Change of Ferritin-binding Activity in the Serum of Foal after Birth.
Abstract: In mammal circulation, various ferritin-binding proteins (FBPs) are thought to be involved in the clearance of circulating ferritin after complex formation with it. However, horse FBPs are known to cause inhibitory effects on ferritin immunoassay due to the concealment of the ferritin molecule to anti-ferritin antibodies used in the ferritin immunoassay. These inhibitory effects are eliminated by heat treatment of horse serum at 75°C for 15 min. The inhibitory effects on ferritin immunoassay in the sera of ten foal sera (5 females and 5 males) from 1 to 18 months were detected during all periods, and ferritin concentrations of the foal sera increased 20-100% as compared with those of untreated sera by same heat treatment. Ferritin concentrations of heat-treated foal sera increased after birth, reaching to ferritin levels of adult horse at 9 months of age. Thereafter, although serum ferritin concentrations fell down at 12 months of age, these concentrations increased to adult levels at 15 months of age again. The ratio of ferritin concentration of heat-treated serum to that of the untreated serum was regarded as an apparent ferritin-binding activity. Ferritin-binding activities in the sera of foals showed peak at 2 and 4 months of age in females and males, respectively. These results suggested that horse FBPs were heat unstable, and FBPs may play an important role in iron metabolism at early developmental stage.
Publication Date: 2012-02-28 PubMed ID: 24833990PubMed Central: PMC4013975DOI: 10.1294/jes.22.73Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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The research article focuses on the change in activity of ferritin-binding proteins (FBPs) in the serum of young horses, or foals, following birth. It reveals that these proteins, essential to iron metabolism during early developmental stages, have varying activity and are heat unstable.
Ferritin-Binding Proteins and Their Role
- The study is primarily concerned with ferritin-binding proteins (FBPs)—proteins thought to be involved in removing circulating ferritin after forming complexes with it in mammal circulation. In horses, these FBPs have a unique characteristic: they obstruct the detection of ferritin molecules in immunoassays, a technical process used in labs to measure the quantities of certain components like ferritin in a sample.
- This ‘concealment’ effect of horse FBPs interferes with the ferritin immunoassay because the anti-ferritin antibodies used in the test cannot accurately seek out and bind to the ferritin molecules due to the binding of FBPs.
Heat Treatment Effect on Horse FBPs
- The article further explores an intriguing feature of these horse FBPs—they can be deactivated by a heat treatment of 75-degrees Celsius for a span of fifteen minutes. Once heat-treated, these FBPs lose their ability to block the ferritin molecules, and can no longer interfere with the ferritin immunoassay process.
Ferritin Levels in Foal Serum
- The focus of the study then shifts onto the sera (plural of serum) of ten foals—a group comprising of five female and five male foals. This group was closely observed from 1 to 18 months of age. The researchers found that all serum samples displayed inhibitory effects on the ferritin immunoassay, presumably due to the activity of FBPs.
- When the foal serum samples were heat-treated just like adult horse serum, the inferred ferritin concentration rose anywhere from 20% to 100% compared to untreated samples. This rise reaffirms the finding that horse FBPs block certain ferritin molecules from detection, which can be remediated by heat treatment.
Ferritin-Binding Activity Over Time
- The researchers noted that the ferritin concentration in foals tended to increase after birth, reaching adult horse ferritin levels by the ninth month. However, a dip in serum ferritin concentration was recorded at the twelfth month, which then climbed back to adult levels by fifteen months.
- The ratio of ferritin concentration in heat-treated serum to untreated serum was coined as the ‘apparent ferritin-binding activity’. Interestingly, the activity in female foals peaked at 2 months and at 4 months in males.
Conclusion
- The deductions made from the study confirm that horse FBPs are heat-liable or unstable—they change character under heat treatment. They play a crucial role in iron metabolism during the early stages of development in foals.
Cite This Article
APA
Ohya T, Kondo T, Yoshikawa Y, Watanabe K, Orino K.
(2012).
Change of Ferritin-binding Activity in the Serum of Foal after Birth.
J Equine Sci, 22(4), 73-76.
https://doi.org/10.1294/jes.22.73 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
- Epizootic Research Center, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 1400-4 Shiba, Shimotsuke-shi, Tochigi 329-0412, Japan.
- Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
- Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
- Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Kitasato University, Aomori 034-8628, Japan.
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