| Abstract: | The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between serumamino acid profiles in normal and calves with Mycoplasmabronchopneumonia. Serum free amino acid concentrations in serum obtained from 34 calveswith or without Mycoplasma bronchopneumonia were determined byhigh-performance liquid chromatography. The calves with Mycoplasma werecharacterized by significantly lower total amino acid and total essential amino acidconcentrations and molar ratios of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) to aromatic amino acid(BCAA/AAA) and BCAA to tyrosine (BTR), and by a significantly higher molar ratio of serinephosphorylation (SPR). The proposed diagnostic cutoffs for BCAA/AAA, BTR and SPR in serumbased on ROC analysis for detection of catabolic states associated withMycoplasma bronchopneumonia were set at <1.75, <2.86 and>0.85, respectively. Our results suggest that determining the profiles of amino acids,especially BTR and SPR, could provide useful diagnostic information in terms of predictingprotein catabolism in Mycoplasma bronchopneumonia. |
