Serum Symmetric Dimethylarginine in Older Dogs: Reference Interval and Comparison of a Gold Standard Method with the ELISA

Overview

Journal J Vet Intern Med

Specialties General Medicine
Veterinary Medicine

Date 2024 Jan 19

PMID 38240346

Authors

Sofie Marynissen

Greet Junius

Evi Van den Steen

Lisbeth Patteet

Luc Duchateau

Siska Croubels

Sylvie Daminet

Dominique Paepe

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) is used to screen for renal dysfunction in dogs. The gold standard technique for measuring SDMA, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is not widely available. Age-specific reference intervals for SDMA in older dogs are lacking.

Objectives: Prospective study in older dogs to validate a commercially available LC-MS/MS method for SDMA, compare SDMA concentrations with concentrations measured using ELISA and obtain a reference interval (RI) for older dogs using both methods.

Animals: Client-owned older dogs undergoing health screening.

Methods: The LC-MS/MS method was analytically validated (limit of detection, precision, and linearity). Serum was sent cooled overnight for ELISA or was frozen at -80°C until batch analysis using LC-MS/MS. Results of LC-MS/MS and ELISA were compared and RIs for older dogs were calculated according to international guidelines.

Results: The LC-MS/MS method showed good linearity (r = .99) and precision (coefficient of variation <10%), with a laboratory RI between 8.0 and 14.0 μg/dL. Paired measurements were available from 118 different dogs. Median SDMA concentration were 9.4 (range, 5.0-21.2) using LC-MS/MS and 12.0 (range, 5.0-22.0) μg/dL using ELISA. Both methods significantly differed with a mean difference of 2.2 μg/dL. The RI for older dogs for LC-MS/MS was 4.4-15.0 μg/dL, and for ELISA was 6.4-17.4 μg/dL.

Conclusions And Clinical Importance: The ELISA provided significantly higher SDMA concentrations compared to the validated LC-MS/MS method, indicating the need for device- or assay-specific RI. The obtained age-specific RI for SDMA is considerably higher in older dogs compared to the general laboratory RI.

Citing Articles

Influence of Carcinoma and Sarcoma on Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin and Symmetric Dimethylarginine Concentrations in Dogs.

Rixon A, Meyer E, Daminet S, Goddard A, Kongtasai T, Pazzi P J Vet Intern Med. 2025; 39(2):e70015.

PMID: 40042235 PMC: 11881161. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.70015.

Serum symmetric dimethylarginine in older dogs: Reference interval and comparison of a gold standard method with the ELISA.

Marynissen S, Junius G, Van den Steen E, Patteet L, Duchateau L, Croubels S J Vet Intern Med. 2024; 38(2):960-970.

PMID: 38240346 PMC: 10937498. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16981.

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