Serum health biomarkers in African and Asian elephants : value ranges and clinical values indicative of the immune response
Date
2020-09-27
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
Serum biomarkers indicative of inflammation and disease can provide useful information
regarding host immune processes, responses to treatment and prognosis. The aims of this study were to
assess the use of commercially available anti-equine reagents for the quantification of cytokines (tumor
necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- ), interferon-gamma (IFN-
), interleukins (IL) 2, 6, and 10) in African
(Loxodonta africana, n = 125) and Asian (Elephas maximus, n = 104) elephants, and alongside previously
validated anti-human reagents for acute-phase proteins (serum amyloid A and haptoglobin), calculate
species-specific biomarker value ranges. In addition, we used opportunistically collected samples to
investigate the concentrations of each biomarker during identified clinical cases of illness or injury,
as a first step to understanding what biomarkers may be useful to managing elephant health. Immune
biomarkers were each elevated above the calculated species-specific value ranges in at least one
clinical case, but due to variability in both clinical and non-clinical samples, only serum amyloid
A was significantly higher in clinical compared to non-clinical paired samples, with tendencies for
higher TNF- and IL-10. We also detected increased secretion of serum amyloid A and all five
cytokines following routine vaccination of a single Asian elephant, indicating that these biomarkers
can be beneficial for studying normal immune processes as well as pathology. This study indicates
that assays developed with commercial reagents can be used to quantify health biomarkers in wildlife
species and identifies several that warrant further investigation to elucidate immune responses to
various pathologies.
Description
CITATION: Edwards, Katie L. et al. 2020. Serum health biomarkers in African and Asian elephants : value ranges and clinical values indicative of the immune response. Animals, 10(10):1756, doi:10.3390/ani10101756.
The original publication is available at: https://www.mdpi.com
The original publication is available at: https://www.mdpi.com
Keywords
Biochemical markers, Acute phase proteins, Cellular immunity, Elephas maximus, Cytokines, Serum -- Chemical analysis, Natural immunity, Loxodonta, Reference intervals
Citation
Edwards, Katie L. et al. 2020. Serum health biomarkers in African and Asian elephants : value ranges and clinical values indicative of the immune response. Animals, 10(10):1756, doi:10.3390/ani10101756