Comparison of plasma citrulline levels, hemogram parameters and some clinical findings in Feline Panleukopenia (FPV) and healthy cats

Year 2025, Volume: 10 Issue: 3, 205 - 211, 31.12.2025

Halime Kara , Yasin Parlatır

https://doi.org/10.31797/vetbio.1695370

Abstract

Citrulline is an amino acid associated with enterocyte mass in humans and animals. It is important for diagnosis in cases of severe enterocyte loss. While many studies have been conducted in humans, research in veterinary medicine is limited. This study is the first to evaluate plasma citrulline concentrations in cats. The aim was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of plasma citrulline concentration in cats with feline panleukopaenia (FPV). Ten healthy (control) cats and twenty infected cats (FPV) were used in the study. The plasma citrulline levels of all the animals were measured. The tandem mass spectrometry liquid chromatography (LC-MS-MS) method was used to determine these levels. Immunosuppression and thrombocytopenia were detected in cats infected with FPV (p < 0.05). The mean plasma citrulline concentration in the panleukopenia group was 11.10 μmol/L, compared to 12.48 μmol/L in the control group. The citrulline levels of the panleukopenia and control groups were found to be similar. The citrulline results showed no statistical significance between the groups. In conclusion, plasma citrulline levels were not found to be of diagnostic significance.

Keywords

Citrulline , Cat , Panleukopenia , Diagnosis , Haemogram

Ethical Statement

The study was ethically approved by the Animal Experiments Local Ethics Committee of Kırıkkale University (Decision Number: 2025/01/08).

Thanks

We thank Prof. Dr. Salim NESELIOGLU for the analysis of citrulline. There was no financial support in this study.

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