Characterization of blood lipoproteins and validation of cholesterol and triacylglycerol assays for free-ranging polar bears ( Ursus maritimus)
Blood triacylglycerol (TG) and lipoproteins are important variables for evaluating nutritional status of wildlife, but measurements are often expensive and difficult. Performance of a small, portable blood analyzer intended for human medical diagnostics was evaluated in measuring these variables in...
| Published in: | Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publications
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1040638713486114 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1040638713486114 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/1040638713486114 |
| Summary: | Blood triacylglycerol (TG) and lipoproteins are important variables for evaluating nutritional status of wildlife, but measurements are often expensive and difficult. Performance of a small, portable blood analyzer intended for human medical diagnostics was evaluated in measuring these variables in plasma and serum from free-ranging polar bears ( Ursus maritimus), which are experiencing nutritional stress related to sea ice loss. The analyzer accurately tracked changes in concentration of total cholesterol (C total ), cholesterol associated with high-density lipoprotein (C HDL ), and TG during a validation protocol of diluting samples and spiking them with exogenous cholesterol and glycerol. Values of C total and TG agreed well with values obtained by other methods (ultracentrifugation followed by colorimetric assays); agreement was variable for values of cholesterol associated with specific lipoproteins. Similar to a study of captive polar bears, ultracentrifugation methods revealed greater TG in very low-density lipoproteins than in low-density lipoprotein, which is unusual and merits additional study. |
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