The concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A, haptoglobin (Hp) and α(1)-acid glycoprotein were measured in dogs with clinical signs of nasal disease and compared with those of healthy dogs in order to determine the expression of these proteins in cases of canine nasal disease. A significant difference (P<0.001) between the symptomatic group and the control group was found for...

Life-history theory predicts that animals face a trade-off in energy allocation between performing strenuous exercise, such as migratory flight, and mounting an immune response. We experimentally tested this prediction by studying immune function in European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, flown in a wind tunnel. Specifically, we predicted that constitutive immune function decreases in response to...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate plasma levels of nitric oxide (NO) and certain acute phase proteins (caeruloplasmin, transferrin, haptoglobin, C-reactive protein) in Nigerian subjects after short and prolonged exercises. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 57 subjects (34 males and 23 females) between ages of 19 and 45 years participated in this study and were divided into three...

To obtain a basal concentration of serum Haptoglobin (Hp) in cattle in Taiwan, Hp concentrations were measured from serum samples collected from 10 healthy heifers, every week for one year. The values were also compared with those collected from 15 cows diagnosed with postpartum metritis. The heifers were successfully impregnated by artificial insemination six months after the tests. Hp concent...

Serum haptoglobin has been advocated as an indicator of intravascular hemolysis. We have evaluated a nephelometric determination of serum haptoglobin. The assay is sensitive and exhibits within-run precision in the range of 2.5-7.4% coefficient of variation (CV) and between-run precision of 7.0% (CV). In addition, when haptoglobin values determined with the nephelometric assay were compared wit...

One hundred twenty 8-wk-old barrows (20.3 +/- 2.0 kg BW) were used to examine the effect of split marketing on selected behavioral, physiological and performance parameters. Pigs were assigned by weight in a randomized complete block design to one of three treatments: SM (split-marketed), six pigs/pen (1.83 m2/pig); C (control), six pigs/pen (1.83 m2/pig); or MC (modified control), three pigs/p...

Detecting exposure to new or emerging pathogens is a critical challenge to protecting human, domestic animal, and wildlife health. Yet, current techniques to detect infections typically target known pathogens of humans or economically important animals. In the face of the current surge in infectious disease emergence, non-specific disease surveillance tools are urgently needed. Tracking common ...

Oceanic islands share several environmental characteristics that have been shown to drive convergent evolutionary changes in island organisms. One change that is often assumed but has seldom been examined is the evolution of weaker immune systems in island species. The reduction in species richness on islands is expected to lead to a reduced parasite pressure and, given that immune function is ...

Levels of haptoglobin and Pig-major acute phase protein (MAP) were analysed in animals from a commercial herd receiving or not a diet enriched with an additive. The group receiving the additive exhibited a decrease in haptoglobin after 3 weeks, suggesting that a better health status has been established, together with an improvement in total body weight and average daily gain. In contrast, Pig-...

BACKGROUND Haptoglobin acts as an antioxidant by limiting peroxidative tissue damage by free hemoglobin. The haptoglobin gene allele Hp2 comprises a 1.7 kb partial duplication. Relative to allele Hp1, Hp2 carriers form protein multimers, suboptimal for hemoglobin scavenging. OBJECTIVE To examine the association of haptoglobin genotype with a range of phenotypes, with emphasis on vitamin C and...