Principales aplicaciones de las proteínas de fase aguda en la clínica canina

Abstract

The term acute phase proteins reflects all the changes that occur in the organism after a tissue injury with the purpose of restoring its homeostasis. During this response there is a change in the concentration of some plasma proteins collectively known as acute phase proteins. Some of these proteins are haptoglobin, C reactive protein, serum amyloid A and ceruloplasmin. Healthy dogs have negligible or low levels of these proteins, however their concentrations increase quickly in response to infection or inflammatory conditions. Therefore the appearance of a high result of some of these proteins in a dog would be indicative that this animal it is not healthy and that a secondary detailed diagnostic study should be made. In addition acute phase proteins have an important application in the monitoring of the response to treatment, and they could be an aid to determine the effectiveness of the therapy and to predict possible relapses.