Description
Haptoglobin, an acute phase protein, is part of immune system-mediated defense mechanisms found in the blood various animal species.
Under normal conditions, haptoglobin is either absent from the blood or present at very low levels.
However, haptoglobin can increase significantly in response to acute infection, inflammation or trauma.
Several functional properties of haptoglobin have been described.
The major biological function of haptoglobin is to bind free hemoglobin in an equimolar ratio with very high affinity to prevent hemoglobin-mediated renal parenchymal injury and loss of iron following intravascular hemolysis. The complex of haptoglobin with hemoglobin is metabolized in the hepatic reticuloendothelial system. Biosynthesis of haptoglobin occurs not only in the liver, but also in adipose tissue and lung, providing antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.
| Intended use: |
Several studies in horses with respiratory and orthopedic disorders or after surgical interventions have shown that Haptoglobin is a general, not disease specific parameter for inflammatory processes and therefore an alternative to serum amyloid A or fibrinogen. In equine medicine haptoglobin as acute phase protein is helpful in diagnostic and therapy of various diseases.
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