Petersen Henrik H, Stenbak Rikke, Blaabjerg Camilla, Krogh Anne K H, Bertelsen Mads F, Buss Peter, Heegaard Peter M H
VetGruppen, Goerlev Dyreklinik, 4281 Goerlev, Denmark.
National Veterinary Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2022 Mar;53(1):141-152. doi: 10.1638/2020-0010.
Objective disease markers in the southern white rhinoceros () are in high demand. In the field, such markers are typically needed to decide whether a captured white rhinoceros is fit to cope with quarantine, transport, or both. Captive white rhinoceros have a need for unbiased biomarkers for early detection of disease. Acute phase proteins, including haptoglobin, are proteins that significantly change their plasma concentration in response to tissue perturbation or inflammation, such as that occurring during infection or neoplastic disease. Acute phase proteins are well known diagnostic tools in both human and veterinary medicine. In this study, an ELISA with commercially available anti-human haptoglobin antibodies for quantification of haptoglobin in white rhinoceros serum was developed. The validity of the haptoglobin assay and haptoglobin as a biomarker of disease was investigated with the use of serum samples from both captive and free-ranging animals with a well-described health status. The assay was precise (intra-assay and interassay reproducibility were 5.0% and 13.1%, respectively) and reliably quantified white rhinoceros haptoglobin serum concentrations consuming low volumes of sample. The assay was sensitive to the presence of free hemoglobin in the sample at levels corresponding to a visibly hemolyzed sample. Haptoglobin was readily measurable, baseline levels (in white rhinoceros with no clinical signs of disease) did not differ between genders, and a significant increase was seen in captive as well as in free-ranging white rhinoceros with inflammatory disease. Thus, haptoglobin is a positive acute phase protein in southern white rhinoceros with potential for use as an objective marker of disease.
对白犀（Ceratotherium simum simum）客观疾病标志物的需求很高。在野外，通常需要这类标志物来判定捕获的白犀是否适合接受检疫、运输或两者。圈养白犀需要无偏倚的生物标志物用于疾病的早期检测。急性期蛋白，包括触珠蛋白，是一类在组织受到扰动或发生炎症（如感染或肿瘤疾病期间出现的炎症）时血浆浓度会显著变化的蛋白质。急性期蛋白在人类医学和兽医学中都是广为人知的诊断工具。在本研究中，开发了一种使用市售抗人触珠蛋白抗体的酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法，用于定量白犀血清中的触珠蛋白。利用健康状况明确的圈养和野生白犀的血清样本，研究了触珠蛋白测定法的有效性以及触珠蛋白作为疾病生物标志物的有效性。该测定法精密度高（批内和批间重复性分别为5.0%和13.1%），能可靠地定量白犀血清触珠蛋白浓度，且样本用量少。该测定法对样本中相当于明显溶血样本水平的游离血红蛋白的存在很敏感。触珠蛋白易于检测，基线水平（在无疾病临床症状的白犀中）在不同性别间无差异，并且在患有炎症性疾病的圈养和野生白犀中均观察到显著升高。因此，触珠蛋白是南白犀中的一种阳性急性期蛋白，有潜力用作疾病的客观标志物。
