Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Acute phase response in reindeer after challenge with Escherichia coli endotoxin
Introduction
The inflammatory reaction is a series of complex physiological events occurring in the host after tissue injury or infection. The purposes of these events are to eliminate the infecting agent, prevent further tissue damage and restore the homeostasis of the host organism. The early sets of reactions that occur immediately after tissue damage are known as the acute phase response (APR). It is characterized by the presence of an inflammatory reaction at the site of injury or infection and systemically by multiple changes throughout the organism such as fever, depression, leucocytosis, increased permeability of blood vessels, stimulation of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production, redistribution of trace elements, etc. One of the main changes occurring during the APR is hepatic production of various plasma proteins [1]. These so-called acute phase proteins (APPs) play a very important role in the defense response of the host. For example, some APPs are involved in nonspecific protection against infections caused by gram-negative bacteria [2], but in many cases their exact physiological function is not clear.
Monitoring the plasma concentrations of APPs can provide information on progression of the APR. Their potential use in veterinary medicine has been extensively investigated and they are already widely used as markers of disease in veterinary and medical science. Some of the many applications for APPs include evaluation of collective health of herds by detection of subclinical diseases and identification of animals with inflammatory lesions at slaughter. Thus, APPs may also serve as valuable tools in reindeer husbandry as well as in giving diagnostic information on the detection, prognosis and monitoring of diseases in reindeer.
Although the APR is highly conserved in nature, APP profiles show significant variability between different species [3]. Haptoglobin (Hp) has been the APP most commonly monitored as a marker for inflammation [4], [5], [6], [7], [8] in cattle and other domestic ruminants. The plasma Hp concentration is very low in healthy bovines [7] but during the APR it can increase over 100-fold. Serum amyloid-A (SAA) is another major APP in many animal species, including cattle, and has been shown to be a good diagnostic marker for determining the presence of infections and inflammatory conditions [7], [9], [10], [11]. Evaluation of the concentrations of different APPs allows better estimates of the complex systemic effects of inflammatory mediators during various inflammatory conditions, e.g. in distinguishing between acute and chronic inflammation and for evaluation of disease severity.
The main objective here was to investigate the host response of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) after bacterial endotoxin challenge as an acute phase stimulant and to evaluate the changes occurring in serum concentrations of SAA and Hp as potential markers of infections. In addition to the APPs, other changes occurring in blood chemistry and in some clinical parameters were also monitored.
Section snippets
Animals and experimental procedures
This experiment was carried out at the Zoological Gardens of the Department of Biology, University of Oulu, Finland. The first experiment was initiated on February 18, 2002 and the second on April 8, 2002. Eight adult female reindeer were randomly divided into two equal groups. The mean weight of the animals was 76.7 kg (range 67.5–90.5 kg) and age was 5 years (3–6 years). The groups were kept in two separate corrals (about 650 m2 each) in which they underwent a long adaptation period before
Results
After laboratory analysis, two reindeer were excluded from statistical analysis, one from each group. One reindeer already showed increased Hp (over 3-fold) and SAA (over 10-fold) concentrations in the 0-h sample, which remained high during the first experiment. Clear arthritic changes were found in the left tarsal joint of this animal at autopsy; in all other reindeer no pathological changes were found. The second excluded reindeer reacted very strongly to the restraint procedures used at the
Discussion
Bacterial endotoxins, which are LPSs from the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria, are considered to cause most pathophysiological reactions during bacterial infections. The physiological effects of LPS are based predominantly on activation of various molecular mediators [25] such as the cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, which are released in response to LPS predominantly by monocytes and macrophages [26]. These inflammatory mediators initiate host
References (40)
- et al.
The acute phase response
Immunol Today
(1994) - et al.
Involvement of the acute phase protein alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in non-specific resistance to a lethal gram-negative infection
J Biol Chem
(2000) - et al.
Acute phase response in calves following infection with Pasteurella haemolytica, Ostertagia ostertagi and endotoxin administration
Res Vet Sci
(1989) - et al.
Purification and quantitative measurement of bovine serum amyloid-A
Res Vet Sci
(1993) - et al.
The acute phase response of haptoglobin and serum amyloid A (SAA) in cattle undergoing experimental infection with bovine respiratory syncytial virus
Vet Immunol Immunopathol
(2000) - et al.
Partial prostaglandin-mediated mechanism controlling the release of cortisol in plasma after intravenous administration of endotoxins
Domest Anim Endocrinol
(1992) - et al.
Sorbitol dehydrogenase
- et al.
Albumin standards and the measurement of serum albumin with bromcresol green
Clin Chim Acta
(1971) - et al.
Determination of serum iron and latent iron-binding capacity (LIBC)
Clin Chim Acta
(1971) - et al.
Cytokine induction by bacteria: beyond lipopolysaccharide
Cytokine
(1996)
Characterisation of the acute phase response of heifers to a prolonged low dose infusion of lipopolysaccharide
Res Vet Sci
Fever and changes in plasma zinc and iron concentrations in the goat. The effects of interferon inducers and recombinant IFN-alpha 2a
J Comp Pathol
Primary bovine hepatocytes in the study of cytokine induced acute-phase protein secretion in vitro
Vet Immunol Immunopathol
Serum haptoglobin as an indicator of the acute phase response in bovine respiratory disease
Vet Immunol Immunopathol
Role of endotoxin in the pathogenesis of haemorrhagic septicaemia in the buffalo
Microb Pathog
Failure of adrenocorticotrophic hormone to release serum amyloid A in cattle
Res Vet Sci
Acute phase proteins as disease markers
Dis Markers
Bovine and canine acute phase proteins
Vet Res Commun
Haptoglobin as an indicator of infection in sheep
Vet Rec
Concentrations of serum amyloid-A (SAA) and haptoglobin (Hp) as parameters of inflammatory diseases in cattle
Vet Quart
Cited by (17)
Acute phase response of sole ulcer, white line disease and digital dermatitis in dairy cows
2022, Veterinary and Animal ScienceCitation Excerpt :Tóthová et al. (2011) and Jacobsen et al. (2004) reported that there was a wide range of variation in APP results among different individuals and suggested that the variation within APP results was most likely to be caused by a wide variety of different pathologies. Elevated rectal temperature has been found in cattle and reindeer and is associated with APR after exposure to endotoxins (Carroll et al., 2009; Orro et al., 2004). Ilievska et al. (2019) reported that SU and acute laminitis generated higher SAA and Hp concentrations than heel horn erosion, DD or white line separation.
Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections in neonatal reindeer calves: Relation to the acute phase response
2017, Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious DiseasesCitation Excerpt :The specific proteins that increase in concentration during an APR are termed positive acute phase proteins (APP) [3]. Serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin (HP) act as positive APR markers in reindeer exposed to Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, and SAA seems to be the more sensitive APR marker of the two [4]. In reindeer, SAA concentrations peak around the second week of life while HP continues to rise until 3–4 weeks of life [5].
Temporal changes in concentrations of serum amyloid-A and haptoglobin and their associations with weight gain in neonatal reindeer calves
2006, Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious DiseasesAcute phase proteins in wildlife and their domesticated relatives
2022, Medycyna WeterynaryjnaSerum proteomics reveals disorder of lipoprotein metabolism in sepsis
2021, Life Science Alliance