ACUTE-PHASE RESPONSE IN EMERGENCY SLAUGHTERED DAIRY-COWS

The acute phase response and the diagnostic value of two serum acute p hase proteins, haptoglobin and eel-acid glycoprotein, were studied in eighty emergency slaughtered Ayrshire or Friesian dairy cows. The resu lts rt ere compared with plasma proteins and enzymes and with the meat inspection data of the slaughtered cows. Cows with minor injuries, su ch as teat lesions, had low haptoglobin and alpha(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 mea ns for haptoglobin and alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein were 0.67 and 0.96 g l(-1), respectively. Serum gammaglobulin was also increased in these a nimals, and had a mean concentration of 22 gl(-1). These results indic ate that acute phase proteins could be used for detecting diseased ani mals from the normal slaughterhouse material. Haptoglobin and alpha(1) -acid glycoprotein did not quantitatively predict the meat inspection result of the emergency slaughtered dairy cows. Serum gamma-globulin c oncentration was more effective in this respect, being significantly h igher (p < 0.05) in totally condemned carcases. Muscle traumas were th e most frequent pathological finding in meat inspection. They also ind uced an acute phase response detectable by serum haptoglobin and alpha (1)-acid glycoprotein. Alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein correlated positivel y with the quantity of muscle trauma, the correlation coefficient bein g 0.54 (p < 0.01). The respective correlations for muscle specific enz ymes serum aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase were 0.62 an d 0.63 (p < 0.01). (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.