Influence of short-term storage conditions on the stability of total protein concentrations and electrophoretic fractions in plasma samples from loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta

Plasma protein electrophoresis has been proposed for use in reptile medicine to aid in the diagnosis of disease. Reference intervals of plasma proteins in loggerhead sea turtles have been established; however, studies evaluating the effect of storage conditions on plasma protein and protein fractions in this species are lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of short-term storage conditions on total protein concentration and electrophoretic fractions of sea turtle plasma. Blood was collected from sea turtles, and plasma obtained after centrifugation was fractioned into five aliquots. One aliquot was analyzed within 3 h after collection, whereas the remaining aliquots were stored at either +4 °C or −20 °C for 2 or 7 days. Overall, there was a significant effect of storage temperature and duration on albumin, β-globulin, and A/G ratio (Friedman rank sum test P < 0.001) but not on total protein concentration. The results of the current study show that short-term storage conditions influence the electrophoretic pattern of plasma proteins and the A/G ratio in Caretta caretta. Therefore, in order to obtain plasma protein concentrations that can serve as reliable screening tests in veterinary diagnostic laboratories, practitioners should refrigerate plasma for no more than 2 days.