Investigation of cathelicidin, amyloid A, and haptoglobin levels in milk from ewe with subclinical mastitis caused by <i>Mycoplasma agalactiae</i> and coagulase-negative <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp.

Koc, Oznur Yılmaz; Safak, Tarık; Gulaydın, Ozgul; Rısvanlı, Ali

doi:10.2754/avb202695030317

Acta Veterinaria > Archive > 2026, Vol. 95 > Issue 3 > Investigation of cathelicidin, amyloid…

Acta Vet. Brno 2026, 95: 317-324

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb202695030317

Investigation of cathelicidin, amyloid A, and haptoglobin levels in milk from ewe with subclinical mastitis caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp.

Oznur Yılmaz Koc¹

, Tarık Safak²

, Ozgul Gulaydın³

, Ali Rısvanlı^4,5

¹Siirt University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Siirt, Türkiye
²Kastamonu University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kastamonu, Türkiye
³Siirt University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Microbiology, Siirt, Türkiye
⁴Fırat University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Elazığ, Türkiye
⁵Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Received February 26, 2026
Accepted September 7, 2026

Subclinical mastitis, a significant disease in the dairy industry, also poses an important risk to small ruminants in terms of both animal health and economic loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the status of acute phase proteins (APP) (cathelicidin [CATH], serum amyloid A [SAA], Haptoglobin [Hp]) in mastitis caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), which are important causative agents of mastitis in ewes. The study material consisted of milk from 90 ewes divided into M. agalactiae (n = 30), CoNS (n = 30), and control (n = 30). After performing the California Mastitis Test (CMT) on the ewe, milk samples were collected with CMT scoring (−,+,++,+++). Subsequently, microbiological analyses were performed to isolate the causative agent. After the groups were completed according to the pathogen isolation, ELISA tests were performed on milk samples. Normality analysis was performed after ELISA tests. ANOVA was applied to parametric cases, and Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to non-parametric cases. The SAA and CATH concentration in the milk of ewes with subclinical mastitis varied depending on the pathogens, but was found to be statistically significant (P ˂ 0.001). Haptoglobin concentration was found to be significantly higher in the CoNS group compared to the other two groups (P ˂ 0.01). In conclusion, it was determined that depending on the causative agent, APP can be considered as biomarkers, and studies targeting mycoplasma-induced mastitis as a common problem in small ruminants can be increased.