Acute phase response in dairy cattle with claw disorders

Acute phase response (APR) represents an early body defense mechanism against trauma or inflammation, with main purpose to destroy the infective microorganisms and prevent further tissue damage. Haptoglobin and serum amyloid protein a are the two major acute phase proteins found in cattle, which concentration increase 10-100 times during inflammation or tissue damage. Claw disorders along with mastitis and infertility are the three major problems in dairy cattle industry. The aim of this study was to examine the acute phase response of dairy cattle with different hoof pathology using haptoglobin and serum amyloid protein a as biomarkers. Serum concentrations of haptoglobin and serum amyloid protein a were determined in total of 30 Holstein dairy cows after thorough clinical examination. Five non-pregnant clinically healthy heifers, free of mastitis, endometritis and claw diseases constituted the control group. Total of 25 non-pregnant dairy cows, free of systemic or local diseases, were divided into 5 groups according to the clinical findings on the hoofs: heel erosion, acute laminitis, solear ulcer, digital dermatitis, white line separation. Blood samples were collected from the coccygeal vein and separated sera stored at -20 deg C until detection. Serum concentrations of haptoglobin and serum amyloid protein a were determined using commercial ELISA kits. A significant increase of concentrations of haptoglobin and serum amyloid protein a were detected in groups 2 and 3 (p is less than 0.01) compared with the control and groups 1,4 and 5. Acute laminitis, despite the aseptic etiology, induced an equally strong response as other infective hoof diseases. The results of this study indicates that haptoglobin and serum amyloid protein a can be used as reliable biomarkers for detection of infectious and noninfectious inflammatory claw disorders in dairy cows. The significant variations in acute phase response positively correlated with the severity of the pathological process. Further investigation should be done to assess its value as an indicator of subclinical and chronic processes in the claws as well as farm animal welfare.