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Technical Note: Measurement of Ferritin in Bovine Milk and Its Clinical Significance

K. Orino^*,1, S. Watanabe^*, H. Ohtsuka, M. Kohiruimaki and K. Watanabe^*

^* Laboratories of Biochemistry and
Large Animal Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Kitasato University, Aomori 034-8628, Japan
Kohiruimaki Animal Medical Service, Tohoku, Aomori 039-2683, Japan

¹ Corresponding author: orino{at}vmas.kitasato-u.ac.jp

A quantitative ELISA was developed for bovine milk ferritin with an assay limit of 0.16 ng/mL of bovine spleen ferritin. Ferritin-binding activity was detected in bovine milk samples, and this binding activity was inhibited by increasing ionic strength with the addition of 0.5 M (NH₄)₂SO₄. Heat treatment (60°C, 20 min) of bovine milk in the presence of 0.5 M (NH₄)₂SO₄ resulted in a 15 to 58% increase in ferritin concentrations compared with untreated samples. Although the recovery of bovine spleen ferritin added to milk was still low (55 to 90%), even in the presence of increased ionic strength with 0.5 M (NH₄)₂SO₄, recovery was improved by heat treatment at 60°C for 20 min (92 to 95%). Milk ferritin concentrations in 30 milk samples from quarters of 25 cows with mastitis (mean ± SE: 134.2 ± 28.7 ng/mL) were significantly higher than those in 17 quarter milk samples from 17 noninfected lactating cows (7.2 ± 1.2 ng/mL), suggesting that bovine milk contains putative ferritin-binding proteins that inhibit immunoassay for milk ferritin and that bovine milk ferritin is an indicator of IMI.

Key Words: ferritin • milk • cow • mastitis

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Sugawara, R. Inoue, K. Watanabe, H. Ohtsuka, and K. Orino Short communication: Bovine {alpha}-casein is a ferritin-binding protein and inhibitory factor of milk ferritin immunoassay J Dairy Sci, August 1, 2009; 92(8): 3810 - 3814. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]