Author(s)

Christian Prachar, Franz-Josef Kaup, Stephan Neumann

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Small Animal Clinic, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.

Background: Cytokines are mediators of diseases. Expression levels in the blood could be of clinical relevance. Objective: sIL-2Rα is used as a marker for different malignancies in human medicine. The aim of this study was to show if sIL-2Rα is detectable and if there is any correlation to different diseases in dogs. Methods: For this purposes sIL-2Rα concentrations in the blood were measured in healthy dogs, in dogs with different non-neoplastic diseases and benign tumors and in dogs with malignant tumors. Serum levels of sIL-2Rα were measured by using a human specific enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Measurement of sIL-2Rα was successful in most of the samples. Dogs with diseases have significantly increased serum levels of sIL-2Rα compared to healthy controls. sIL-2Rα serum levels are higher in patients with non-neoplastic diseases and benign tumors than in those with malignant neoplasia. There is a strong correlation between sIL-2Rα and leukocyte count. Conclusion: Measurements of sIL-2Rα in serum may be helpful in detecting stages and grades of inflammation in the progression of disease. sIL-2Rα could actually not be used as an indicator for malignant diseases in dogs like in humans. The strong correlation between sIL-2Rα and the leukocyte count indicates the inflammatory response to the disease. This could be helpful in giving a prognosis in some cases, because the inflammatory reaction is of prognostic relevance in different diseases including malignant and non-malignant neoplasia. Although the results of our research studies were very promising, further studies should be performed with a canine ELISA.

sIL-2Rα; Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor Alpha; ELISA; Dog

Prachar, C. , Kaup, F. and Neumann, S. (2013) Soluble Interleukin 2 Receptor-Alpha (sIL-2Rα) in the Peripheral Blood of Dogs—Comparison of Malignant Neoplasia with Other Diseases. Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 3, 176-183. doi: 10.4236/ojvm.2013.32027.