Association of Paraoxonase-1 and NT-proBNP with Clinical, Clinico-Pathologic and Echocardiographic Variables in Dogs with Mitral Valve Disease

Simple Summary In order to identify the association of Paraoxonase-1 and N-terminal-prohormone-B-type natriuretic peptide with selected clinico-pathologic and echocardiographic parameters in mitral valve disease, 80 dogs in various clinical stages were enrolled. Paraoxonase-1 concentrations were not correlated with clinical stage, gender or concurrent conditions. At the same time, it was inconsistent in showing significant changes against distinctive echocardiographic and clinico-pathologic parameters. N-terminal-prohormone-B-type natriuretic peptide concentration was expectedly correlated with clinical stage and echocardiographic indices of cardiomegaly and heart failure, but not with Paraoxonase-1 activity. These findings suggest that Paraoxonase-1, compared to N-terminal-prohormone-B-type natriuretic peptide, is an insensitive marker for the severity of mitral valve disease and that its utility may be hampered by confounding factors. The objective of the present study was to measure the concentration of Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) and N-terminal-prohormone-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), in the serum of dogs with degenerative Mitral Valve Disease (MVD), in order to identify their association with the clinical stage and specific clinico-pathologic and echocardiographic findings.Eighty dogs diagnosed with MVD and staged according to the ACVIM (American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine) consensus statement (B1, B2, C and D), based on their clinical, radiographic, and echocardiographic findings, were included in the study. NT-proBNP was measured only in stage B1 and B2 dogs. Clinical stage did not have a significant effect on PON-1 concentrations (p = 0.149), but NT-proBNP levels were lower in B1 dogs (p = 0.001). A significant correlation between PON-1 and total plasma proteins (p = 0.001), albumin (p = 0.003) and white blood cell count (p = 0.041) was detected, whereas there was no significant correlation (p = 0.847) between PON-1 and NT-proBNP concentrations. PON-1 showed a significant but weak negative correlation with normalized left ventricular internal diameter at diastole (LVIDdn) (p = 0.022) and systole (LVIDsn) (p = 0.012), as well as mitral valve E to A wave velocity ratio (MV E/A) (p = 0.015), but not with Left Atrial to Aortic root ratio (LA/Ao) (p = 0.892) or fractional shortening (FS%) (p = 0.944). PON-1 seems to be an insensitive marker of clinical stage and disease severity in MVD, but can be indicative of some clinico-pathological and echocardiographic changes. NT-proBNP changes are independent of oxidative stress.