Serum protein alterations characterize feline chronic gingivostomatitis: a case-control study of electrophoresis, immunoglobulin, and cytokine profiles.

Hyperglobulinemia and polyclonal gammopathy are reliable systemic markers supporting FCGS diagnosis in cats.

This prospective case-control study investigated systemic immune alterations in feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS) by analyzing serum protein electrophoresis (SPE), immunoglobulin (Ig), and cytokine profiles in 13 FCGS-affected cats and 14 healthy controls. Cats with FIV/FeLV infection, recent vaccination, corticosteroid use, or systemic disease were excluded. Thirty-one biomarkers were assessed from a single preanesthetic serum sample. Six biomarkers demonstrated statistically significant differences after false discovery rate correction, with very large effect sizes (Hedges g = 1.43–2.27): total protein, globulin, IgG, γ-globulin were elevated in FCGS cats, while albumin and albumin-to-globulin ratio were decreased. Polyclonal gammopathy was identified in 76.9% of FCGS cases, consistent with the study hypothesis. Seven cytokines showed medium-to-large effect sizes (Hedges g = 0.57–0.88) but did not survive FDR correction individually; however, hierarchical clustering successfully segregated 85% of FCGS cases from 79% of controls based on coordinated cytokine expression patterns. The cytokine profile implicated a mixed Th1/Th2 response, with IL-8, IL-4, IFN-γ, and IL-6 identified as potential immunomodulatory targets for refractory cases. These findings confirm that FCGS involves measurable systemic immune dysregulation beyond localized oral inflammation. Clinically, hyperglobulinemia in combination with oromucosal inflammation should raise diagnostic suspicion for FCGS and may serve as a useful monitoring biomarker.

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