Comparison of IgG concentrations by radial immunodiffusion, electrophoretic gamma globulin concentrations and total globulins in neonatal foals.
Abstract: Failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) in foals is associated with a risk of infection and death. The current diagnostic gold standard is quantification of immunoglobulins using radial immunodiffusion (IgG-RID). Routine diagnosis is often performed using semi-quantitative tests. Concentrations of serum electrophoretic gamma globulins (EGG) and total globulins may be useful to assess FTPI, but few studies have investigated their use. Objective: To assess agreement between IgG-RID and EGG and evaluate the accuracy of total globulin concentration to diagnose FTPI based on both IgG-RID and EGG. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: A total of 360 serum samples were harvested at 6-24 h post natum from 60 German Warmblood foals. Concentrations of EGG, IgG-RID and total globulin (calculated from total proteins and albumin) were measured. Agreement between EGG and IgG-RID was assessed using Bland-Altman plots and Passing-Bablok regression. The accuracy of total globulin concentration was assessed using rank correlation and ROC curve analysis. Results: Good agreement was found with slightly lower EGG than IgG-RID concentrations (Bland-Altman systemic bias -1.9 g/l) which was more pronounced at higher concentrations (regression equation: IgG-RID = -0.78 + 1.28 × EGG). Correlations between total globulin concentration and EGG and total globulin concentration and IgG-RID were 0.93 and 0.79, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.982 and 0.952 for EGG <4 and <8 g/l and 0.953 and 0.899 for IgG-RID <4 and 95% with 71.2% (IgG-RID) and 90.5% (EGG) specificity for 90% with 66.0% (IgG-RID) and 87.9% (EGG) specificity for <8 g/l. Conclusions: There is good agreement between EGG and IgG-RID, with slightly more conservative estimates of immunoglobulins obtained using EGG. Total globulins may be a useful and economic quantitative screening test with cut-offs achieving high sensitivities, but analyser-specific cut-offs may be necessary.
© 2016 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2016-05-20 PubMed ID: 27037614DOI: 10.1111/evj.12575Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Summary
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This study investigates the comparison of three diagnostic methods that measure immunity levels in newborn foals. Results indicate that electrophoretic gamma globulins (EGG) and radial immunodiffusion (IgG-RID) show strong agreement, albeit with EGG estimates being slightly more conservative. The study also suggests that total globulin measurements could offer an economically feasible screening method for detecting failure of passive immunity transfer in foals, although specific cut-off points may vary based on the testing device used.
Research Objectives and Methods
- The main goal of this prospective study was to evaluate the relationship between EGG and IgG-RID and to assess how well total globulin concentration can diagnose Failure of Transfer of Passive Immunity (FTPI) compared against both EGG and IgG-RID.
- 360 serum samples were taken from 60 German Warmblood foals at 6-24 hours after birth. Concentrations of EGG, IgG-RID, and total globulin were measured.
- The study used different analysis tools, including Bland-Altman plots, Passing-Bablok regression, rank correlation, and ROC curve analysis to assess agreement, accuracy, and correlations.
Research Findings
- There was a good agreement between the EGG and IgG-RID measurements. However, EGG measurements were slightly lower than the IgG-RID readings with a nominal systemic bias of -1.9 g/l.
- This difference was more emphatic at higher concentration levels.
- Correlations between total globulin concentration and both the EGG and IgG-RID measurements were strong, at 0.93 and 0.79 respectively.
- The area under the curve (indicating test accuracy) for both EGG and IgG-RID was high, ranging between 0.899 (for IgG-RID <8 g/l) and 0.982 (for EGG <4 g/l).
- Applying total globulin concentration in diagnosing FTPI delivered sensitivity and specificity performance on par with commonly used screening tests.
Conclusions and Recommendations
- The findings indicate a strong agreement between EGG and IgG-RID measurements, with EGG providing slightly more conservative estimates of immunoglobulins.
- Total globulin concentration could serve as an efficient and economical quantitative screening test. Its high sensitivity makes it a potential tool for detecting FTPI in foals.
- However, the exact cut-offs for diagnosing FTPI using total globulin concentration might need to be tailored to the specific analyzer used.
Cite This Article
APA
Tscheschlok L, Venner M, Howard J.
(2016).
Comparison of IgG concentrations by radial immunodiffusion, electrophoretic gamma globulin concentrations and total globulins in neonatal foals.
Equine Vet J, 49(2), 149-154.
https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.12575 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Equine Veterinary Clinic Destedt, Germany.
- Equine Veterinary Clinic Destedt, Germany.
- Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Electrophoresis / methods
- Electrophoresis / veterinary
- Female
- Horses / blood
- Immunodiffusion / methods
- Immunodiffusion / veterinary
- Immunoglobulin G / blood
- Male
- Prospective Studies
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- de Souza RS, Dos Santos LBC, Melo IO, Cerqueira DM, Dumas JV, Leme FOP, Moreira TF, Meneses RM, de Carvalho AU, Facury-Filho EJ. Current Diagnostic Methods for Assessing Transfer of Passive Immunity in Calves and Possible Improvements: A Literature Review.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Oct 14;11(10).
- Turini L, Bonelli F, Nocera I, Meucci V, Conte G, Sgorbini M. Evaluation of Different Methods to Estimate the Transfer of Immunity in Donkey Foals Fed with Colostrum of Good IgG Quality: A Preliminary Study.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Feb 15;11(2).
- Aoki T, Chiba A, Itoh M, Nambo Y, Yamagishi N, Shibano KI, Cheong SH. Colostral and foal serum immunoglobulin G levels and associations with perinatal abnormalities in heavy draft horses in Japan.. J Equine Sci 2020 Jun;31(2):29-34.
- Ujvari S, Schwarzwald CC, Fouché N, Howard J, Schoster A. Validation of a Point-of-Care Quantitative Equine IgG Turbidimetric Immunoassay and Comparison of IgG Concentrations Measured with Radial Immunodiffusion and a Point-of-Care IgG ELISA.. J Vet Intern Med 2017 Jul;31(4):1170-1177.
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