Expressão de marcadores inflamatórios em felinos doentes renais crônicos.

Abstract

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an irreversible and progressive sickness, presenting regularly in elderly cats, affecting up to 40% of this population. Clinical diagnosis is based on personal history, physical examination and hematological, biochemical and urinary analysis, in addition to measurement of systemic blood pressure. Studies carried out in humans and canines have already confirmed the importance of serum cytokines on inflammatory profile of patients with CKD, as well as their influence on the clinical manifestations and prognosis of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the blood profile of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in cats diagnosed with CKD, in order to better understand the role of these substances in progression of kidney disease. Fourteen cats were included in this study, 6 patients were healthy and 8 were chronic renal patients. All patients were analyzed for blood count, determination of urea, creatinine, serum protein and fractions and expression of Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Tumor Necrosis Factor - α (TNF-α) and Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) mRNA. All animals from both groups were positive for IL-6 and TNF-α expression. Relative expression of cytokines did not reveal a statistically significant difference between groups. However, expression variations were greater in sick animals. Further investigations with a larger number of animals and different stages of CKD are recommended to identify the roles of IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α and IFN-γ in development and maintenance of this very prevalent disease in feline clinics.