772 AJVR, Vol 68, No. 7, July 2007 T he acute-phase response is an early nonspecific defense mechanism in animals to local or general disturbances in homeostasis attributable to infection, inflammation, tis- sue injury, neoplastic growth, or immunologic disorders before specific immunity is achieved. 1-3 The response includes changes in concentrations of some plasma pro- teins, primarily synthesized in the liver, which are referred to as APPs. During the acute-phase response, there is an increase in the serum concentration of some of these APPs (such as haptoglobin, SAA, and CRP), whereas there is a decrease in the serum concentration of other APPs (such as albumin). 4,5 Monitoring the health and welfare of pigs dur- ing the production process and tracing pork products in general are concerns of consumers, producers, and regulators. Measurement of APPs is a valuable tool for evaluating health status in pigs; APPs can be used as nonspecific markers of clinical and subclinical disease Serum concentrations of C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, and haptoglobin in pigs inoculated with African swine fever or classical swine fever viruses Pedro J. Sánchez-Cordón, DVM, PhD; José J. Cerón, DVM, PhD; Alejandro Núñez, DVM, PhD; Silvia Martínez-Subiela, DVM, PhD; Miriam Pedrera, DVM; José L. Romero-Trevejo, DVM; María R. Garrido, DVM, PhD; José C. Gómez-Villamandos, DVM, PhD Objective—To determine serum concentrations of the selected acute-phase proteins (APPs) haptoglobin, serum amyloid A (SAA), and C-reactive protein (CRP) in pigs experimentally inoculated with classical swine fever (CSF) and African swine fever (ASF) viruses. Animals—8 crossbred (Large White X Landrace) 10-week-old pigs. Procedures—Pigs were allocated to 2 groups (4 pigs/group). One group was inoculated with the CSF virus Alfort 187 strain, whereas the other group was inoculated with the ASF virus Spain 70 isolate. Blood samples were collected at various time points. At the end of the study, pigs were euthanized and a complete necropsy was performed, including histologic and immunohistochemical analyses. Results—Serum concentrations of APPs increased in pigs inoculated with CSF and ASF viruses, which suggested an acute-phase response in the course of both diseases. The most noticeable increase in concentration was recorded for SAA in both groups (up to a 300-fold increase for CSF virus and an approx 40-fold increase for ASF virus), followed by CRP and then haptoglobin, which each had only 3- to 4-fold increases. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Serum concentrations of APPs increased significantly in pigs inoculated with CSF and ASF viruses. However, differences were evident in serum concentrations of the proteins evaluated in this study. (Am J Vet Res 2007;68:772–777) as well as to distinguish between acute and chronic dis- ease processes. 2,6,7 Although APPs have been evaluated for numerous bacterial diseases in pigs, 8-11 researchers have barely addressed APP concentrations in swine with viral diseases 12,13 or examined in depth the rela- tionship between serum APP concentrations and the number of cells expressing proinflammatory cytokines in the liver or elsewhere. Received December 21, 2006. Accepted February 20, 2007. From the Departamento de Anatomía y Anatomía Patológica Comparadas, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio de Sanidad Animal, Campus de Rabanales, 14014, Córdoba, Spain (Sánchez-Cordón, Pedrera, Romero-Trevejo, Garrido, Gómez-Villamandos); the Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Avda Puerta de Hierro s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain (Sánchez-Cordón); the Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain (Cerón, Martínez-Subiela); and the Pathology Department, Veterinary Laboratories Agency-Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, KT15 3NB Surrey, England (Núñez). Supported by grants from the Ministry of Education and Science (PB98-1033, AGL 2003-00252, and AGL 2003-01325) and the Seneca Foundation (PB/13/FS/02). Dr. Sánchez-Cordón was supported by a contract from the Juan de la Cierva program (Ministry of Education and Science, Spain). The authors thank M. C. Camacho for technical assistance. Address correspondence to Dr. Sánchez-Cordón. ABBREVIATIONS APP Acute-phase protein SAA Serum amyloid A CRP C-reactive protein TNF Tumor necrosis factor IL Interleukin CSF Classical swine fever ASF African swine fever