Alterations in serum protein electrophoresis profiles during the acute phase response in dogs with acute pancreatitis

The quantification of serum proteins is a useful tool for diagnosing and monitoring various diseases that involve changes in the concentrations of these proteins. As canine acute pancreatitis (AP) accompanies the systemic inflammatory response syndrome, serum proteins such as C-reactive protein (CRP) have been used as inflammatory markers for dogs with AP. The goal of this study was to investigate the overall profiles of serum proteins by serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) and to determine the concentration of acute phase proteins (APPs) in dogs with AP in order to better understand serum protein profiles as diagnostic markers in these dogs. Decreased levels of albumin and increased levels of alpha-2 globulin were observed in dogs with AP by SPE. Among APPs, elevated concentrations of CRP, serum amyloid A (SAA), and haptoglobin were detected. The concentration of SAA was positively correlated with that of CRP, which suggests that SAA could be a sensitive marker of inflammation in dogs with AP, similar to CRP.