title: C-reactive protein measurement in canine saliva.
abstract: An established time-resolved immunofluorometric assay designed for measurement of C-reactive protein (CRP) in canine blood was evaluated and validated for use in canine saliva. C-reactive protein was measured in saliva specimens from 5 healthy dogs before and after the injection of casein and in 37 dogs with different disease conditions. The analytical and functional limits of detection were 0.000053 microg/ml and 0.0091 microg/ml, respectively, and intra- and interassay coefficients of variation ranged between 6.7-9.9% and 8.5-16.5%, respectively. A recovery experiment showed no significant disagreement between detected values and expected ones, and saliva CRP concentration was measured in a linear and proportional manner. A positive correlation was found between CRP levels obtained in saliva and serum samples in the experimental (R2 = 0.76) and clinical studies (R2 = 0.70). The assay was able to detect significant differences between salivary CRP levels in healthy dogs and dogs with inflammatory processes. These results suggest that saliva can be used for CRP measurement in dogs. The use of saliva presents the advantage of an easier and less stressful sampling method for the animals, which might be performed outside of hospital environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: María Dolores
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Parra
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tecles
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martínez-Subiela
authors.forename: José Joaquín
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cerón
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002364:Caseins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004285:Dogs; D015200:Fluoroimmunoassay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002364:Caseins; D002097:C-Reactive Protein