Correlation between serum total globulins and gamma globulins and their use to diagnose failure of passive transfer in foals.
Abstract: Various assays have been used as an aid to diagnose failure of passive transfer (FPT) of immunoglobulins in neonatal foals, but often lack sensitivity as screening tests, or are time consuming to perform and impractical as confirmatory tests. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether measurement of serum total globulins (TG; i.e. total protein minus albumin) can be used to estimate the electrophoretic gamma globulin (EGG) fraction in hospitalised neonatal foals with suspected FPT. Sample data from 56 foals were evaluated retrospectively. The coefficient of rank correlation was 0.84. The area under the curve of ROC analysis was 0.887, 0.922 and 0.930 for EGG concentrations <2 g/L, < 4 g/L and <8 g/L, respectively. Cut-offs for TG achieved ≥90% sensitivity for detecting EGG <2 g/L, < 4 g/L and 97% and >94%, using prevalence of 15% and 30%, respectively. These results suggest that measurement of TG can be used as a guide to predicting EGG, provided that appropriate cut-off values are selected, and this technique could be a useful initial screening test for FPT in foals.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2014-08-19 PubMed ID: 25201248DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.08.013Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Summary
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This research investigates whether overall levels of protein minus albumin (total globulins, or TG) can predict levels of a specific type of protein found in antibodies (electrophoretic gamma globulin, or EGG) in newborn horses with suspected failure of passive transfer (FPT). The results indicate that TG could be used reliably to predict EGG, meaning it could be used as a simple preliminary test for FPT.
Research Background
- Failure of passive transfer (FPT) in newborn horses (foals) is a condition where the foal does not adequately acquire antibodies from the mother.
- Before this study, the tests used to diagnose FPT lacked sensitivity or were time-consuming and impractical.
- The aim of this study was to examine whether measurements of total globulins (TG; total protein minus the protein albumin) could estimate the electrophoretic gamma globulin (EGG; a type of antibody) fraction in foals suspected of having FPT.
Research Methodology
- Data from 56 foals was evaluated retrospectively.
- Correlations between TG and EGG were examined, with a coefficient of rank correlation of 0.84 indicating a strong correlation.
- The area under the curve (AUC) of Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the performance of TG as a diagnostic test for various concentrations of EGG.
Results
- The AUC of the ROC was found to be 0.887, 0.922, and 0.930 for respective EGG concentrations of <2 g/L, < 4 g/L, and <8 g/L, showing a high level of performance of TG as a diagnostic tool.
- Cut-off points for TG were formulated, achieving more than 90% sensitivity in detecting the aforementioned EGG levels, with negative predictive values of over 97% and 94%, using prevalences of 15% and 30%.
Conclusion
- The study concludes that measurement of TGs can be useful to predict levels of EGG in foals.
- TG could, therefore, serve as a relatively simple and fast preliminary test for FPT before conducting more elaborate and detailed confirmatory tests.
Cite This Article
APA
Fouché N, Graubner C, Howard J.
(2014).
Correlation between serum total globulins and gamma globulins and their use to diagnose failure of passive transfer in foals.
Vet J, 202(2), 384-386.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.08.013 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse-Faculty, University of Bern and ALP-Haras, Länggassstrasse 124, 3001 Bern, Switzerland.
- Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse-Faculty, University of Bern and ALP-Haras, Länggassstrasse 124, 3001 Bern, Switzerland.
- Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Vetsuisse-Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 124, 3001 Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: judith.howard@vetsuisse.unibe.ch.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn / immunology
- Electrophoresis, Agar Gel / veterinary
- Female
- Horses / immunology
- Immunity, Maternally-Acquired
- Immunodiffusion / veterinary
- Immunoglobulins / metabolism
- Male
- ROC Curve
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- gamma-Globulins / metabolism
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Wang B, Wang C, Guan R, Shi K, Wei Z, Liu J, Liu H. Effects of Dietary Rumen-Protected Betaine Supplementation on Performance of Postpartum Dairy Cows and Immunity of Newborn Calves. Animals (Basel) 2019 Apr 15;9(4).
- 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.
- Satué K, Fauci D, Fazio E, Velasco-Martínez MG, Bruschetta G, Medica P. Sequential changes in serum protein profiles in pregnant Spanish purebred mares. Vet Res Commun 2025 Dec 8;50(1):65.
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