Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Low gut antibody IgA found in German shepherd dogs by stool test
By Littler, R M et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2006·Royal Veterinary College·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Total and relative deficiency of gut mucosal IgA in German shepherd dogs demonstrated by faecal analysis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 76 German shepherd dogs was found to have low levels of a specific antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) in their stool, which is important for gut health. This was compared to 63 dogs of other breeds, and many German shepherds had IgA levels below normal, with some showing no detectable IgA at all. In contrast, these dogs had higher levels of another antibody, immunoglobulin G, and a protein called albumin. This study suggests that German shepherds may have a deficiency in gut mucosal IgA, which could impact their immune function.
People also search for: German shepherd gut health · low IgA in dogs · dog stool test results · immune system problems in dogs
Abstract
The concentration of immunoglobulins in faecal extracts was investigated as a method of assessing the production of immunoglobulins by the gut mucosa of 137 dogs. There were significant correlations between the concentrations in faecal extracts and the concentrations produced in duodenal organ cultures. Seventy-six German shepherd dogs had significantly lower median immunoglobulin A (IgA) concentrations in their faecal extracts than 63 controls of various breeds. Sixteen of the German shepherd dogs had IgA concentrations below the 95 per cent confidence limit of the control population and six had no demonstrable faecal IgA. The faecal concentrations of immunoglobulin G and albumin were significantly higher in the German shepherd dogs than in the controls, but their immunoglobulin M concentrations were similar.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16531582/