This study aimed to evaluate the concentrations of α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), haptoglobin (Hp), serum amyloid-A (SAA) and ceruloplasmin (Cp) in healthy and various diseased cats and establish reference intervals (RIs) for these acute phase proteins (APPs) in healthy cats. The animal material of the study consisted of 40 healthy cats and 152 cats with various diseases. The serum APPs in the diseased group were higher than those in the healthy group, and age affected Cp concentration in healthy cats. Also, the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) positive (+) group had significantly higher AGP concentrations than the SIRS negative (-) group. In conclusion, this study contributes to the limited number of studies on RIs in serum APPs concentrations in healthy cats. The results of this study suggest that APPs are valuable diagnostic tools for identifying the inflammatory processes of various diseases, and AGP concentration could help determine the severity of the inflammatory condition.

The article presents personal memories of Professor Aleksander Koj’s alumni. Professor Aleksander Koj was a world-class biochemist of significant scientific achievements, a renowned authority in the field of acute-phase response regulation and acute-phase proteins. He was an excellent academic, a true Master, admired and followed by many Polish biochemists. Thrice he served as the Rector of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He navigated the University through a difficult time of political transformation in Poland, modernized the management system of the University and led to the commencement of the construction of the new University campus. He was the co-creator and the first Chairman of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland. He will be remembered as a devoted community worker aiming at strengthening the bond between the Polish community abroad and our homeland, propagating knowledge, promoting the concept of European integration, democracy and tolerance, as well as the collaboration between scientists, artists and men and women of culture. He was wise, righteous, and noble. Many had the honor of calling him their friend, and a great many saw in him a moral authority.