Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Serum metabolite changes in cats with pancreatic insufficiency
By Barko, Patrick C & Williams, David A·Published in PloS one·2021·Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Untargeted analysis of the serum metabolome in cats with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old cat with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) was studied to understand the condition better. EPI leads to chronic digestive issues, and in this case, the cat had low levels of a specific enzyme that helps with digestion. Researchers found that cats with EPI had higher levels of certain fatty acids and other metabolites in their blood, while levels of some amino acids and other compounds were lower compared to healthy cats. These findings suggest that EPI affects how the cat's body processes fats and proteins, and it may also impact gut bacteria. More research is needed to explore these changes and how they relate to EPI.
People also search for: cat digestive problems · exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in cats · cat low enzyme levels treatment
Abstract
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) causes chronic digestive dysfunction in cats, but its pathogenesis and pathophysiology are poorly understood. Untargeted metabolomics is a promising analytic methodology that can reveal novel metabolic features and biomarkers of clinical disease syndromes. The purpose of this preliminary study was to use untargeted analysis of the serum metabolome to discover novel aspects of the pathobiology of EPI in cats. Serum samples were collected from 5 cats with EPI and 8 healthy controls. The diagnosis of EPI was confirmed by measurement of subnormal serum feline trypsin-like immunoreactivity (fTLI). Untargeted quantification of serum metabolite utilized ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy. Cats with EPI had significantly increased serum quantities of long-chain fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, mevalonate pathway intermediates, and endocannabinoids compared with healthy controls. Diacylglycerols, phosphatidylethanolamines, amino acid derivatives, and microbial metabolites were significantly decreased in cats with EPI compared to healthy controls. Diacyclglycerols and amino acid metabolites were positively correlated, and sphingolipids and long-chain fatty acids were negatively correlated with serum fTLI, respectively. These results suggest that EPI in cats is associated with increased lipolysis of peripheral adipose stores, dysfunction of the mevalonate pathway, and altered amino acid metabolism. Differences in microbial metabolites indicate that feline EPI is also associated with enteric microbial dysbiosis. Targeted studies of the metabolome of cats with EPI are warranted to further elucidate the mechanisms of these metabolic derangements and their influence on the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of EPI in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34591942/