Urinary Reference Values and First Insight into the Urinary Proteome of Captive Giraffes

摘要

The aims of this study were to determine the urinary reference values and identify the most represented proteins of the urinary proteome in captive giraffes. The reference values for the urine specific gravity, total proteins, creatinine, and urine protein:creatinine ratio, reported as the median, and lower and upper limit, were 1.030 (1006–1.049), 17.58 (4.54–35.31) mg/dL, 154.62 (39.59–357.95) mg/dL, and 0.11 (0.07–0.16), respectively. Giraffes presented a low quantity of urinary proteins, which is in accordance with the data regarding domestic ruminants. In addition to albumin, the most represented urinary proteins were lysozyme and ubiquitin, which are involved in defense mechanisms against microbes.