Biomarkers of Inflammation in Exotic Pets

The acute phase response (APR) is a key part of the innate immune system and acute phase proteins (APPs) represent the core of the early response to stimuli such as trauma, infection, stress, neoplasia, and autoimmune disease. These biomarkers have a different timeline and magnitude of expression vs traditional means of examining inflammation (e.g., total white blood count and albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio). Extensive studies conducted in companion and large animals have demonstrated many clinical applications for inflammatory biomarkers including diagnosis, prognosis, detection of subclinical disease and chronic inflammation, and monitoring stress. This article provides information regarding the APR and the uses of APP quantitation, as well as the growing body of information on APPSs in exotic animals.