engleski

Estimation of calprotectin values in serum of athletic horses

Calprotectin is a promising biomarker for the evaluation of neutrophil-related inflammation. It is suggested that calprotectin modulates inflammatory reactions and has a central role in neutrophil defence against microbes. Previous studies showed that faecal calprotectin can be a useful nonspecific marker of inflammatory bowel disease in horses. However, there is no data available for values of serum calprotectin in healthy horses. The aim of this study was to evaluate serum calprotectin in serum of healthy athletic horses. The study included 23 randomly chosen horses competing at an endurance competition. The inclusion criterion was a successfully passing of clinical examination prior to the race. Blood samples were collected by jugular venipuncture 1 h before the start. Serum calprotectin concentrations were measured using Horse Calprotectin ELISA Kit (MyBioSource, San Diego, CA, USA). There were 12 female and 11 male horses, with an average age of 11 (± 3.7) years. The study included 10 Arabian and 13 horses of other warmblood breeds. The lowest measured concentration of calprotectin was 15.7 ng/mL, while the highest was 46.6 ng/mL with an average of 30.1 (± 7) ng/mL. There was no difference in values of calprotectin according to age, breed and gender. Significantly lower values of calprotectin were recorded in horses participating in higher race categories. Serum calprotectin has been successfully determined in all the enrolled horses. Lower values noted in horses undergoing more demanding training programmes could indicate a different effect of levels of exercise on subclinical systemic inflammation. The results of this pilot study emphasise the role of serum calprotectin as a potential biomarker of different training adaptations.

horse, calprotectin, serum, exercise

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