Informativeness of biochemical markers of connective tissue metabolism in canine babesiosis

The aim: to analyze the diagnostic informativeness of biochemical markers of connective tissue in the blood of dogs with babesiosis. Materials and methods. German Shepherd (n=7), Labrador Retriever (n=3) and Rottweiler (n=2) dogs aged 1 to 5 years and diagnosed with babesiosis were studied. As a control group, clinically healthy dogs were used, which came to the veterinary clinic for a preventive examination, the age of the animals was from 1 to 5 years (n=10). The animals were examined according to the following scheme: collection of anamnestic data, clinical examination according to generally accepted methods, general and biochemical blood analysis, urine examination. Glycoproteins in blood serum were determined according to Shteinberg – Dotsenko, sialic acids – according to the Hess method, chondroitin sulfates – Nemeth–Csoka in the modification of L.I. Slutsky. Results. The biochemical examination of the blood revealed the presence of acute cytolytic syndrome and cholestasis in the animal's body. Cholestasis in sick animals was characterized by an increase in the content of bilirubin and the activity of alkaline phosphatase, as well as an increase in the content of β-lipoproteins. The increase in the content of total bilirubin in the blood was obviously due mainly to its unconjugated fraction, since intravascular hemolysis took place. In the blood serum of patients with babesiosis in dogs, there was an increase in the content of markers of connective tissue metabolism – glycoproteins by 1.63, sialic acids – by 1.36, and chondroitin sulfates by 1.8 times, respectively. Conclusions. Glycoproteins have "acute phase proteins" in their composition, which are indicators for assessing the degree of the inflammatory process in the body of dogs with babesiosis. Sialic acids are components of sialoproteins, which are also markers of the inflammatory process and destructive changes in the body. An increase in the content of chondroitin sulfates in the blood during babesiosis indicates the development of a compensatory reaction, associated with the action of toxic hemolysis products on the endothelium of blood vessels. Thus, the increased content of biochemical markers of connective tissue in the blood of dogs with babesiosis indicates the presence of a systemic inflammatory-protective reaction in animals, which makes it possible to recommend them for assessing the acute phase of the inflammatory process in the body and protecting blood vessels from damage due to toxic hemolysis