Fecal short-chain fatty acid concentrations and dysbiosis in dogs with chronic enteropathy. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence shows an important relationship between the gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota and host health. Microbial metabolites are believed to play a critical role in host-microbial interactions. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are major end products of bacterial carbohydrate fermentation in the intestinal tract. Decreased concentrations of SCFAs have been observed in humans with GI disease. However, large-scale clinical data in dogs are lacking. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE: To evaluate fecal concentrations of SCFAs and the fecal microbiota in healthy control (HC) dogs and dogs with chronic enteropathy (CE). ANIMALS: Forty-nine privately owned HC dogs and 73 dogs with CE. METHODS: Prospective cohort study. Fecal concentrations of SCFAs were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Illumina sequencing and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were utilized to evaluate the fecal microbiota. RESULTS: Fecal concentrations (median [range] mol/g of dry matter) of acetate were lower (P = .03) in dogs with CE (185.8 [20.1-1042.1]) than in HC dogs (224.0 [87.7-672.8]). Propionate were also lower (P<.001) in dogs with CE (46.4 [0.4-227.9]) than in HC dogs (105.9 [1.6-266.9]). Moreover, total SCFAs were lower (P = .005) in dogs with CE (268.1 [21.8-1378.2]) than in HC dogs (377.2 [126.6-927.0]). Dysbiosis in dogs with CE was characterized by decreased bacterial diversity and richness, distinct microbial community clustering compared with that in HC dogs, and a higher dysbiosis index. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Dogs with CE had an altered fecal SCFA concentration accompanied by significant changes of the fecal microbiota.

published proceedings

  • J Vet Intern Med

altmetric score

  • 0.75

author list (cited authors)

  • Minamoto, Y., Minamoto, T., Isaiah, A., Sattasathuchana, P., Buono, A., Rangachari, V. R., ... Suchodolski, J. S.

citation count

  • 64

complete list of authors

  • Minamoto, Yasushi||Minamoto, Tomomi||Isaiah, Anitha||Sattasathuchana, Panpicha||Buono, Agostino||Rangachari, Venkat R||McNeely, Isaac H||Lidbury, Jonathan||Steiner, Jörg M||Suchodolski, Jan S

publication date

  • July 2019

publisher