Faecal microbiota and fatty acids in feline chronic enteropathy

Abstract

Background Feline chronic enteropathy is a set of disorders defined as the presence of clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease for at least three weeks. The most common final diagnoses are inflammatory bowel disease and alimentary small cell lymphoma. The etiopathogenesis of these diseases is incompletely understood; however, it is hypothesised that they involve a combination of factors, including altered composition and/or functionality of the intestinal microbiome. An important factor in the interplay of the microbiome and host is the production of short- and branched-chain fatty acids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible differences in faecal microbiota diversity, composition and fatty acid production between cats suffering from chronic enteropathy and healthy cats. Sixteen cats suffering from chronic enteropathy and fourteen healthy control cats were enrolled in the study. The microbiota compositions of faecal samples were analysed by using next-generation amplicon sequencing of the V3V4 fragment of the 16S rRNA gene. Fatty acids were evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results Both the alpha and beta diversities were significantly lower in samples obtained from cats with chronic enteropathy. The relative abundance of the phylum Proteobacteria, orders Lactobacillales and Enterobacterales, family Enteriobacteriaceae and genus Escherichia Shigella were higher in diseased cats, whereas the abundance of the phylum Bacteroidota and order Peptococcales were higher in control cats. The faecal concentrations of short-chain fatty acids were higher in cats with chronic enteropathy, with lower propionate proportions and higher butyrate proportions. Conclusion The study revealed alterations in microbiota compositions and short-chain fatty acid concentration in cats suffering from chronic enteropathy, which is an important finding both for research on the pathogenesis of the disease and for potential therapeutic interventions in the form of faecal microbiota transplantation and/or probiotic supplementation.

Gut microbiota in cats with inflammatory bowel disease and low-grade intestinal T-cell lymphoma

“…A 16S rRNA gene sequencing approach identified a distinct pattern of dysbiosis in 27 pet cats with CE, with increased abundances of facultative anaerobes from the Enterobacteriaceae and Streptococcaceae families, and decreased abundances of obligate anaerobic members of the phyla Firmicutes ( Ruminococcaceae and Turicibacteraceae families), Actinobacteria ( Bifidobacterium genus) and Bacteroidetes ( Bacteroides plebius ) ( Marsilio et al, 2019 ). A similar study conducted in 16 pet cats with histologically confirmed CE recovered increased abundances of the phylum Proteobacteria, the orders Enterobacterales and Lactobacillales, the family Enterobacteriaceae and the genus Escherichia Shigella , and decreased abundances of the phylum Bacteroideta and the order Peptococcales when compared with 14 privately-owned healthy pet cats ( Miller et al, 2023 ). Some of these shifts are similar to those identified by more robust studies conducted in humans with IBD, such as decreased abundances of obligate anaerobes from the Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla ( Frank et al, 2007 ), and increased abundance of facultative anaerobes from the Enterobacteriaceae family ( Khorsand et al, 2022 ).…”

“…However, it provides partial assessment of the gut microbiota composition and does not bring better insights into the interactions between gut microbiota and feline CE. Metabolic alterations resembling those described in human IBD and relating to tryptophan, arachidonic acid, glutathione and lipids have also been underlined in pet cats with CE (Marsilio et al, 2021;Barko et al, 2023;Miller et al, 2023;Sung et al, 2023). Additional studies are mandatory to relate gut microbiota compositions and metabolic alterations.…”