Mads Bertelsen, Carsten Grøndahl Stine Jacobsen (KU-LIFE), Mads Kjelgaard-Hansen (KU-LIFE), Peter Heegaard (DFVF).

Acute phase proteins (APPs) are proteins whose serum concentrations increase dramatically in response to inflammation and tissue injury. APPs are used for detection of inflammation, for monitoring disease activity (effect of treatment or relapse) and for evaluation of disease status in groups of individuals. In the present study, the clinical applicability of two assays for each of three potential APPs – serum amyloid A (SAA), C-reactive protein (CRP) and haptoglobin (Hp) – for the heterologous determination of relevant APPs in non-domesticated species was evaluated. Assays were evaluated in four ruminant species, four primate species, two carnivore species, as well as in Asian elephants (Elaphas maximus), and Bennet’s wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), comparing samples collected from clinically healthy animals to samples from specimens suffering from known inflammatory conditions. Results varied across both assays and species. The SAA turbidimetric assay (TIA) demonstrated significant discriminative abilities in the Asian elephant, impala (Aepyceros melampus), musk ox (Ovibos moschatus), and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). The SAA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was discriminative in impala. CRP TIA and CRP ELISA appeared effective in chimpanzee. The Hp colorimteric assay had significant discriminative ability in impala, musk ox, sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekeii), and chimpanzee, whereas the Hp ELISA was discriminative in impala, musk ox, and sitatunga. In conclusion, available assays appear to be applicable for heterologous determination of APPs for possible future detection, screening and monitoring of inflammatory conditions in several non-domesticated animal species.