Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Butyrylcholinesterase levels show liver injury in dogs
By do Carmo, Guilherme M et al.·Published in Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases·2015·Programa de Pó, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Butyrylcholinesterase as a marker of inflammation and liver injury in the acute and subclinical phases of canine ehrlichiosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with ehrlichiosis, an infection caused by the Ehrlichia canis bacteria, showed signs of liver injury and inflammation. Blood tests revealed that dogs in the acute phase of the disease had higher levels of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), an enzyme that can indicate inflammation, compared to healthy dogs. In contrast, dogs with subclinical disease had lower BChE levels. The study suggests that measuring BChE could help veterinarians assess the severity of inflammation and liver damage in dogs with this infection.
People also search for: dog ehrlichiosis symptoms · elevated liver enzymes in dogs · butyrylcholinesterase in dogs
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) as a marker of inflammation and liver injury in the acute and subclinical phases of canine ehrlichiosis. Forty-two serum samples of dogs naturally infected with Ehrlichia canis were used, of which 24 were from animals with the acute phase of the disease and 18 with subclinical disease. In addition, sera from 17 healthy dogs were used as negative controls. The hematocrit, BChE activity, hepatic injury (alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)), nitric oxide, and cytokines levels were evaluated. The BChE activity was significantly elevated (P<0.05) in dogs with the acute phase of the disease when compared to healthy animals. However, there was a reduction on BChE activity on dogs with subclinical disease compared to the other two groups. AST and ALT levels were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the acute phase, as well as the inflammatory mediators (NOx, TNF-α, INF-γ, IL-4, IL-6) when compared to the control group. On the other hand, IL-10 levels were lower in the acute phase. Based on these results, we are able to conclude that the acute infection caused by E. canis in dogs leads to an increase on seric BChE activity and some inflammatory mediators. Therefore, this enzyme might be used as a marker of acute inflammatory response in dogs naturally infected by this bacterium.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26616656/