Serum Amyloid A (SAA) is a prominent acute phase protein in horses, synthesized predominantly by the liver in response to inflammatory stimuli, infections, or tissue damage. SAA is a component of the equine immune response and serves as a biomarker for the detection and monitoring of various health conditions. Its concentration in the bloodstream can increase significantly during inflammatory episodes, providing a measurable indicator of physiological stress and disease activity. This topic page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the role, regulation, and clinical relevance of Serum Amyloid A in equine health, offering insights into its application in veterinary diagnostics.
Paltrinieri S, Giordano A, Villani M, Manfrin M, Panzani S, Veronesi MC.A field study was undertaken to investigate plasma protein electrophoresis (PPE) and serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations at 1, 3 and 7 days of age in foals born by oxytocin-induced (group A, n =17) or spontaneous (group B, n =12) parturition. The putative diagnostic role of PPE and SAA in four septicaemic foals was also examined. At birth, beta-gamma-globulins were higher in group B, and then increased in both groups, probably due to colostrum intake. At day 3, no significant differences between the groups were detectable. In both groups, SAA values increased from day 0 to day 3, then decreas...
Duggan VE, Holyoak GR, MacAllister CG, Cooper SR, Confer AW.The objective of this study was to investigate the protein, amyloid A3 (AA3), in equine colostrum and early milk. We hypothesized that AA3 was consistently present in equine colostrum and early milk, that no correlation existed between serum and colostrum concentrations of this protein in individual mares at parturition and that colostrum/milk concentrations of this mammary protein may be affected by age, breed, length of gestation and/or induction of parturition. Thirty-eight peripartum mares and seven non-pregnant, non-lactating mares were included in the study. Mean serum concentrations of ...
Jacobsen S, Thomsen MH, Nanni S.To determine serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations in serum and synovial fluid from healthy horses and horses with joint disease and assess the effect of repeated arthrocentesis on SAA concentrations in synovial fluid. Animals-10 healthy horses and 21 horses with various types of joint disease. Methods: Serum and synovial fluid samples were obtained from each horse. In 5 of the 10 healthy horses, arthrocentesis was repeated 9 times. Concentrations of SAA were determined via immunoturbidometry. Results: Serum and synovial fluid SAA concentrations were less than the assay detection limit in healt...
Duggan VE, Holyoak GR, MaCallister CG, Confer AW.The objectives of the present study were to determine whether induction of parturition in mares at term with low doses of oxytocin (2.5 i.u. i.v. every 20 min) affected the incidence of peri-partum complications or inflammatory responses in the neonatal foal. Parturition was induced in 11 of 26 mares and the remainder foaled spontaneously. Serum concentrations of amyloid A (AA; an acute phase protein) were measured (with a commercial ELISA) from 0 to 72 h postpartum in 18 of the neonatal foals. The incidence of dystocia and premature placental separation was higher in induced mares (2 of 11 an...
Jacobsen S, Niewold TA, Halling-Thomsen M, Nanni S, Olsen E, Lindegaard C, Andersen PH.The aim of the study was to determine the intraarticular serum amyloid A (SAA) response pattern in horses with inflammatory arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis was induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the radiocarpal joint of four horses. Serum and synovial fluid (SF) samples were collected before and at 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 144 h after injection. Concentrations of SAA were measured by immunoturbidometry, and expression of SAA isoforms was visualized by denaturing isoelectric focusing and Western blotting. The LPS injection caused systemic and local clinical signs of in...
Jacobsen S, Jensen JC, Frei S, Jensen AL, Thoefner MB.Early recognition of excessive inflammation and infectious complications after surgery, leading to early institution of therapy, reduces post operative discomfort and facilitates recovery. Because serum amyloid A (SAA) is a highly sensitive marker of inflammation, measurements of SAA and other acute phase reactants in the equine surgical patient may be valuable in assisting clinical assessment of post operative inflammation. Objective: To investigate changes in inflammatory markers after castration and to correlate levels of acute phase reactants with clinical severity of inflammation after ca...
Vandenplas ML, Moore JN, Barton MH, Roussel AJ, Cohen ND.To determine concentrations of 2 acute-phase proteins (serum amyloid A [SAA] and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein [LBP]) in serum samples obtained from horses with colic and identify relationships among these acute-phase proteins and clinical data. Methods: 765 horses with naturally developing gastrointestinal tract diseases characterized by colic (ie, clinical signs indicative of abdominal pain) and 79 healthy control horses; all horses were examined at 2 university teaching hospitals. Methods: Serum concentrations of SAA and LBP were determined by immunoturbidometric and dot-blot assays, r...
Jacobsen S, Kjelgaard-Hansen M, Hagbard Petersen H, Jensen AL.The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether equine serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations could be measured reliably with a turbidometric immunoassay (TIA) developed for use with human serum. Intra- and inter-assay imprecision were evaluated by multiple measurements on equine serum pools. Assay inaccuracy was determined by linearity under dilution. The assay was subsequently used for measuring SAA concentrations in clinically healthy horses, horses with inflammatory diseases, horses with non-inflammatory diseases, and in horses before and after castration. In pools with low, intermediat...
Cohen ND, Chaffin MK, Vandenplas ML, Edwards RF, Nevill M, Moore JN, Martens RJ.Prognosis of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia can be challenging because the course of the disease is often insidious and overt clinical signs are subtle. Early diagnosis is considered desirable because it may offer the chance of more successful implementation of treatment and, thereby, improved outcome. Serological tests have previously failed to be accurate for early detection or diagnosis. Measurement of serum amyloid A (SAA) prior to and at the time of clinical signs was therefore chosen in order to assess its potential clinical use. Objective: To determine whether SAA concentrations differentia...
Pollock PJ, Prendergast M, Schumacher J, Bellenger CR.The serum concentrations of serum amyloid A, haptoglobin and fibrinogen were measured in a group of horses before and at intervals after elective and non-elective surgery, and in a control group of normal horses. There was a significant, rapid and repeatable increase in the concentration of serum amyloid A in response to both elective and non-elective surgery. In the control horses its serum concentration was within the normal range, from 0 to 0.2 microg/ml. Twenty-four hours after elective surgery its mean peak concentration was 16.4 microg/ml, and after non-elective surgery it was 27.3 micro...
Hultén C, Demmers S.Differentiation between infectious and noninfectious disease and rapid initiation of accurate treatment are essential in managing diseases in the neonatal and young foal. Identification of useful inflammatory markers for these purposes is, therefore, of great importance. The aim of this study was to compare the responses of the acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) with the responses of fibrinogen and total leucocyte and neutrophil counts in infectious diseases encountered in the young foal, and to assess whether SAA measurements give additional information useful in the management of thes...
Hultén C, Grönlund U, Hirvonen J, Tulamo RM, Suominen MM, Marhaug G, Forsberg M.Despite the importance of noninfectious joint diseases in equine medicine, little is known about the acute phase response which may be elicited if the local inflammatory process of noninfectious arthritis is sufficiently strong, Therefore the aim of this study was to monitor the systemic inflammatory response during experimentally-induced noninfectious arthritis by studying the dynamics in serum of the acute phase proteins serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin, fibrinogen and alpha2-globulins. Twenty-four Standardbred horses, age 3-7 years, found healthy on thorough clinical, radiological, haemat...
Demmers S, Johannisson A, Gröndahl G, Jensen-Waern M.The aim of this study was to investigate the phagocytic and killing capacities as well as expression of CD18 of neutrophils obtained from healthy foals from birth to age 8 months. Blood was taken from 6 Standardbred foals at 7 time-points between ages 2-56 days and thereafter once a month. For comparison, cells from 16 mature horses were evaluated. Neutrophil phagocytosis of yeast cells was assessed by flow cytometry after opsonisation with mature pooled serum, autologous serum or anti-yeast IgG. The killing capacity of the neutrophils, as indicated by the oxidative burst, was monitored by che...
McDonald TL, Larson MA, Mack DR, Weber A.Mammary-associated serum amyloid A 3 (M-SAA3) was secreted at highly elevated levels in bovine, equine and ovine colostrum and found at lower levels in milk 4 days postparturition. N-terminal sequencing of the mature M-SAA3 protein from all the three species revealed a conserved four amino acid motif (TFLK) within the first eight residues. This motif has not been reported to be present in any of the hepatically-produced acute phase SAA (A-SAA) isoforms. Cloning of the bovine M-Saa3 cDNA from mammary gland epithelial cells revealed an open reading frame that encoded a precursor protein of 131 a...
Stoneham SJ, Palmer L, Cash R, Rossdale PD.This paper describes the use of a latex agglutination assay to measure serum amyloid A (SAA) in the neonatal foal. The normal range and response to clinical disease was determined. This retrospective study evaluated SAA concentrations over the first 3 days postpartum of 226 Thoroughbred foals judged to be clinically healthy. The normal range for each day was determined; levels were found to be significantly highest on Day 2 (Day 1 vs. Day 2 P<0.0001). The 95th percentile for Days 1-3 was 27.1 mg/l. Clinical records of 133 foals, presented as first or second opinion cases, were evaluated. Fo...
Ma Z, Mizukoshi T, Khatlani TS, Okuda M, Onishi T.The serum amyloid A (SAA) protein is a characteristic and sensitive acute phase reactant in all vertebrates investigated. We molecularly cloned the equine cDNA encoding SAA from the liver of a healthy horse by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The cloned cDNA is 480 bases in length, and contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 387 nucleotides encoding a precursor SAA protein of 128 amino acids. The precursor of horse SAA seems to have an 18-residue signal peptide and differs from the reported amino acid sequences of the horse SAA by substitution of valine at residue 81. It shows high homology wi...
Hultén C, Sandgren B, Skiöldebrand E, Klingeborn B, Marhaug G, Forsberg M.The acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) has proven potentially useful as an inflammatory marker in the horse, but the knowledge of SAA responses in viral diseases is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate SAA as a marker for acute equine influenza A2 (H3N8) virus infection. This is a highly contagious, serious condition that inflicts suffering on affected horses and predisposes them to secondary bacterial infections and impaired performance. Seventy horses, suffering from equine influenza, as verified by clinical signs and seroconversion, were sampled in the acute (the first 48 h...
Hultén C, Tulamo RM, Suominen MM, Burvall K, Marhaug G, Forsberg M.A non-competitive chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay for measuring serum amyloid A (SAA) in equine serum was developed. A polyclonal anti-equine-amyloid A antiserum specific for equine SAA was utilized, and the assay was standardized using highly purified equine SAA. An acute phase horse serum was calibrated against the purified SAA and was used as standard when running the assay. Serum SAA concentrations in the range of 3-1210 mg/l could be measured. The reference range of SAA in clinically healthy adult horses was <7 mg/l. The clinical validation of the assay comprised the SAA responses...
Hultén C, Sletten K, Foyn Bruun C, Marhaug G.Serum amyloid A (SAA) from acute phase horse serum was isolated using hydrophobic interaction chromatography, gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. Three SAA isoforms with different isoelectric points, i.e. SAA pI 8.0, SAA pI 9.0 and SAA pI 9.7, were identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis and further characterized with amino acid sequence analysis. These isoforms were found in similar concentrations in all animals investigated, with SAA pI 9.7 constituting about half of the total SAA content. Partial amino acid sequence analysis verified the previously published heterogeneous ...
Satoh M, Fujinaga T, Okumura M, Hagio M.To measure the concentration of serum amyloid A (sAA) protein in horses, a sensitive and highly reproducible sandwich (ELISA) was established, using affinity purified SAA antibody. Results of the ELISA were found to have a high correlation (r = 0.95) with those of the single radial immunodiffusion test. Equine SAA concentration was measured by use of this ELISA. In clinically normal horses, the concentration of SAA was high immediately after birth to 2 weeks of age. After that, SAA concentration had periodic fluctuations in the range of approximately 1.0 to 30 micrograms/ml. Mean (+/- SD)) con...
Nunokawa Y, Fujinaga T, Taira T, Okumura M, Yamashita K, Tsunoda N, Hagio M.Serum amyloid A protein (SAA) was isolated from equine acute-phase serum by repeating Sephadex G-75 gel filtration 3 times. Quantitative measurement of equine SAA was performed by the single radial immunodiffusion technique with rabbit anti-equine SAA serum. In clinically normal horses, the SAA concentration remained relatively high from immediately after birth up to 1 week of age. After this the concentration showed periodic fluctiation in the range of approximately 13 to 30 micrograms/ml. The mean (+/- SD) concentration of SAA in foals ( or = 18 months old) was 19.37 +/- 9.41 and 21.53 +/- 9...
Takiguchi M, Fujinaga T, Naiki M, Mizuno S, Otomo K.C-reactive protein (CRP) was isolated from equine serum by use of calcium-dependent affinity chromatography conjugated pneumococcal C-polysaccharide, anion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. It was identified as genuine CRP by its immunochemical cross-reactivity with anti-human CRP, its homology with human CRP in amino acid composition, and its pentameric structure as revealed by electron microscopy. Purified equine CRP had a molecular weight of approximately 118,000 and was composed of 5 identical, nonglycosylated and noncovalently associated subunits with molecular weight of approx...
Sletten K, Husebekk A, Husby G.The complete amino acid sequence of equine serum amyloid A (SAA) was elucidated. The protein consists of 110 amino acid residues and contains an 8-amino acid residue insertion tentatively located between positions 69 and 70, as compared with human SAA. Microheterogeneities were detected at positions 16, 44, and 59, compatible with the existence of more than one SAA gene in the horse. This corresponds to the situation in man and mouse. Pronounced homology with SAA from man and several animal species was observed, thus confirming the conserved structure of this acute phase reactant and apoprotei...
Pepys MB, Baltz ML, Tennent GA, Kent J, Ousey J, Rossdale PD.A sensitive and precise immunoassay for equine serum amyloid A protein (SAA) was established and used to determine, for the first time, the circulating concentration of this protein in health and disease. As in other species, equine SAA was present only at trace levels in healthy animals but behaved as an extremely sensitive and rapidly responding acute phase reactant following most forms of tissue injury, infection and inflammation, objectively reflecting the extent and activity of disease. Measurements of SAA should make a significant contribution to diagnosis and management of viral and bac...
Husebekk A, Husby G, Sletten K, Marhaug G, Nordstoga K.Amyloid was extracted from the liver of a horse that had developed amyloidosis after being used for several years for the production of antibodies to bacterial antigens. The amyloid fibrils were shown to be of the AA type. Two AA proteins with molecular weights of 9000 and 11,000 and with identical partial N-terminal amino acid sequences were identified. Marked structural homology with AA from other species including man was seen, although clear species-related antigenic specificity was observed. SAA isolated from an acute phase (septic abortion) horse serum was identical to AA with respect to...
Ayodele BA, Pagel CN, Mackie EJ, Armour F, Yamada S, Zahra P, Courtman N, Whitton RC, Hitchens PL.Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) are common in racehorses and have been of increasing concern in horses travelling internationally to compete. Understanding the differences in bone turnover between local horses and international horses following long-distance air transportation may inform MSI prevention strategies. Objective: To understand the differences in bone turnover markers and risk of MSI between local horses and international horses following long-distance air transportation. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: The concentrations of bone turnover markers (OCN and CTXI), markers of stre...
Trsan J, Nottle BF, Pusterla N.This study was designed to determine the effect of PPG and/or flunixin meglumine on SAA response when used at clinical dosing regimens in healthy adult horses. Six healthy adult horses were enrolled in a crossover study design including one control and three treatment groups: no treatment (control); PPG alone (intramuscularly q12h for 72h); flunixin meglumine alone (intravenously q24h for 72h); and PPG (intramuscularly q12h for 72h) and flunixin meglumine (intravenously q24h for 72h). Whole blood was collected at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours post-initial drug administration to measure SAA u...
Chanutin S, Bauck AG, Roberts JF, Denagamage TN, Freeman DE.Jejunocaecostomy (JC) is frequently required to bypass diseased ileum as a side-to-side (SS) anastomosis with blind end closure of the small intestine. The effects of the blind end closure method on the performance of the anastomosis have not been studied. Objective: To compare handsewn and stapled blind end closures of the ileum and jejunum. Methods: In vivo experiments. Methods: JC was performed with either Parker-Kerr (PK; 6 horses) or oversewn stapled technique (OS; 6 horses) to close jejunum and ileum for an SS anastomosis. At surgery, peritoneal fluid was analysed and various anastomotic...
Hunyadi L, Chigerwe M, Sundman E.SAA is a commonly used biomarker for measuring acute inflammation in equine practice, and the administration of prophylactic plasma to foals is a routine practice in large breeding farms. Despite this, limited information is available on the values of SAA in healthy or sick neonatal foals following this common procedure. A prospective study was conducted with 31 foals from a veterinary hospital in Texas in one year. Enrolled foals were part of a foaling program, where a prophylactic hyperimmunized plasma was administered 12 h after birth. Blood was collected for SAA measurements at birth and ...
Honoré ML, Pihl TH, Busk-Anderson TM, Flintrup LL, Nielsen LN.D-dimer has value as a marker of thrombosis in critically ill horses and can provide additional information about prognosis. However, there are currently no equine species-specific d-dimer assays available, nor has there been any formal investigation of the applicability of human d-dimer assays in horses, so it is unknown, which assay performs best in this species. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate and compare two human d-dimer assays for their applicability in horses. The study included four groups of horses: clinically healthy horses, horses with gastrointestinal (GI) disease a...
Bazzano M, Arfuso F, Bonfili L, Eleuteri AM, McLean A, Serri E, Spaterna A, Laus F.According to FAO reports, the global mule population counts about 9 million mules. This hybrid cross of a male donkey and a female horse is mainly used for draft purposes because they are thought to be strong and hardy animals. Most consider mules to be less susceptible to disease and fatigue compared to horses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of fieldwork on biochemical variables and serum amyloid A in working mules. Blood samples were collected from 10 healthy, female, working mules before and after 8 h of fieldwork. According to statistical analysis, a signif...
Dupont S, De Spiegeleer A, Liu DJ, Lefère L, van Doorn DA, Hesta M.Commercial immunoglobulin E (IgE)-based tests are available for diagnosis of food allergies and are commonly used in equine practice. However, these tests have been proven unreliable as a screening method in man and other species, but not critically evaluated in equids. Therefore, a commercially available IgE-based test for horses was evaluated. Objective: To evaluate the consistency of the results obtained with a commercially available IgE-based test for food allergy diagnosis in ponies (Phase I) and to subject ponies to a provocation trial with the presumed allergens (Phase II). Methods: All...
Thurston CC, Stefanovski D, MacKinnon MC, Chapman HS, Richardson DW, Levine DG.The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic ability of serum amyloid A (SAA) and fibrinogen for early detection of surgical site infection (SSI) after equine internal fixation. Horses undergoing internal fixation for fracture, arthrodesis, or osteotomy with internal fixation for limb deformity were included in the study. SAA and fibrinogen were measured on blood samples preoperatively and on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 postoperatively. Statistical analysis included use of Spearman's rank correlation, logistic regression, and calculating the area under the receiver operating cha...
Hassanpour A, Moghaddam S.Early detection of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals is essential for horse health and for veterinarians. Objective: This study aimed to demonstrate the usefulness of assessing the serum concentration of acute-phase proteins (APPs) in the early diagnosis of pneumonia. Methods: The study evaluated APPs in 19 Arabian foals with R. equi pneumonia and compared them with 18 normal Arabian foals in equestrian clubs in Tabriz, Iran. Affected foals were identified through history, clinical findings and bacterial culture of tracheal washing. Biochemical methods and polymerase chain reaction tests wer...
Ma Z, Mizukoshi T, Khatlani TS, Okuda M, Onishi T.The serum amyloid A (SAA) protein is a characteristic and sensitive acute phase reactant in all vertebrates investigated. We molecularly cloned the equine cDNA encoding SAA from the liver of a healthy horse by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The cloned cDNA is 480 bases in length, and contains an open reading frame (ORF) of 387 nucleotides encoding a precursor SAA protein of 128 amino acids. The precursor of horse SAA seems to have an 18-residue signal peptide and differs from the reported amino acid sequences of the horse SAA by substitution of valine at residue 81. It shows high homology wi...
Alonso JM, Schmidt EMS, Eckersall PD, Kjelgaard-Hansen M, Alves ALG, Rodrigues CA, Watanabe MJ, Crescencio AP, Hussni CA.The acute phase response is a response to injury and depends on the severity of the trauma. Heparin is routinely used for postsurgical treatment of horses to prevent abdominal adhesions; however, its effect on inflammation is unknown. This study aimed to assess systemic inflammatory response of horses subjected to small colon enterotomy and to evaluate heparin effects on postsurgical inflammation. Ten adult horses were subjected to small colon enterotomy and were assigned to a control or a treatment group. Both groups received prophylactic antibiotics and flunixin, and the treatment group rece...
Page AE, Adam E, Stewart JC, Gonzales C, Barker V, Horohov DW.While the use of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammation has been well described in the horse, the object of this study was to evaluate the effect of repeated intra-articular LPS injections and determine whether this method may be of use to assess changes in gene expression related to inflammation. Six mixed breed horses were utilized for this study, with three horses aged 10-17 years (older group) and three horses aged 3 years (younger group). One milliliter of phosphate-buffered saline containing 3 μg of LPS from Escherichia coli O111:B4 was aseptically injected into either the radi...
Nielsen MK, Rubinson EF, Chambers TM, Horohov DW, Wagner B, Betancourt A, Reedy SE, Jacobsen S.Anthelmintics and vaccines are commonly given concurrently in routine equine management, but it is unknown to what extent an interaction between the two exists. Cyathostomins can modulate the local immune response by stimulating a type 2 helper T cell (Th2) response. In addition, anti-inflammatory effects of ivermectin have been found in rodent models. It is unknown whether these anti-inflammatory effects affect the acute phase response elicited by commonly used vaccines. This study evaluated how the acute phase inflammatory response, leukocyte expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and vac...
Page AE, Wood C, Partridge E, Horohov DW, Adam E.The use of lipopolysaccharide to induce a localized source of inflammation (acute synovitis) and allow for monitoring of changes in systemic mRNA expression has been recently reported. Here, the goal was to maintain a significant systemic mRNA response while limiting the severity of lameness such that this model can be used to examine the effects of various anti-inflammatory treatment modalities on mRNA expression. Three mixed breeds, four-year-old geldings were utilized for this study. One milliliter of phosphate-buffered saline containing 1,000 ng or less of lipopolysaccharide from E. coli O...
Kolyganova TI, Arzumanyan VG, Matvienko MA, Rodionova AA, Korshunova DS, Shatunova PO, Yastrebova NE.Antimicrobial activity of milk whey in different mammals against Candida albicans yeast cells was studied by a spectrophotometric method. The activity increased in the order goat→horse→camel→cow→human→mouse. The level of whey activity in mice was higher by 3 and 10 times than in humans and goats, respectively. Similar changes were noted for activity of the whey fraction <100 kDa containing a complex of antimicrobial polypeptides, and there was a direct correlation between these two parameters (r=0.881; p<0.05). The total activity of whey had a high degree of correlation with th...
Safaee Firouzabadi MS, Paidar Ardakani A.Many studies have shown a strong correlation between Hindgut Acidosis (HGA) and the occurrence of laminitis in horses; therefore, the early diagnosis of HGA is essential. In this study, we investigated changes in the plasma concentrations of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) as inflammatory markers in horses with laminitis. Sixteen healthy male Arabian horses that had cecal cannulation without visible laminitis or general symptoms were randomly divided into two groups. The horses were fed two different diets in a forage-to-concentrate ratio. Blood samples were ...
Sidwell AE, Duz M, Khan A, Bodnàr R, Hole SL.The translocation of gingival commensals resulting in measurable systemic inflammation has been described in humans and non-equine veterinary species with dental disorders, particularly periodontal disease. Routine odontoplasty does not result in increased serum amyloid A (SAA) concentration in horses, but a measurable increase in SAA concentration in horses undergoing dental extractions could suggest that local inflammation resulting from more severe dental disease has potential for wider, systemic consequences that warrants further study. To determine whether SAA increases in horses undergoi...
Arifianto D, Esfandiari A, Wibawan IWT, Amrozi A, Maharani M, Darsono D, Setiadi H, Setiyono A.Horses used for antisera production are repeatedly hyperimmunized to produce high levels of specific antibodies. This prolonged process can lead to various health issues, including amyloidosis, which involves the accumulation of amyloid proteins in organs and tissues, potentially causing organ dysfunction and failure. These horses are often retired when they no longer produce adequate antibody levels. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of prolonged antisera production on the health of retired horses by examining their blood biochemistry and serum amyloid A (SAA) levels, which are indicato...
van den Brom-Spierenburg AJ, Siegers EW, Westermann CM, Vernooij JCM, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Theelen MJP.In hospitalized foals, limited data are available on the utility of sequential measurement of SAA concentrations and the value of these data in a clinical setting. Objective: To determine serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations in ill neonatal foals at multiple timepoints during hospitalization, and to evaluate a potential association with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) status, blood culture (BC) result, and survival. Methods: Hospitalized ill foals (n = 90, ≤ 14 days). Methods: In this retrospective study, foals were classified based on SIRS criteria: "SIRS" or "NonSIRS," ...
Rakowska A, Biazik A, Sobuś M, Cywińska A.The article aimed to review the current literature analysing the complexity of an exercise-induced acute phase response in athletic horses undergoing intense training and endurance competitions. Since the endurance discipline demands physical fitness, exceptional health and excellent adaptation to an increasing workload, diagnostic methods of assessing the factors mentioned above are highly required. Athletic horses in endurance training undergo numerous metabolic but also immune adaptations, including changes in pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels. The inflammatory reaction...
Crosby CE, O'Connor A, Munsterman AS.Colic is a significant source of morbidity and mortality in horses, and no single biomarker can distinguish surgical from medical colic or predict mortality. Alactic base excess (ABE) has shown an association with mortality and renal insufficiency in humans but has not been evaluated in veterinary species. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of ABE as a diagnostic tool for horses treated for gastrointestinal disease. Unassigned: This retrospective case series evaluated horses admitted for acute gastrointestinal disease over a 5-year period (2019-2024). Signalment, physical exa...
Friend MM, McGaffigan EM, Hall SM, Staniar WB, Smarsh DN.Early detection of inflammation using a common test could be a valuable tool for preserving horse health. Objective: This observational study aimed to identify variation in complete blood count (CBC) parameters and inflammatory indices with inflammation, and to develop reference intervals (RIs) from horses with known inflammatory states, hypothesizing that RIs developed from horses with normal acute phase protein concentrations would improve the ability to predict inflammation. Methods: Concentrations of serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin from clinically healthy horses and horses under vete...
Domańska D, Witkowska-Piłaszewicz O, Trela M, Pawłowski K, Pawliński B, Domino M.Mastitis is an emerging health concern in lactating mares, particularly given the growing commercial interest in mare's milk. This study evaluated the diagnostic potential of acute phase proteins (APPs), specifically serum amyloid A (SAA), milk amyloid A (MAA), and haptoglobin (Hp), measured in blood and milk as indicators of clinical and subclinical mastitis. Twenty-four Thoroughbred mares were prospectively monitored during lactation and weaning. Plasma and milk samples were collected and analyzed using commercial ELISA kits. Plasma SAA concentrations were significantly higher in mares with ...
Souto PC, Santos MR, Orozco AMO, Bento LD, Ramirez-Lopez CJ, Girardi FM, Machado JCA, de Oliveira LL, da Fonseca LA.We aimed to develop a species-specific ELISA for qualitatively and quantitatively determining serum amyloid A (SAA) in horses. Current methods for measuring SAA in horses utilize ELISA or immunoturbidimetric tests designed for human SAA, which are not specific to horses. Mice and rabbits were used to generate polyclonal antibodies against equine SAA. The study examined serum samples from 32 horses with acute inflammatory disease (SG) and 25 clinically healthy horses. Furthermore, the SAAeq kinetics were observed in three horses from the SG group at three different timepoints. The SAA-ELISA est...
Baumgarten CM, Delph Miller KM, Davis EG, Beard LA, Blevins CA, Wottowa M, Hill M, Larson RL.To measure the effect of routine vaccination on serum amyloid A (SAA) concentration in apparently healthy horses. We hypothesized that routine vaccination would increase SAA in healthy horses. Methods: 21 apparently healthy client-owned horses and 15 Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine-owned horses. Methods: In experiment 1 (n = 8 horses), a blinded, randomized, prospective, crossover study was performed. Horses were either vaccinated (rabies, tetanus, West Nile, Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis, equine herpesvirus-1/-4, influenza) or administered saline, and SAA...
