Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Proteome analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in healthy beagles and canine encephalitis.
- Journal:
- The Journal of veterinary medical science
- Year:
- 2012
- Authors:
- Nakamura, Kozo et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences · Japan
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Researchers looked at the cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord) of healthy beagles and those suffering from a type of brain inflammation called meningoencephalitis of unknown cause. They found that dogs with this condition had higher levels of a specific protein called neuron-specific enolase (NSE), which can indicate brain injury or other serious issues in both dogs and humans. While this increase in NSE can suggest problems in the brain, it is not unique to meningoencephalitis, as other brain conditions can also raise these levels. The study suggests that more research is needed, including checking blood samples, to better understand the significance of NSE in dogs with brain issues.
Abstract
We performed proteomics analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of healthy dogs and dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology (MUE). By comparing two-dimensional electrophoreses (2DE), an upregulated spot was found in MUE dogs. This protein was identified as a neuron-specific enolase (NSE) by analysis with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. In comparing dot blots using an antibody against NSE, the NSE levels in the CSF of MUE dogs was significantly higher than that of the controls. NSE is a diagnostic marker of neuroendocrine tumors, brain injury and spinal cord trauma in humans. It seems that the NSE concentration in the CSF is increased by cellular destruction in canine encephalitis. Though elevation of NSE may not be specific in canine encephalitis because the NSE level was increased in other CNS diseases, further study including measurement with serum is necessary.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22251802/