Plasma histidine concentrations as a specific biomarker for intestinal mucosal damage in calves with cryptosporidiosis

Abstract

Specific alterations in plasma histidine concentrations and diamine oxidase (DAO) activity were recently reported as a potential biomarker for intestinal mucosal damage in diarrheic calves. However, there are no data on the comparison of precision between histidine concentration and DAO activity in bovine plasma. The aim of the present study was to compare precision of histidine concentrations and DAO activities in plasma as a biomarker for the Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum)-associated intestinal mucosal damage in diarrheic calves. Thirty-two Holstein calves aged 12.2 ± 4.1 days old were enrolled in the present study; they were divided into C. parvum (n = 9), diarrhea (n = 11), and control (n = 12) groups based on the presence or absence of diarrhea and with or without C. parvum infection. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to characterize the sensitivity and specificity of each parameter for the C. parvum-associated intestinal mucosal damage. The proposed cut-off points for plasma histidine concentrations and plasma DAO activities for cryptosporidiosis in calves based on ROC analyses were < 55.8 nM and < 246.0 IU/ml, respectively. The sensitivities and specificities of the proposed diagnostic cut-offs were 88.9% and 82.6% for plasma histidine concentrations and 100.0% and 34.8% for plasma DAO activities, respectively. It was concluded that plasma histidine concentrations may be superior to plasma DAO activities as a specific biomarker for the C. parvum-associated intestinal mucosal damage in diarrheic calves.