Preliminary studies on the acid soluble glycoproteins in serum and their diagnostic value for acute inflammatory diseases in cattle.

The concentration of acid soluble glycoproteins (ASG) in serum was determined by the Coomassie brilliant blue G-250 method as a means of assessing the amount of the acute phase protein in bovine serum. The mean (+/- SD) ASG concentration in sera from 30 normal dairy cows was 98.0 (+/- 31.5) mg/dl (range 42.2-161.0 mg/dl). The mean serum ASG concentrations in cattle suffering from enzootic bovine leukosis and enzootic bovine leukosis associated with glomerulonephritis were significantly (p less than 0.001) higher than those of normal cows. Elevated ASG concentrations were observed in cows with acute clinical mastitis. Higher (1.1-2.9 fold) ASG concentrations were observed in sera from cattle on the fifth day after surgery than in those taken at the preoperative stage. The measurement of ASG in serum could be used routinely in bovine clinical medicine as a useful indicator of inflammatory processes.