Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Breed differences in anti-insulin antibodies in diabetic dogs and DLA
By Holder, Angela L et al.·Published in Veterinary immunology and immunopathology·2015·Department of Pathology and Pathogen Biology, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Breed differences in development of anti-insulin antibodies in diabetic dogs and investigation of the role of dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) genes.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that diabetic dogs can develop anti-insulin antibodies (AIA) after starting insulin treatment, which can affect their response to the medication. In this research, 942 diabetic dogs were tested, and those treated with bovine insulin were more likely to develop AIA compared to those on porcine insulin. Certain breeds, like dachshunds and miniature schnauzers, were more prone to developing these antibodies, while cocker spaniels were less likely. The findings suggest that specific genetic factors in dogs may influence how they respond to insulin treatment.
People also search for: diabetic dog treatment · insulin antibodies in dogs · bovine vs porcine insulin for dogs · dachshund diabetes management
Abstract
Administration of insulin for treatment of diabetes mellitus in dogs can stimulate an immune response, with a proportion of animals developing anti-insulin antibodies (AIA). For an IgG antibody response to occur, this would require B cell presentation of insulin peptides by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules, encoded by dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) genes, in order to receive T-cell help for class switching. DLA genes are highly polymorphic in the dog population and vary from breed to breed. The aim of the present study was to evaluate AIA reactivity in diabetic dogs of different breeds and to investigate whether DLA genes influence AIA status. Indirect ELISA was used to determine serological reactivity to insulin in diabetic dogs, treated with either a porcine or bovine insulin preparation. DLA haplotypes for diabetic dogs were determined by sequence-based typing of DLA-DRB1, -DQA1 and -DQB1 loci. Significantly greater insulin reactivity was seen in treated diabetic dogs (n=942) compared with non-diabetic dogs (n=100). Relatively few newly diagnosed diabetic dogs (3/109) were found to be AIA positive, although this provides evidence that insulin autoantibodies might be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease in some cases. Of the diabetic dogs treated with a bovine insulin preparation, 52.3% (182/348) were AIA positive, compared with 12.6% (75/594) of dogs treated with a porcine insulin preparation, suggesting that bovine insulin is more immunogenic. Breeds such as dachshund, Cairn terrier, miniature schnauzer and Tibetan terrier were more likely to develop AIA, whereas cocker spaniels were less likely to develop AIA, compared with crossbreed dogs. In diabetic dogs, DLA haplotype DRB1*0015--DQA1*006--DQB1*023 was associated with being AIA positive, whereas the haplotype DLA-DRB1*006--DQA1*005--DQB1*007 showed an association with being AIA negative. These research findings suggest that DLA genes influence AIA responses in treated diabetic dogs.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26272177/