Haptoglobin concentrations in a canine hospital population

摘要

The acute-phase response is an innate defence mechanism which is designed to limit tissue damage and promote healing following trauma, infection or inflammation. Clinically, the acute-phase response results in pyrexia and anorexia. Canine haematological changes include leucocytosis and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (Suffredini and others 1999). Activation of granulocytes and mononuclear cells at the site of inflammation leads to the release of proinfiammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (Heinrich and others 1990) which, in turn, stimulate the hepatic production of glycoproteins known as the acute-phase proteins (APPS). The APPS include haptoglobin, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A and alphal-acid glycoprotein (Thompson and others 1992). The concentration of these proteins in the blood stream is related to the severity of the initiating disease process.