Acute phase response in emergency slaughtered dairy cows.

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Biochemistry
• Food Safety

Background:

• The acute phase response (APR) is a systemic reaction to injury or infection.
• Acute phase proteins (APPs) like haptoglobin (Hp) and α(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP) are key indicators of APR.
• Assessing APR in emergency slaughtered cattle is crucial for food safety and animal welfare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic value of serum Hp and AGP in detecting disease in emergency slaughtered dairy cows.
• To compare APP concentrations with plasma proteins, enzymes, and meat inspection findings.
• To determine the utility of APPs and γ-globulin in identifying diseased animals and predicting meat condemnation.

Main Methods:

• Serum concentrations of Hp, AGP, and γ-globulin were measured in 80 emergency slaughtered dairy cows.
• Measurements were compared with plasma proteins, muscle-specific enzymes (AST, CK), and meat inspection data.
• Correlation analyses were performed to assess relationships between biomarkers and pathological findings.

Main Results:

• Cows with minor injuries showed low Hp and AGP levels.
• Emergency slaughtered animals exhibited a significant acute phase response with elevated Hp, AGP, and γ-globulin.
• Serum γ-globulin was significantly higher in totally condemned carcasses (p < 0.05).
• Hp and AGP did not quantitatively predict meat inspection results, but AGP correlated positively with muscle trauma (r=0.54, p<0.01).
• Muscle-specific enzymes showed strong correlations with muscle trauma (AST r=0.62, CK r=0.63, p<0.01).

Conclusions:

• Serum acute phase proteins (Hp and AGP) can aid in identifying diseased animals within slaughterhouse populations.
• Serum γ-globulin concentration is a more effective indicator of carcass condemnation than Hp or AGP.
• Muscle trauma is a common finding and triggers a detectable acute phase response.