The Association of Specific Constituents of the Fecal Microbiota with Immune-Mediated Brain Disease in Dogs

Abstract

Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO) is a common, naturally-occurring, clinical disease of pet dogs. It is an immune-mediated condition that has many similarities with experimental autoimmune encephalitis (EAE) in rodents and so investigation of its pathogenesis may aid in understanding factors that contribute to development of multiple sclerosis in people. Gut microbiota are known to modulate immune responses that influence susceptibility to immune-mediated brain disease. In this study we aimed to compare abundance of specific constituents of the fecal microbiota, namely Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Prevotellaceae, between dogs diagnosed with MUO and matched controls. Fecal samples were obtained from 20 dogs diagnosed with MUO and 20 control dogs matched for breed, age and gender. Bacterial abundance was measured using qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing. We found that Prevotellaceae were significantly less abundant in cases compared with controls (p = 0.003) but there was no difference in abundance of F.prausnitzii. There was no evidence of other differences in gut microbiota between groups. These data, derived from this naturally-occurring canine clinical model, provide strong corroborative evidence that high abundance of Prevotellaceae in the gut is associated with reduced risk for developing immune-mediated brain disease.

The canine gut microbiome is associated with higher risk of gastric dilatation-volvulus and high risk genetic variants of the immune system

“…A microbiome that is out of balance (dysbiosis) may predispose dogs to increased risk of diseases associated with the immune system. Relevant to a dysregulated immune function in GDV, an altered abundance of Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria has been associated with irritable bowel disease [ 17 ] and other autoimmune-mediated diseases in dogs [ 36 ]. Underlying mechanisms include 1) loosened tight junctions between gut epithelial cells which allow endotoxin to enter systemic circulation mounting an immune response through innate immune receptors, 2) mutations in immune genes that reduce detection of pathogens [ 37 , 38 ], 3) modification of flagellin by bacteria to evade host surveillance [ 39 ], and 4) shifts in the microbial community that enrich for microbial metabolites associated with increased inflammation [ 35 , 40 ].…”

Immune-Mediated Central Nervous System Disease—Current Knowledge and Recommendations

“…So far, Prevotellaceae has been shown to be significantly less abundant in the gut microbiota of dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin compared with normal dogs. 20 While it is too early to draw conclusions regarding case management from this single study, it encourages further research regarding environmental factors that might contribute to this disease.…”

Akkermansia and Microbial Degradation of Mucus in Cats and Dogs: Implications to the Growing Worldwide Epidemic of Pet Obesity

“…As indicated above, the development of microbial therapies with weight-loss applications in obese cats and dogs is challenging [7], in part due to the little we know about microbes and obesity [92,93] in these animal species and the wide inter-individual variation in the gut microbiome. This variation in the gut microbiome in pets is associated with the passing of time and aging [94][95][96][97][98], environmental factors, including diet [99], microbes in surrounding people [100], breed and other host genetics factors [101,102], clinical and subclinical conditions [91,93,103], gender [104], and behavior [105]. Here, we discuss the literature on feline and canine gut microbiota with regards to Verrucomicrobia-and Akkermansia-like 16S rRNA sequences (Table 1).…”