Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Changes in blood fats and proteins in dogs with acute Babesia canis
By Milanović, Zorana et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2019·Faculty of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Association of acute Babesia canis infection and serum lipid, lipoprotein, and apoprotein concentrations in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 29 dogs with acute Babesia canis infection showed significant changes in their blood lipid levels, which could affect their health. These dogs had lower cholesterol and phospholipid levels compared to healthy dogs, along with higher levels of a protein called ApoA-1. The infection triggered a strong immune response, indicated by elevated serum amyloid A levels. Understanding these changes is important for predicting the disease's impact and guiding treatment. With appropriate veterinary care, dogs can recover from Babesia canis infection, but monitoring their blood lipid levels may be necessary.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Babesia canis infection induces a marked acute phase response (APR) that might be associated with alteration in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism and disease prognosis. HYPOTHESIS: Dogs with B. canis-induced APR develop dyslipidemia with altered lipoprotein concentration and morphology. ANIMALS: Twenty-nine client-owned dogs with acute B. canis infection and 10 clinically healthy control dogs. METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study. Serum amyloid A (SAA) was measured using ELISA. Cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides were determined biochemically. Lipoproteins were separated using agarose gel electrophoresis. Lipoprotein diameter was assessed by polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis; correlation with ApoA-1 (radioimmunoassay) and SAA was determined. RESULTS: Dogs with B. canis infection had a marked APR (median SAA, 168.3 μg/mL; range, 98.1-716.2 μg/mL) compared with controls (3.2 μg/mL, 2.0-4.2 μg/mL) (P < .001). Dogs with B. canis infection had significantly lower median cholesterol (4.79 mmol/L, 1.89-7.64 mmol/L versus 6.15 mmol/L, 4.2-7.4 mmol/L) (P = .02), phospholipid (4.64 mmol/L, 2.6-6.6 mmol/L versus 5.72 mmol/L, 4.68-7.0 mmol/L) (P = .02), and α-lipoproteins (77.5%, 27.7%-93.5% versus 89.2%, 75.1%-93.5%) (P = .04), and higher ApoA-1 (1.36 U, 0.8-2.56 U versus 0.95 U, 0.73-1.54 U) concentrations (P = .02). Serum amyloid A correlated with high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) diameter (rho = .43; P = .03) and ApoA-1 (rho = .63, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Major changes associated with B. canis-induced APR in dogs are related to concentration, composition, and morphology of HDL particles pointing to an altered reverse cholesterol transport. Parallel ApoA-1 and SAA concentration increase is a unique still unexplained pathophysiological finding.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31175698/