according to previous experimental studies, and at seroconversion of animals. CRP increments were apparent 1 week before the increments obtained in Hp. These findings indicate that salivary APP concentrations, by using TR-IFMA, can be used in longitudinal studies as non-invasive early indicators of health status.

Acute phase proteins as promising biomarkers: Perspectives and limitations for human and veterinary medicine

“…Hpt in the saliva of healthy pigs and humans exhibits a circadian pattern with higher concentrations in the morning. Moreover, salivary Hpt is proposed as an early biomarker for porcine virus infections and stress . In oral carcinomas, an increase in Hpt was found in patients’ cancer tissues and saliva, accompanied by an increased microheterogeneity.…”

Therapeutic effects of saponin components on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus‐infected piglets

“…The serum concentrations of total protein can be used to indicate the degrees of digestion and/or absorption of dietary proteins (Gutierrez, Ceron, Fuentes, Montes, & Martinez‐Subiela, ). In this work, the concentrations of total protein were remarkably up‐regulated by all the five saponin components, except for AB4, with SSD exhibited the highest activity.…”

“…The serum concentrations of total protein can be used to indicate the degrees of digestion and/or absorption of dietary proteins (Gutierrez, Ceron, Fuentes, Montes, & Martinez-Subiela, 2012).…”

Estimation of Salivary Progesterone Levels for Early Diagnosis of Pregnancy in Pigs

“…Moreover, repeated sampling of saliva is possible without causing stress to the animal and could be especially useful in pigs where blood sampling is technically difficult (Gutiérrez et al, 2012;Ramirez et al, 2012). Importantly, the estimation of salivary steroid hormones presents an attractive alternative to serum as the steroids are not protein bound in saliva.…”