Evaluation of serum phosphorylated neurofilament subunit NF-H as a prognostic biomarker in dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether pNF-H is a prognostic biomarker of spinal cord injury (SCI) in paraplegic dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH).


METHODS
Prospective, case-control clinical study


METHODS
Dogs (n = 60) with SCI from IVDH and 6 healthy dogs.


METHODS
Serum from 60 thoracolumbar IVDH dogs (Grade 4: 22 dogs; Grade 5: 38 dogs) collected 1-3 days after injury, and 6 control dogs, was analyzed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against a phosphorylated form of the high-molecular-weight neurofilament subunit NF-H (pNF-H). Serum pNF-H levels were compared between different IVDH grades and their prognostic value was investigated.


RESULTS
pNF-H levels were significantly greater in Grade 5 than Grade 4 dogs. There were significant differences in pNF-H levels between dogs that regained voluntarily ambulation and those that did not. All 8 dogs that had high pNF-H levels 1-3 days after injury did not regain the ability to walk after surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum pNF-H levels might be a biomarker for predicting prognosis of canine SCI.
Nakayama Veterinary Hospital, Nara, Japan; Department of Advanced Pathobiology, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan.
Hidetaka
H
Nishida
Masanari
M
Nakayama
Hiroshi
H
Tanaka
Hiroaki
H
Kamishina
Takeshi
T
Izawa
Shingo
S
Hatoya
Kikuya
K
Sugiura
Yoshihisa
Y
Suzuki
Chizuka
C
Ide
Toshio
T
Inaba
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D015415:Biomarkers; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; C051774:neurofilament protein H