Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Proteins in poop that differ in healthy dogs and dogs with food
By Cerquetella, Matteo et al.·Published in TheScientificWorldJournal·2019·School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Fecal Proteomic Analysis in Healthy Dogs and in Dogs Suffering from Food Responsive Diarrhea.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with food responsive diarrhea (FRD) was studied to understand the differences in their feces compared to healthy dogs. Researchers found a specific protein, the immunoglobulin J-chain isoform 1, present only in the dogs with diarrhea, suggesting that their immune systems might be more active or that there could be damage to their gut lining. While this research is still in the early stages, it opens the door for future tests that could help diagnose gastrointestinal issues in dogs.
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Abstract
Different laboratory markers are routinely used in the diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal (GI) disease in dogs. In the present study, starting from feces from both healthy dogs and dogs suffering from food responsive diarrhea (FRD), we tried to find proteins differently expressed in the two groups of dogs, by using a proteomic approach. Interestingly, we found that the immunoglobulin J-chain isoform 1 (species:) was identified only in diseased dogs (not in healthy). J-chain combines especially IgA monomers to IgA dimers and plays a crucial role for their secretions into mucosal interface. Being the first study of that kind in the dog, it is only possible to hypothesize that their presence could be likely due to an increased activation of the immune system or to a mucosal damage or both in FRD patients. Similarly, it is still impossible to assess whether this protein could be used as diagnostic/prognostic marker of GI disease; however, this study represents a promising first step toward fecal proteomics in canine GI disorders.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30718980/