Changes in Calprotectin (S100A8-A9) and Aldolase in the Saliva of Horses with Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome
Alberto Muñoz-Prieto,
María Dolores Contreras-Aguilar,
José Joaquín Cerón,
Ignacio Ayala de la Peña,
María Martín-Cuervo,
Peter David Eckersall,
Ida-Marie Holm Henriksen,
Fernando Tecles,
Sanni Hansen
Affiliations
Alberto Muñoz-Prieto
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis (INTERLAB-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
María Dolores Contreras-Aguilar
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis (INTERLAB-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
José Joaquín Cerón
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis (INTERLAB-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Ignacio Ayala de la Peña
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis (INTERLAB-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
María Martín-Cuervo
Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Cáceres, University of Extremadura, Av. de la Universidad S-N, 10005 Cáceres, Spain
Peter David Eckersall
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis (INTERLAB-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Ida-Marie Holm Henriksen
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Veterinary School of Medicine, Sektion Medicine and Surgery, University of Copenhagen, Hoejbakkegaard Allé 5, DK-2630 Høje-Taastrup, Denmark
Fernando Tecles
Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Analysis (INTERLAB-UMU), Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary School, Regional Campus of International Excellence Mare Nostrum, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Sanni Hansen
Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Cáceres, University of Extremadura, Av. de la Universidad S-N, 10005 Cáceres, Spain
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a highly prevalent disease that affects horses worldwide. Within EGUS, two different forms have been described: equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD). The associated clinical signs cause detrimental activity performance, reducing the quality of life of animals. Saliva can contain biomarkers for EGUS that could be potentially used as a complementary tool for diagnosis. The objective of this work was to evaluate the measurements of calprotectin (CALP) and aldolase in the saliva of horses as potential biomarkers of EGUS. For this purpose, automated assays for the quantification of these two proteins were analytically validated and applied for detecting EGUS in a total of 131 horses divided into 5 groups: healthy horses, ESGD, EGGD, combined ESGD and EGGD, and horses with other intestinal pathologies. The assays showed good precision and accuracy in analytical validation, and they were able to discriminate between horses with EGUS and healthy horses, especially in the case of CALP, although they did not show significant differences between horses with EGUS and horses with other diseases. In conclusion, salivary CALP and aldolase can be determined in the saliva of horses and further studies are warranted to elucidate the potential of these analytes as biomarkers in EGUS.