Evaluation of myeloid-related protein 126, cardiac troponin C and serum amyloid A as potential plasma biomarkers of health and disease in sea turtles

David P Marancik; Christopher C Chadwick; Paul Fields; Charles A Manire; Terry M Norton; Justin R Perrault; Carolyn Cray

doi:10.1093/conphys/coaf061

Evaluation of myeloid-related protein 126, cardiac troponin C and serum amyloid A as potential plasma biomarkers of health and disease in sea turtles

Conserv Physiol. 2025 Aug 14;13(1):coaf061. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coaf061. eCollection 2025.

Authors

David P Marancik¹, Christopher C Chadwick², Paul Fields³, Charles A Manire⁴, Terry M Norton⁵, Justin R Perrault⁴, Carolyn Cray⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, True Blue, Grenada, West Indies.
² Life Diagnostics, Inc., 124 Turner Lane, West Chester, PA, 19380, USA.
³ Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George, Grenada.
⁴ Loggerhead Marinelife Center, 14200 U.S. Highway One, Juno Beach, FL, 33408, USA.
⁵ Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Jekyll Island Authority, 214 Stable Road, Jekyll Island, GA, 31527, USA.
⁶ Division of Comparative Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1600 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136, USA.

Abstract

Sea turtle health assessments can be strengthened by developing conserved biomarkers that discriminate between healthy and diseased states. Serum amyloid A, myeloid-related protein 126 and cardiac troponin C (CTNC) were explored as potential biomarkers of sea turtle health. Plasma concentrations initially quantified using a targeted SPARCL™ assay significantly differed between moribund (n = 15) and recovered (n = 5) loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). There was a negative correlation between myeloid-related protein 126 and packed cell volume (r = -0.612, P = 0.005) and total solids (r = -0.497, P = 0.03) and between and Fulton's body condition index (r = -0.684, P = 0.001). Serum amyloid A showed a relatively high interquartile range (IQR) in moribund turtles and no significant correlations with clinical parameters. Myeloid-related protein 126 and cardiac troponin C were further evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a larger dataset of loggerhead, Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles. Plasma myeloid-related protein 126 was significantly lower in captive healthy (n = 7) and recovered (n = 23) turtles than in moribund (n = 25) and nesting green (n = 58) turtles. Green turtles with fibropapillomatosis (n = 10) were not significantly different from any group. Discriminating values between healthy/recovered and moribund turtles were 1.89 and 1.97 ng/ml by receiver operating characteristic and logistic regression analyses, respectively. Myeloid-related protein 126 decreased in successfully rehabilitated turtles (n = 18 turtles; n = 67 blood samples) and was negatively correlated with body condition score (r = -0.672, P < 0.001) and packed cell volume (r = -0.443, P = 0.009). Cardiac troponin C was significantly higher (P = 0.049) in moribund turtles (n = 16) compared to healthy/recovered turtles (n = 7) and in moribund samples (n = 11) compared to recovered samples (n = 11) in serially sampled turtles (P = 0.015), but was not predictive of health status. Myeloid-related protein 126 represents a strong biomarker candidate in sea turtles. Cardiac troponin C warrants further evaluation in a larger dataset and serum amyloid A requires examination of variables affecting pathophysiologic responses in sea turtles.

Keywords: Biomarkers; MRP-126; cardiac troponin C; health; plasma; sea turtles; serum amyloid A.