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First Report on Cardiac Troponin T Detection in Canine Amniotic Fluid †
by
, , , , and
Elisa Giussani
1
,
Alessandro Pecile
1,
Andrea Pasquale Del Carro
2,
Valerio Bronzo
1,
Silvia Michela Mazzola
1 and
Debora Groppetti
1,*
1
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 26900 Lodi, Italy
2
Iunovet-Clinique Vetérinaire Saint Hubert, 06240 Beausoleil, France
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
This manuscript is derived from a contribution to the 78th SISVET (Italian Society of Veterinary Sciences) anual congress, held in Giardini di Naxos, Italy 10–12 June 2025. A brief announcement of the work appeared as a conference abstract.
Vet. Sci. 2025, 12(10), 952; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci12100952
Submission received: 25 August 2025
/
Revised: 27 September 2025
/
Accepted: 30 September 2025
/
Published: 1 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics)
Simple Summary
This study is the first to explore cardiac troponin T in canine amniotic fluid collected at birth. Cardiac troponin T is a regulatory protein involved in heart muscle contraction that is released in response to cardiac injury. In human medicine, it is used as a marker of foetal distress, whereas its role in canine neonatology remains unknown. The primary aim of this research was to determine whether cardiac troponin T is detectable in the amniotic fluid of dogs and, subsequently, to investigate its potential associations with maternal and neonatal factors. Our findings confirmed the presence of cardiac troponin T in canine amniotic fluid and preliminarily suggest possible links with peripartum clinical parameters. Although the clinical relevance of amniotic cardiac troponin T in dogs requires further investigation, this protein may represent a novel non-invasive diagnostic strategy. It could contribute to the early identification of hypoxic conditions in neonates.
Abstract
Complications during pregnancy and parturition can lead to foetal hypoxia, which may be responsible for cardiac ischemia and the subsequent release of troponin from cardiac muscles into the amniotic fluid (AF) and bloodstream. So far, cardiac troponin T (cTnT) has only been measured in the blood samples of adult dogs, while no data on its presence and relevance in AF are available. This study aimed to determine whether cTnT can be detected in canine AF collected at birth. Furthermore, a possible correlation between amniotic cTnT concentration and maternal and neonatal outcomes was explored. For this purpose, 40 AF samples were collected from 14 bitches at the time of delivery. A commercially available ELISA kit was used for the analysis of canine cTnT in biological fluids. Cardiac troponin T was detected in all amniotic specimens with concentrations ranging from 74.1 to 318 ng/L (191.6 ± 66.4 ng/L). The dams’ morphotype, age, and weight, as well as the type of parturition (elective vs. emergency C-section) and the expulsion time of puppies, were significantly associated with amniotic cTnT concentrations. Although amniotic cTnT warrants further investigation to fully understand its clinical role in canine neonatology, these results suggest a promising and valuable contribution.
Keywords:
amniotic fluid; cardiac troponin T; dog; hypoxia; neonate; viability
