Inflammation and its association with oxidative stress in dogs with heart failure

Abstract

Background Inflammation and oxidative stress can contribute to the development and progression of heart failure. This study aimed to investigate the association between inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF). Associations between the disease severity marker N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were also determined. Results Thirty-seven dogs with cardiovascular diseases (dilated cardiomyopathy, DCM (16 dogs), myxomatous mitral valve disease, MMVD (21 dogs)) and ten healthy dogs were included in this prospective study. The patients were further divided into groups with (26) and without CHF (11). We found a significantly higher serum concentration of C-reactive protein (P = 0.012), white blood cell (P = 0.001), neutrophil (P = 0.001) and monocyte counts (P = 0.001) in patients with CHF compared to control dogs. The concentration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) was significantly higher in patients with CHF compared to patients without CHF (P = 0.030). No significant difference was found in most of the measured parameters between MMVD and DCM patients, except for glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and NT-proBNP. In patients with CHF, TNF-α correlated positively with malondialdehyde (P = 0.014, r = 0.474) and negatively with GPX (P = 0.026, r = − 0.453), and interleukin-6 correlated negatively with GPX (P = 0.046, r = − 0.412). NT-proBNP correlated positively with malondialdehyde (P = 0.011, r = 0.493). In patients without CHF none of the inflammatory and oxidative stress markers correlated significantly. Furthermore, in the group of all cardiac patients, GPX activity significantly negatively correlated with NT-proBNP (P = 0.050, r = − 0.339) and several markers of inflammation, including TNF-α (P = 0.010, r = − 0.436), interleukin-6 (P = 0.026, r = − 0.382), white blood cell (P = 0.032, r = − 0.369), neutrophil (P = 0.027, r = − 0.379) and monocyte counts (P = 0.024, r = − 0.386). Conclusion Inflammatory and oxidative stress markers are linked in canine CHF patients, but not in patients without CHF. These results suggest complex cross communication between the two biological pathways in advanced stages of CHF.

Effects of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Oxidative Stress Markers, Inflammatory Markers, Lymphocyte Subpopulations, and Clinical Status in Dogs with Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease

“…An increase in neutrophil count and decrease in lymphocyte count are typical for systemic inflammation, and it is known that low-grade inflammation is present in CHF in people [ 45 , 46 ] and dogs [ 29 , 30 ]. A higher neutrophil percentage has been found in dogs with advanced-stage CHF in comparison to dogs with stable CHF and/or non-CHF dogs or healthy controls [ 29 , 30 , 47 ].…”

“…An increase in neutrophil count and decrease in lymphocyte count are typical for systemic inflammation, and it is known that low-grade inflammation is present in CHF in people [ 45 , 46 ] and dogs [ 29 , 30 ]. A higher neutrophil percentage has been found in dogs with advanced-stage CHF in comparison to dogs with stable CHF and/or non-CHF dogs or healthy controls [ 29 , 30 , 47 ]. Low lymphocyte counts are often found in human CVD and were shown to be a predictor of mortality in CVD patients [ 48 , 49 , 50 ], but the results of studies in dogs are contradictory, with most of them not detecting decreased lymphocyte count or percentage in canine patients with heart disease [ 29 , 30 , 38 , 39 , 47 ]; however, in one of the mentioned studies, a significantly lower lymphocyte percentage was found in CHF and non-CHF groups of canine cardiac patients compared to that in healthy dogs [ 30 ].…”

“…A higher neutrophil percentage has been found in dogs with advanced-stage CHF in comparison to dogs with stable CHF and/or non-CHF dogs or healthy controls [ 29 , 30 , 47 ]. Low lymphocyte counts are often found in human CVD and were shown to be a predictor of mortality in CVD patients [ 48 , 49 , 50 ], but the results of studies in dogs are contradictory, with most of them not detecting decreased lymphocyte count or percentage in canine patients with heart disease [ 29 , 30 , 38 , 39 , 47 ]; however, in one of the mentioned studies, a significantly lower lymphocyte percentage was found in CHF and non-CHF groups of canine cardiac patients compared to that in healthy dogs [ 30 ]. In another study, a lower lymphocyte count was shown in dogs with advanced-stage CHF in comparison to that in dogs with stable CHF and healthy controls [ 38 ].…”

“…The anti-inflammatory effect of CoQ 10 has been previously studied in people [ 3 , 51 ]. The association between oxidative stress and inflammation has been shown in dogs with cardiovascular diseases [ 30 ], but the anti-inflammatory effect of CoQ 10 supplementation has not been studied in canine patients. Our study is the first to report the possible benefits of oral CoQ 10 supplementation in combating inflammation in dogs with CHF.…”

“…Inflammation, which is the other hallmark of human [ 26 ] and canine [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] heart failure (HF), has been shown to be linked to oxidative stress in both people [ 31 , 32 ] and dogs [ 20 , 30 ] with cardiac diseases. The reducing effect of CoQ 10 supplementation on inflammatory markers has been found in coronary artery disease (CAD) and other chronic inflammatory diseases in people [ 3 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”