Serum Amyloid A (SAA)
Serum Amyloid A (SAA)
Serum Amyloid A (SAA) is one of the principle Acute Phase Protein Assays supplied by Tridelta to customers in many fields all over the world.
Tridelta offers multispecies versions of the test - an ELISA and a Turbidimetric Immunoassay - which have been found to be extremely effective in detecting SAA in diverse species ranging from domestic and farm animals and companion animals, through to exotic species such as manatees, camels, gibbons, elephants, and bears - and many others. The importance of SAA as a routine diagnostic biomarker - in particular in felines and equines - is a relatively recent discovery and has been highlighted by numerous researchers and academics over the last few years.
One study conducted by Tridelta in conjunction with a well known Irish racehorse trainer to test the levels of SAA found in high-performance equine atheletes assessed whether SAA can be used as a measure of the animal's condition and levels of performance. Over the duration of this study, significant data was gathered, and in practical terms, it demonstrated that SAA can be used as an effective measure of the animals condition and it was also found to be a good indicator of potential perfomance: as vouched for by the trainer, Seamus Fahey, who related his experiences in the "Using SAA" section.
SAA Production and Response
SAA is a member of a group of proteins called Acute Phase Proteins which have been found in many animal species and which are thought to be part of the body’s basic first line defences against infection, disease or trauma. In response to a challenge by, for example an infective organism, the body sends chemical messengers to the liver which then produces and releases SAA into the bloodstream which helps to fight off the challenge. SAA is normally either not present at all or only in very low levels (depending on the species). In response to such a challenge however, the immune system of the animal is “switched on” and SAA is produced in very high levels – hundreds of times above the normal levels. If the animal is healthy with no activation of its immune system, there is a very low level of detectable SAA in the animal’s bloodstream. If the animal has a sublclinical immunochallenge, which is not easily observed by the clinician or even necessarily detectable by standard laboratory tests, then the SAA levels will rise in response to that and will remain so until the challenge has been resolved. This response takes place within a matter of hours of the challenge arising. SAA can then be measured using our test by the laboratory to allow the clinician to make a rapid and accurate diagnosis.
