Cardiovascular renal axis disorder and inflammatory response in feline congestive heart failure due to primary cardiomyopathy

Liu, Mengmeng (2019) Cardiovascular renal axis disorder and inflammatory response in feline congestive heart failure due to primary cardiomyopathy. MVM(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a common cardiac condition in cats, which usually results from primary cardiomyopathy (CM). It is a complex syndrome with many pathophysiological processes involved. The aim of this study was to investigate two aspects i.e. cardiovascular renal axis disorder (CvRD) and systemic inflammatory response in feline CHF due to primary CM.
The study population included 25 CHF cats, 12 asymptomatic CM cats and 20 healthy control cats. Two panels of biomarkers were tested as reflections of CvRD (cardiac biomarker NTproBNP, renal biomarker SDMA and creatinine) and inflammatory response (7 acute phase proteins) respectively. The biomarker expressions in the three cat groups, correlations between the biomarkers and selected clinical variables, and risk factors in the CHF cats were analysed. Following the baseline studies, pilot longitudinal studies were carried out to investigate biomarker changes in 12 CHF cats over 12 months.
The results showed both CvRD and systemic inflammatory response occurred in feline CHF. Considering the high prevalence of CvRD, it is recommended that the novel renal biomarker SDMA should be used as a renal function monitor in CHF management. Moreover, similar to NT-proBNP, it potentially carries prognostic value for feline CHF. Three acute phase proteins (APPs) showed significant changes in CHF (i.e. LRG1, ceruloplasmin and SAA) and may help to better understand the pathogenesis of feline CHF as well as predict the disease outcome. Positive correlations between APPs and cardiac variables suggested their intrinsic involvement in cardiac disease. In addition, serum AGP appeared to carry independent prognostic value for feline CHF. In combination with other clinical information, the APPs may be promising novel clinical biomarkers for feline CHF. Additionally, some clinical parameters were found to have the ability to stage CM and provide prognostic information. Preliminary results from longitudinal measurements showed that NT-proBNP measurements persistently higher than 1500 pmol/l, or a single SDMA measurement higher than 20 ug/dl appeared to be associated with a poorer outcome. Most APP expressions appeared to decrease over time. Future work will be needed to consolidate these findings.
This study has identified novel CvRD and inflammatory biomarkers involved in a feline CHF study population. Current findings can be potentially implemented in future research and in clinical management of feline CHF and CM.

• Item Type: Thesis (MVM(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Subjects: S Agriculture > SF Animal culture > SF600 Veterinary Medicine
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Supervisor's Name: French, Dr. Anne
• Date of Award: 2019
• Depositing User: Dr Mengmeng Liu
• Unique ID: glathesis:2019-40965
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2019 12:14
• Last Modified: 05 Mar 2020 21:51
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.40965
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/40965