Serum ferritin and paraoxonase-1 in canine leishmaniosis.

Ferritin and paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) were measured in dogs experimentally infected by Leishmania infantum (during experimental infection and following treatment) and also in naturally-infected dogs which presented different degrees of proteinuria. Experimentally-infected dogs were monitored for 7 months post-infection, then treated for 3 months with allopurinol, and their response to therapy was followed for 11 additional months. Naturally-infected dogs were staged based on the urine protein/creatinine (UPC) ratio into three groups as follows: group 1 (non-proteinuric; UPC ratio: <0.2), group 2 (borderline proteinuric; UPC ratio: 0.2-0.5) and group 3 (proteinuric; UPC ratio>0.5). An increase in serum ferritin values and a decrease in PON-1 activity were observed 2 months after infection. Both analytes returned to preinfection values following treatment. Significantly higher concentrations of ferritin were observed in dogs classified as either borderline or proteinuric when compared with non-proteinuric dogs whereas serum PON-1 activity was decreased only in proteinuric dogs.