Matas-Quintanilla Marta, Whitacre Lynsey, Ipharraguerre Ignacio R, Gutiérrez-Panizo Cándido, Gutiérrez Ana M
Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Regional Campus of International Excellence "Campus Mare Nostrum", University of Murcia, Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
BioZyme Inc., St. Joseph, MO 64504, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jul 31;15(15):2251. doi: 10.3390/ani15152251.
This study arises from the search for non-invasive diagnostic alternatives for equine gastric ulceration (EGUS), which is prevalent, clinically variable and only confirmed by gastroscopy. The aim is to quantify five salivary biomarkers (IL1-F5, PIP, CA VI, serotransferrin, albumin) under clinical conditions by validated assays and analyse their diagnostic value. Horses were grouped in No EGUS (neither clinical signs of EGUS nor gastric lesions), EGUS non-clinical (apparently no clinical signs of EGUS but with gastric lesions), and EGUS clinical (obvious clinical signs of EGUS and with gastric lesions). The concentration of 5 analytes could be quantified using sandwich ELISA assays, with high precision (CV: 6.79-12.38%) and accuracy (>95%). Mean salivary levels of IL1-F5, CA-VI, serotransferrin and albumin were significantly higher in EGUS clinical horses compared to No EGUS horses, whereas PIP showed no statistical significance. EGUS non-clinical horses showed statistical differences with No EGUS horses for PIP and albumin. In addition, IL1-F5, CA-VI, serotransferrin and albumin showed moderate accuracy to distinguish between No EGUS and EGUS clinical horses (AUC ≥ 0.8), with sensitivity and specificity greater than 77% and 65%, respectively. Therefore, these biomarkers could be a promising starting point for screening horse that might have EGUS in practice.
本研究源于对马胃溃疡（EGUS）非侵入性诊断方法的探索，EGUS较为常见，临床表现多样，且仅能通过胃镜检查确诊。目的是通过经过验证的检测方法，在临床条件下对五种唾液生物标志物（IL1-F5、PIP、CA VI、血清转铁蛋白、白蛋白）进行定量，并分析其诊断价值。马匹被分为无EGUS组（既无EGUS的临床症状，也无胃部病变）、非临床EGUS组（表面上无EGUS的临床症状，但有胃部病变）和临床EGUS组（有明显的EGUS临床症状且有胃部病变）。使用夹心ELISA检测法可以对5种分析物的浓度进行定量，具有高精度（变异系数：6.79 - 12.38%）和高准确度（>95%）。与无EGUS组的马匹相比，临床EGUS组马匹的IL1-F5、CA-VI、血清转铁蛋白和白蛋白的唾液平均水平显著更高，而PIP则无统计学意义。非临床EGUS组马匹在PIP和白蛋白方面与无EGUS组马匹存在统计学差异。此外，IL1-F5、CA-VI、血清转铁蛋白和白蛋白在区分无EGUS组和临床EGUS组马匹方面显示出中等准确度（曲线下面积≥0.8），敏感性和特异性分别大于77%和65%。因此，这些生物标志物可能是在实践中筛查可能患有EGUS马匹的一个有前景的起点。
