title: Comparison of accuracy of pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) concentration in blood and milk for early pregnancy diagnosis in cows.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare two methods of early pregnancy diagnosis by determining pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) concentration in blood and PAG concentration in milk. Blood and milk samples were obtained on days 0 (AI day), 14, 21, 28, 35, 49, 63, 77, 91 and 105 of gestation from 60 lactating Holstein Frisian cows from one herd, carrying live fetuses. To determine PAG concentration a specific RIA system (RIA-706) was used. PAG concentration in blood and milk increased after 28 days of pregnancy, with blood concentrations being significantly higher than in milk. However, the accuracy of both tests at this time point was similar (sensitivity: 92 % in blood, 93 % in milk; specificity 53 % and 60 % respectively). None of the tests were able to detect open cows properly at this stage. On day 35 of gestation sensitivity (100 % for blood, 97 % for milk) and specificity (100 % for blood, 100 % for milk) were high enough to be used for reliable pregnancy diagnosis. The accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) for PAG concentrations in blood and milk for the rest of the study was 100 %. Our investigation shows that PAG determination in milk is a stress-free and non-invasive method for early pregnancy diagnosis in cattle.
authors.affiliation: Department for Large Animal Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gajewski
authors.affiliation: Department for Large Animal Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petrajtis-Gołobów
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology of Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Melo de Sousa
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology of Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Belgium.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Beckers
authors.affiliation: Department for Large Animal Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pawliński
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Clinic for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Andrology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wehrend
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases / Q000097:blood*; D002417:Cattle; D005260:Female; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011258:Pregnancy Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D016282:Aspartic Acid Endopeptidases; C094766:pregnancy-associated glycoprotein 1
keywords: PAG; Rind; Trächtigkeitsdiagnose; cow; pregnancy diagnosis; pregnancy-associated glycoproteins; trächtigkeitsassoziierte Glykoproteine