Serum pepsinogen concentrations in azotaemic cattle

Authors: Thompson J
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 47, Issue 3, pp 115-116, Jun 1999
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cattle, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant
Subject Terms: Biochemistry/chemistry, Clinical pathology, Diagnostic procedures
Article class: Correspondence

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Abstract: Pepsinogen is the precursor of pepsin, and is secreted by the chief and peptic cells of the gastric mucosa. The majority of pepsinogen is activated to pepsin by the acid pH of the stomach. In human beings, about 1% of pepsinogen is secreted into the interstitial fluid and eventually diffuses into the blood stream. In human beings, there are seven different fractions of pepsinogens in the blood which may be separated by electrophoresis into two groups, namely group I and group II pepsinogens. In the blood, pepsin is rapidly inactivated by the neutral pH, but the pepsinogens are relatively stable. Pepsinogen I is cleared by the kidneys and passes into the urine as uropepsinogen; it is then converted to uropepsin and excreted (Tietz et al., 1986). Serum pepsinogen has been routinely measured in cattle by veterinary diagnostic laboratories for many years as an indicator of abomasitis, usually associated with ostertagiosis (Duncan et al., 1994). We routinely receive samples from sick cattle with a variety of clinical presentations for which biochemical analyses to investigate all body systems are requested. These include the measurement of serum creatinine, urea and pepsinogen concentrations. In ruminants, azotaemia with a urine specific gravity of greater than 1.025 is considered to indicate…

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