Acute phase response in emergency slaughtered dairy cows

The acute phase response and the diagnostic value of two serum acute phase proteins, haptoglobin and α(1)-acid glycoprotein, were studied in eighty emergency slaughtered Ayrshire or Friesian dairy cows. The results were compared with plasma proteins and enzymes and with the meat inspection data of the slaughtered cows. Cows with minor injuries, such as teat lesions, had low haptoglobin and α(1)-acid glycoprotein serum concentrations, the means being 0.01 and 0.54 gl(-1). The other emergency slaughtered animals exhibited acute phase response: the means for haptoglobin and α(1)-acid glycoprotein were 0.67 and 0.96 gl(-1), respectively. Serum gammaglobulin was also increased in these animals, and had a mean concentration of 22 gl(-1). These results indicate that acute phase proteins could be used for detecting diseased animals from the normal slaughterhouse material. Haptoglobin and α(1)-acid glycoprotein did not quantitatively predict the meat inspection result of the emergency slaughtered dairy cows. Serum γ-globulin concentration was more effective in this respect, being significantly higher (p < 0.05) in totally condemned carcases. Muscle traumas were the most frequent pathological finding in meat inspection. They also induced an acute phase response detectable by serum haptoglobin and α(1)-acid glycoprotein. Alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein correlated positively with the quantity of muscle trauma, the correlation coefficient being 0.54 (p < 0.01). The respective correlations for muscle specific enzymes serum aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase were 0.62 and 0.63 (p < 0.01).