Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
DGGR lipase test in cats and dogs may not detect pancreatitis
By Lim, Sue Yee et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2020·College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The 1,2-o-dilauryl-rac-glycero-3-glutaric acid-(6'-methylresorufin) ester (DGGR) lipase assay in cats and dogs is not specific for pancreatic lipase.
Plain-English summary
A study found that a specific blood test for measuring pancreatic lipase in cats and dogs, which is important for diagnosing pancreatitis, may not be as reliable as previously thought. Researchers gave heparin to six cats and six dogs to see how it affected the test results. They discovered that the test showed increased lipase levels shortly after heparin was given, indicating that it could also measure other types of lipase not related to the pancreas. This means that the test might not be specific enough for diagnosing pancreatitis in pets.
People also search for: cat pancreatitis symptoms · dog pancreatitis test · lipase test for cats and dogs · pancreatitis treatment in pets
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The measurement of pancreatic lipase is important for the diagnosis of feline and canine pancreatitis. Recent studies have claimed that lipase assays using the 1,2-o-dilauryl-rac-glycero-3-glutaric acid-(6'-methylresorufin) ester (DGGR) as a substrate are more specific for measuring pancreatic lipase than traditional lipase assays. However, the analytical specificity of this assay for pancreatic lipase has not been demonstrated. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether hepatic and/or lipoprotein lipases can interfere with the DGGR-based assay results in cats and dogs. We, therefore, compared plasma lipase activities measured using DGGR-based and pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (PLI) assays before and after administering heparin, known to cause the release of hepatic and lipoprotein lipases, in cats and dogs. METHODS: Heparin was administered in six cats and six dogs. Blood was collected at baseline and 10, 20, 30, 60, and 120 minutes after heparin administration. Lipase activity was measured using a DGGR-based assay, and PLI concentrations were measured using the Spec fPL and cPL assays for cats and dogs, respectively. RESULTS: Plasma lipase activities, as measured using the DGGR-based assay, increased significantly 10 minutes after heparin administration in both cats (P = .003) and dogs (P = .006) and returned to baseline by 120 minutes. In contrast, PLI concentrations showed no significant changes after heparin administration. CONCLUSIONS: DGGR is not only hydrolyzed by pancreatic lipase but also by hepatic lipase, lipoprotein lipase, or both, in cats and dogs. Since these extrapancreatic lipases are also naturally present in cats and dogs, they could contribute to the lack of analytical specificity for the DGGR-based assays.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33111388/