Evaluation of sialic acids, TNF-α, INF-γ, and acute-phase proteins in cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the concentrations of sialic acids, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and gamma-interferon (INF-γ) and their correlation with acute-phase proteins (haptoglobin, serum amyloid A, ceruloplasmin, and fibrinogen) in cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Thirty cows were diagnosed and confirmed for FMD. Ten clinically healthy adult cattle were selected as a control group. Serum haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid A (SAA), ceruloplasmin, fibrinogen, total sialic acid (TSA), lipid-bound sialic acid (LBSA), protein-bound sialic acid (PBSA), TNF-α, and INF-γ were measured by validated standard methods. All parameters were significantly higher in the diseased animals compared with the healthy group (P < 0.001 in all cases). There were significant associations between Hp and INF-γ, fibrinogen with TSA, fibrinogen with PBSA, TSA with PBSA, and TNF-α with ceruloplasmin in the control group. In the FMD group, significant associations were observed for PBSA with TSA, PBSA with LBSA, and TNF-α with ceruloplasmin. The results of this study revealed that inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, INF-γ, and sialic acids) and acute-phase proteins (SAA, Hp, ceruloplasmin, and fibrinogen) concentrations increased in FMD-infected cattle in response to viral infection. However, more detailed future studies are required to characterize such responses and to improve the development of novel control strategies against FMD.