title: C-reactive protein quantification in porcine saliva: a minimally invasive test for pig health monitoring.
abstract: Study objectives were to investigate whether C-reactive protein (CRP) in pig saliva could be quantified using an adapted, time-resolved immunofluorometry assay (TR-IFMA), and to determine whether the assay could distinguish healthy from diseased animals. The test method had intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation of 5.75% and 9.73%, respectively, the limit of detection was 0.47ng/mL and the coefficient of determination was 0.98. Analysis of CRP concentrations in paired serum and saliva samples from 50 pigs gave a positive correlation (r=0.702, P<0.01) and the salivary CRP concentration was able to distinguish healthy from diseased animals in 62 samples from pigs with naturally occurring or experimentally-induced inflammation. The results suggest that this minimally invasive, straightforward and sensitive assay may be useful in pig health and welfare monitoring.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, 30100 Espinardo, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martínez-Subiela
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Eckersall
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Cerón
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein