Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Measuring intestinal inflammation markers in cats
By Nguyen Van, N et al.·Published in Veterinary immunology and immunopathology·2006·School of Clinical Veterinary Science, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Measurement of cytokine mRNA expression in intestinal biopsies of cats with inflammatory enteropathy using quantitative real-time RT-PCR.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with chronic diarrhea was studied to understand inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a condition where the intestines become inflamed. Researchers took biopsies from these cats and found that certain immune-related substances (cytokines) were present in higher amounts in cats with IBD compared to those with other gastrointestinal issues. Specifically, cats with IBD had increased levels of IL-10 and TGF-beta, which help regulate the immune response, as well as other pro-inflammatory cytokines. This suggests that IBD in cats involves a complex immune response. Treatment options for IBD often include dietary changes and medications to manage inflammation.
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Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a common condition in cats characterised by infiltration of inflammatory cells into the intestinal mucosa. In this study, real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to quantify cytokine messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in intestinal biopsies from cats. Biopsies were collected from seven cats with chronic diarrhoea and histologically confirmed IBD, five cats with chronic diarrhoea due to non-IBD gastrointestinal (GI) disease, and nine clinically normal cats with or without subclinical inflammatory changes in small intestine. Real-time RT-PCR was developed for quantification of mRNA encoding interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 (p35 and p40), IL-18, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was used as a 'housekeeper' gene. All real-time PCR efficiencies were>90% (range 90.4-102%) with correlation coefficients >0.99 (range 0.998-1). The results of the study were analyzed on the basis of either clinical presentation or histopathological evidence of intestinal inflammation. The former analysis showed that mRNA encoding IL-10 and TGF-beta (immunoregulatory cytokines), and IL-6, IL-18, TNF-alpha and IL-12 p40 (Th1 and pro-inflammatory cytokines) was significantly higher in clinically normal cats and cats with IBD when compared to cats with other GI diseases. IL-5 mRNA was significantly higher in cats with IBD compared to clinically normal cats. IL-2 mRNA was significantly lower in cats with non-IBD GI disease than in clinically normal cats. Analysis on the basis of histopathological change revealed that cats with intestinal inflammation had significantly more transcription of genes encoding IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p40, TNF-alpha and TGF-beta than those with normal intestinal morphology. The results suggest that immune dysregulation plays a role in feline IBD and that IBD in cats has a complicated pathogenesis with both pro-inflammatory and immunoregulatory features.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16879876/