Diagnostic Performance of Serum Amyloid A, Protein Fractions Determined by Protein Electrophoresis, Iron, and Ferritin for the Diagnosis of Inflammatory Disease in Wild Stranded Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Abstract
Traditional blood markers of inflammation in cetaceans include white blood cell count, white blood cell differential and morphology, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, plasma fibrinogen, serum iron, and the acute phase protein serum albumin. Clinical and clinicopathological evidence of many diseases in cetaceans are often elusive. However, the acute phase protein response is considered to be a more sensitive indicator of inflammation in many species.1 Baseline values for serum amyloid A (SAA) and electrophoretograms have been established in clinically healthy bottlenose dolphins.2 Serum iron as a marker of inflammation alone can be decreased with other disorders, whereas ferritin has a major role in iron metabolism in inflammatory disease and is known to be a more direct and stable index of total body iron. Iron profiles have been evaluated in clinically healthy bottlenose dolphins, including wild animals and dolphins under managed care.3 The objective of this study was to examine the diagnostic performance of SAA, protein fractions determined by protein electrophoresis, iron, and ferritin for the diagnosis of inflammatory disease in bottlenose dolphins. Serum from 8 stranded bottlenose dolphins with histopathological diagnosis of inflammation in various organ systems (CNS, GI tract, heart, liver, lymph node) and from clinically healthy, free-ranging bottlenose dolphins was analyzed for SAA, protein electrophoresis (n=33), and serum iron and ferritin (n=10). Using Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis, ferritin had the highest diagnostic performance Area Under the Curve (AUC)=1.0 with 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.82, 1.00, followed by the albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio (AUC=0.98; CI=0.89, 1.00), gamma-globulins (AUC=0.886; CI=0.75, 0.96), and SAA (AUC=0.795; CI=0.64, 0.91).4 Albumin had the lowest performance (AUC=0.58; CI=0.42, 0.73). This study provides new evidence that measuring ferritin and the acute phase protein parameters A/G ratio, gamma-globulins, and SAA can be useful for diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory disease in wild stranded bottlenose dolphins.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, the laboratory staff at the University of Miami's Comparative Pathology Laboratory, and the team of SeaWorld Adventure Parks. Samples collected from free-ranging dolphins were collected under NMFS Permit #15543 and received under IACUC #201406823.
* Presenting author
+ Student presenter
Literature Cited
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