Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Immune responses to gut bacteria in dogs with inflammatory bowel
By Soontararak, Sirikul et al.·Published in PloS one·2019·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Humoral immune responses against gut bacteria in dogs with inflammatory bowel disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) showed higher levels of specific antibodies against gut bacteria compared to healthy dogs. These antibodies, IgG and IgA, were mostly produced in the intestines rather than in the bloodstream. The study found that certain types of bacteria, particularly from the Collinsella genus, had significantly more antibodies binding to them in dogs with IBD. This suggests that the immune response to gut bacteria may contribute to the inflammation seen in IBD. Understanding these immune responses could help in managing and treating IBD in dogs.
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Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in dogs is associated with clinical signs of intestinal dysfunction, as well as abnormal lymphocytic and myeloid cell infiltrates in the small and/or large intestine. Thus, in many respects IBD in dogs resembles IBD in humans. However, the factors that trigger intestinal inflammation in dogs with IBD are not well understood and have been variously attributed to immune responses against dietary antigens or intestinal antigens. Previous studies in humans with IBD have documented increased production of IgG and IgA antibodies specific to intestinal bacteria, and this abnormal immune response has been linked to disease pathogenesis. Therefore, we investigated the humoral immune response against gut bacteria in dogs with IBD, using flow cytometry to quantitate IgG and IgA binding. Studies were also done to investigate the source of these antibodies (locally produced versus systemic production) and whether greater antibody binding to bacteria is associated with increased inflammatory responses. We found that dogs with IBD had significantly higher percentages and overall amounts of IgG bound to their intestinal bacteria compared to healthy dogs. Similarly, significantly higher percentages of bacteria were IgA+ bacteria were also found in dogs with IBD. Serum antibody recognition of gut bacteria was not different between healthy dogs and dogs with IBD, suggesting that anti-bacterial antibodies were primarily produced locally in the gut rather than systemically. Importantly, bacteria in the Actinobacteria phylum and in particular the genus Collinsella had significantly greater levels of antibody binding in dogs with IBD. Based on these findings, we concluded that antibody binding to commensal gut bacteria was significantly increased in dogs with IBD, that particular phyla were preferential targets for gut antibodies, and that anti-bacterial antibody responses may play an important role in regulating gut inflammation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31369623/