EVALUAT ION OF CERU LOPLASMIN AS AN ACUTE PH ASE PROTEIN IN INFECTED DOGS

Ceru lop lasmin (C p) is a sensitive indi cato r of in flammat ion and in fection. It is a li ver -der ived a2- gl ycop rot ein and is synth esized prima ril y as a po sitive acute-pha se re acta nt. Staphy lococc us aureu s ( S. aureu s) is oft ass ociat ed w ith supp ur at ive in fections and is re cogni zed as an in here nt memb er of th e microf lora of th e skin of huma ns and dogs and is re spo nsible fo r a di ver se spectru m of di seases. Th is in fection w as cho sen because Staphy lococc us aureu s pre sented in a lot of ani ma ls – dogs, ho rses, cat s, pig s, catt le, pig eons. O ur aim in th is exper iment w as to exam in e C p concentrat ions in dogs that w ere expo sed to Staphy lococc us aureu s in fection and th en eva luat e ho w C p could be used as an indi cato r of th is ba cter ial in fection in dogs. F or that , C p concentrat ions w ere deter min ed in plasma s from 9 mo ng re l ma le dogs (in exper imenta l group) and 6 mo ng re l ma le dogs ( in control group) at th e age of 2 years and bo dy w eig ht 12- 15 k g. Th e in fection w as re produced by in oculat ion of 5 ml 24 h broth culture of S. aureu s strain w ith density of 3 .1 x109 c.f. u./m l in th e lumba r re gi on of exper imenta l ani ma ls and sam e q uantity salin e in control ( non-in fected) dogs. B loo d samp les w ere coll ected in to hepa rini zed tubes befo re in oculat ion ( ho ur 0) th en at ho ur s 6, 24, 48, 72 and on day s 7, 14, 21 at th e sam e time w as ta king bloo d and from controls. O ne day aft er in oculat ion, w e ob ser ved that C p sho wed consistent upward tre nd and betwee n 24 to 72 ho ur s, th e va lue s w ere from 66.55 to 66. 88 mg/L , aft er that w e not iced a peak of th e concentrat ion on th e 7 th day ( 109 .5 ±7 .82 mg/L ). At th e end of th e exper imenta l per iod (2 1 day s) th is acute pha se prot ein re ma in ed still hig her (8 1. 88± 6.5 9 mg/L ) compa re d to ba selin e. In conclusion, dogs exper imenta ll y in fected w ith Staphy lococc us aureu s sho wed an acute pha se re spo nse cha racter ized by stat isticall y signi ficant (p<0 .00 1) twofo ld in cre ase in C p concentrat ion on th e seventh day aft er in oculat ion. Th ere fo re , th e re sults of th is study sugg est that ceru lop lasmin can be a useful ma rker fo r th e pre sence of staphy lococc al in fection in dogs. Key w ords : dogs, ceru lop lasmin , in fection, Staphy lococc us aureu s.