Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Faecal microbiota and fatty acids in feline chronic enteropathy
- Journal:
- BMC Veterinary Research
- Year:
- 2023
- Authors:
- Julia Miller et al.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
This study looked at cats with chronic enteropathy, which is a group of conditions causing long-term gastrointestinal issues, and compared them to healthy cats. Researchers found that the gut bacteria in the sick cats were less diverse and had different types of bacteria compared to the healthy ones. Additionally, the sick cats had higher levels of certain fatty acids in their stool, which might be linked to their condition. These findings suggest that changes in gut bacteria and fatty acid levels could be important for understanding and treating chronic enteropathy in cats. Overall, the study highlights the potential for new treatments like fecal microbiota transplants or probiotics to help these cats.
Abstract
Background Feline chronic enteropathy is a set of disorders defined as the presence of clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease for at least three weeks. The most common final diagnoses are inflammatory bowel disease and alimentary small cell lymphoma. The etiopathogenesis of these diseases is incompletely understood; however, it is hypothesised that they involve a combination of factors, including altered composition and/or functionality of the intestinal microbiome. An important factor in the interplay of the microbiome and host is the production of short- and branched-chain fatty acids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible differences in faecal microbiota diversity, composition and fatty acid production between cats suffering from chronic enteropathy and healthy cats. Sixteen cats suffering from chronic enteropathy and fourteen healthy control cats were enrolled in the study. The microbiota compositions of faecal samples were analysed by using next-generation amplicon sequencing of the V3V4 fragment of the 16S rRNA gene. Fatty acids were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results Both the alpha and beta diversities were significantly lower in samples obtained from cats with chronic enteropathy. The relative abundance of the phylum Proteobacteria, orders Lactobacillales and Enterobacterales, family Enteriobacteriaceae and genus Escherichia Shigella were higher in diseased cats, whereas the abundance of the phylum Bacteroidota and order Peptococcales were higher in control cats. The faecal concentrations of short-chain fatty acids were higher in cats with chronic enteropathy, with lower propionate proportions and higher butyrate proportions. Conclusion The study revealed alterations in microbiota compositions and short-chain fatty acid concentration in cats suffering from chronic enteropathy, which is an important finding both for research on the pathogenesis of the disease and for potential therapeutic interventions in the form of faecal microbiota transplantation and/or probiotic supplementation.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/38124157