Current energy and lipid metabolism biomarkers in sheep with subclinical and clinical pregnancy toxemia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between existing metabolic biomarkers (asprosin, FABP1, PPAR alpha and FGF21) and clinical parameters and to determine their role in the early diagnosis of sheep pregnancy toxemia. In the study, 70 Akkaraman sheep aged three to five years in the last three weeks of pregnancy were divided into three groups: healthy group (n = 20), subclinical group (n = 30), and clinical group (n = 20). Clinical examination (body temperature, respiratory rate, and heart rate), blood serum biochemistry, and ELISA analyses were performed. In sheep with clinical and subclinical pregnancy toxemia, serum PPAR alpha, beta-HBA, NEFA, HbA1c, HDL, triglyceride, creatinine, and phosphorus levels were statistically higher, whereas serum glucose and LDL levels were lower than in healthy sheep. However, serum FGF21, AST, ALT, and VLDL values were not statistically different between the three groups. In addition, serum asprosin and FABP1 levels were higher in the subclinical group than in the clinical group. Thus it was concluded that serum asprosin, FABP1, and PPAR alpha findings could be useful in evaluating lipid and energy metabolism in subclinical and clinical forms of pregnancy toxemia. Since this study was based on blood samples from individually reared sheep herds, many environmental factors (e.g., housing, nutrition, and population density) could not be considered. For this reason, it is thought that there is a need for experimental studies in which environmental variables can be controlled.