Serum amyloid A and haptoglobin levels in crossbred cows with endometritis following different therapy

Aim: To determine the serum variations of two major acute phase proteins, serum amyloid A (SAA) and haptoglobin (Hp) levels in crossbred endometritis cows following pre and post immunomodulation therapy. Materials and Methods: 21 endometritis cows were randomly assigned to three groups (n=7) and treated with three different immunomodulators while seven healthy cows served as control. Uterine flushing collected from all animals was subjected to bacteriological study and serum samples were analyzed for SAA and Hp by sandwich ELISA method. Results: Escherichia coli was most prevalent Gram-negative bacteria (6.02 × 106 CFU/ml) while Staphylococcus (0.86 × 106 CFU/ml) and Streptococcus (0.52 × 106 CFU/ml) were most predominant Gram-positive species isolated from uterine flushing. The pre-treatment SAA values (μg/ml) varied significantly (p<0.01) between the treatment groups whereas no difference was observed in post-treatment groups. No significant difference (p<0.01) was observed for Hp values between the treatment groups, but the mean SAA (μg/ml) and Hp (μg/ml) levels were significantly (p<0.01) higher in pre-treatment when compared to post-treatment within the groups. Conclusion: In the diagnosis and monitoring of bovine endometritis, both SAA and Hp might serve as reliable biomarkers.