Quantitation of Acute Phase Proteins and Protein Electrophoresis Fractions in Ferrets

The objective of this study was to evaluate the application of acute phase protein assays for C-reactive protein, haptoglobin, and serum amyloid A, as well as protein electrophoresis, in ferrets. Samples from 41 clinically normal and 52 clinically abnormal pet ferrets were submitted from veterinary clinics within the United States. Reference intervals were calculated for all analytes from the clinically normal group using the robust method. The clinically abnormal group demonstrated significant elevations in the concentrations of the following analytes (P < 0.05): total protein, alpha 2 globulins, beta globulins, gamma globulins, serum amyloid A, and haptoglobin. The preliminary results of this research investigation support a potential role for these acute phase protein assays to be used as adjunct tests for monitoring inflammation and disease in ferrets.