21  December, 2011 – Miami, FL – The Acute Phase Protein Laboratory at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is pleased to announce special biomarker testing is now available for the first time in the United States.

Biomarker is a name given to a type of protein which is made during a disease that can be measured by means of an assay to provide valuable health information.   A major group of these markers are known as acute phase proteins or APP and they serve as key markers of inflammation.  Their role is to promote healing.  APP have been valued in human medicine for many years but have only more recently been studied in veterinary medicine.

The major APP identified in horses is serum amyloid A or SAA.  This biomarker has been the subject of over 50 published studies and a highly reproducible assay has been validated.  Oddly enough, this assay has been available in Europe but not in the United States until its recent implementation in our laboratory.  Equine veterinarians in Europe have great respect for biomarker assays and SAA testing is commonly used together with routine blood assays such as the complete blood count and serum biochemistry panel.  

A large study on SAA was presented at the recent AAEP meeting by our collaborator Dr. Rodney Belgrave of Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in Ringoes, New Jersey.  Examining blood samples from over 200 horses, SAA was found to provide a higher diagnostic accuracy versus traditional test options.  Samples from sick horses used in this study included those diagnosed with bacterial infection, viral infection, colic, and strangles among many others. In addition, when a horse responds to treatment, we observed SAA levels drop very quickly making it an excellent prognostic indicator and reassuring that treatment is on the right track.

The findings of our study as well as the wealth of other publications prove a role for SAA testing in routine wellness exams as well as in repeat testing of sick animals during treatment.   Some other novel applications of SAA testing in horses include the following:

• Sports Performance – SAA levels have been shown to be an indicator of performance in endurance and racehorses. (Equine Veterinary Journal 42:23-27, 2010)  Other anecdotal information has also been presented in a similar application of SAA testing in racehorses – see http://www.trideltaltd.com/experience.html   
• Monitoring Pregnancy – SAA levels were found to be increased more than 20-fold in horses with early pregnancy loss. (Reproduction in Domestic Animals 46:624-629, 2011)
• Monitoring Post Surgery Complications – The trauma of surgery alone is significant enough of a stimulus to increase SAA.  With healing, SAA returns to normal levels.  Thus, postoperative monitoring of SAA can be valuable to assess the presence of complications. (Veterinary Surgery 38:762-769, 2009, Equine Veterinary Journal 37:552-556, 2005) 
• Monitoring Complications in Foals – Significantly higher levels of SAA were found in foals with infection post birth.  (Equine Infectious Diseases VI 21:106-109, 1989, The Veterinary Journal 176:393-396, 2008, Equine Veterinary Journal 33:599-603, 2001, Equine Veterinary Journal 34:693-698, 2002).
• Monitoring of Joint Disease, Colic, Equine Influenza Virus, and many other diseases.  (Journal of Veterinary Medical Science, 55:1011-1016, 1993, Equine Veterinary Journal, 21:106-109, 1989, Equine Veterinary Education, 19:38-46, 2007)

Biomarkers represent a standard of care in human medicine and are now being applied to veterinary medicine.  The basic test described here is just the start of a very positive change to the old routine blood work that forms that mainstay of a diagnostic workup.  Acute phase proteins are a true science application that now can be readily applied to aid in the health assessments of horses.  Talk with your veterinarian about how SAA can be used in evaluating and managing the health of your horse.  More information regarding this test can be found at our website http://www.cpl.med.miami.edu/acute-phase-protein.

About Us

The Acute Phase Protein Laboratory is part of the Division of Comparative Pathology at the University of Miami where the study of biomarkers is an integral part of our research and service mission.   We have extensively published in this area of research and our faculty has presented our work the Acute Phase Protein Colloquiums held in Europe as well as several national meetings in the United States.