May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study
Road transport is known to be a stressful animal husbandry procedure as it induces the activation of two main physiological stress-related pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis and the sympathetic-adrenal medulla axis. This preliminary study aimed to investigate whether salivary c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/6/972 |
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| author | Francesca Dai Emanuela Dalla Costa Simona Cannas Eugenio Ugo Luigi Heinzl Michela Minero Silvia Michela Mazzola |
| author_facet | Francesca Dai Emanuela Dalla Costa Simona Cannas Eugenio Ugo Luigi Heinzl Michela Minero Silvia Michela Mazzola |
| author_sort | Francesca Dai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Road transport is known to be a stressful animal husbandry procedure as it induces the activation of two main physiological stress-related pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis and the sympathetic-adrenal medulla axis. This preliminary study aimed to investigate whether salivary chromogranin A (CgA) concentration, known as a biomarker of the sympathetic activity system during psychological stress, may represent a novel physiological index of transportation-induced stress in donkeys. Nineteen Romagnolo donkeys, raised in groups on paddocks, were subject to two transportations, following the farm’s routine procedures, for a mean duration of 64 min each on two consecutive days. Salivary samples were gently collected 15 min before and 15 min after each transportation. Salivary CgA was measured by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Results showed that CgA salivary levels significantly decreased after both transportations. The physiological mechanisms underlying this result may be related to catestatin activity, a bioactive product of the proteolytic cleavage of CgA, that acts as an inhibitor of catecholamine release. This hypothesis requires further investigation, particularly considering the limited number of subjects involved in this preliminary study. The identification of a reliable and non-invasive stress-marker would represent a useful tool for improving farm animals’ welfare in transport conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:23:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-542518c2e4b9452eb4abf98110c9f59e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:23:40Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-542518c2e4b9452eb4abf98110c9f59e2023-11-20T02:43:59ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-06-0110697210.3390/ani10060972May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot StudyFrancesca Dai0Emanuela Dalla Costa1Simona Cannas2Eugenio Ugo Luigi Heinzl3Michela Minero4Silvia Michela Mazzola5Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, ItalyDirezione Sicurezza, Sostenibilità e Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via S. Sofia 9, 20122 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, ItalyRoad transport is known to be a stressful animal husbandry procedure as it induces the activation of two main physiological stress-related pathways: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal cortex axis and the sympathetic-adrenal medulla axis. This preliminary study aimed to investigate whether salivary chromogranin A (CgA) concentration, known as a biomarker of the sympathetic activity system during psychological stress, may represent a novel physiological index of transportation-induced stress in donkeys. Nineteen Romagnolo donkeys, raised in groups on paddocks, were subject to two transportations, following the farm’s routine procedures, for a mean duration of 64 min each on two consecutive days. Salivary samples were gently collected 15 min before and 15 min after each transportation. Salivary CgA was measured by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Results showed that CgA salivary levels significantly decreased after both transportations. The physiological mechanisms underlying this result may be related to catestatin activity, a bioactive product of the proteolytic cleavage of CgA, that acts as an inhibitor of catecholamine release. This hypothesis requires further investigation, particularly considering the limited number of subjects involved in this preliminary study. The identification of a reliable and non-invasive stress-marker would represent a useful tool for improving farm animals’ welfare in transport conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/6/972donkeystransportstresswelfarechromogranin A |
| spellingShingle | Francesca Dai Emanuela Dalla Costa Simona Cannas Eugenio Ugo Luigi Heinzl Michela Minero Silvia Michela Mazzola May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study Animals donkeys transport stress welfare chromogranin A |
| title | May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study |
| title_full | May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study |
| title_fullStr | May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study |
| title_short | May Salivary Chromogranin A Act as a Physiological Index of Stress in Transported Donkeys? A Pilot Study |
| title_sort | may salivary chromogranin a act as a physiological index of stress in transported donkeys a pilot study |
| topic | donkeys transport stress welfare chromogranin A |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/6/972 |
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