Stimulation of Duodenal Biopsies and Whole Blood from Dogs with Food‐Responsive Chronic Enteropathy and Healthy Dogs with Toll‐Like Receptor Ligands and Probiotic Enterococcus faecium

Abstract

The composition of the microbiome plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in humans and chronic enteropathies (CE) in dogs. The administration of probiotic micro-organisms is one way of modulating the microbiome, but experiments elucidating mechanisms of action of probiotics in the intestine of healthy and CE dogs are lacking. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of different Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands and Enterococcus faecium (EF) on ex vivo cultured duodenal samples and whole blood (WB) from dogs with food-responsive chronic enteropathy (FRE) when compared to healthy dogs. Biopsy stimulation was performed in 17 FRE and 11 healthy dogs; WB stimulation was performed in 16 FRE and 16 healthy dogs.

The inflammatory cytokine effect of Pam3CSK4 TLR2 agonist alone or in combination with Leishmania infantum antigen on ex-vivo whole blood from sick and resistant dogs

“…Our findings demonstrate that the Pam3CSK4 TLR2 agonist alone significantly increased the production of TNF-α as previously described [30, 31]. In agreement with the present study, stimulation of purified canine polymorphmononuclear cells (PMNs) with lipoteichoic acid, a ligand of TLR2, promoted the release of pro-inflammatory chemokine IL-8 [32].…”

Effects of Different Oligosaccharides on Growth of Selected Probiotic Bacterial Strains

“…Further studies investigating the interactions of E. faecium with prebiotics and other substances should be encouraged, as this might help to understand its role as a probiotic in veterinary medicine. So far, clinical trials with E. faecium as a probiotic with our without prebiotics have not been encouraging which might partially be due to the fact that likely high numbers of this strain are needed in vivo to elicit an effect (personal observations of the authors), but also potentially because a way to enhance E.faecium growth in vivo and in vitro have not yet been identified in these scenarios [3][4][5]. In only one study that was assessing the effect of another probiotic formulation; an increase in faecal enterococci was observed in dogs [22].…”

“…They are popular for the treatment of several conditions in small animals, mostly related to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where there is some evidence that they can alleviate symptoms of acute gastroenteritis [1,2]. There have also been several attempts to assess potential health benefits of probiotics in chronic GI conditions in small animals [3][4][5][6]. Even though a probiotic is defined as "a live organism which, if administered in adequate quantities, confers a health benefit to the host" proof of efficacy in specific conditions is often lacking, as most of these products are sold as health/ food supplements, not as drugs [7].…”

“…Bifidobacteria are also frequently used in probiotic preparations for humans and tested for companion animal consumption [2][3][4][5][12][13][14]. The aim of this study was to test the growth properties of 2 different strains of E. faecium and Bifidobacteria, respectively, with the addition of different prebiotics in vitro to potentially inform future decisions about combining pre-and probiotics.…”

Enterococcus faecium; a Suitable Probiotic Candidate for Modulation of Immune Responses Against Pathogens

“…20 Schmitz et al studied the dog's duodenal biopsies and whole blood and demonstrated that E. faecium stimulated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-17A, IL-22, Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and TNF-α in the duodenal biopsies and serum and subsequently enhanced the immune responses against pathogens. 21 The probiotic form of E. faecium (NCIMB 10415) also increased the production of NO by the phagocyte cells of pigs. 22 Based on the results, it appears that E. faecium modulates the innate immunity to fight against pathogens.…”