title: Changes in the intestinal mucosal cell populations of German shepherd dogs fed diets containing different protein sources.
abstract: Sixteen German Shepherd Dogs from 4 litters were IgA-deficient on the basis of at least 1 of 2 serum IgA determinations, and all had small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, as documented by quantitated small intestinal bacterial culture in another study. These dogs were fed 2 diets that differed principally in their protein source (chicken vs beef, milk, and wheat). All dogs were fed each diet for 2 weeks before the study began. Next, all dogs were fed the chicken-based diet for 2 months. Then, half the dogs (group 1) were randomly assigned to continue eating the chicken-based diet, while the other half (group 2) ate a diet containing beef, milk, and wheat proteins. The small intestine was biopsied at the beginning of the study and after dogs had eaten the assigned diet for 2 and 4 months. At 2 months, group-2 dogs had more colonic mucosal mast cells, but this difference did not persist at 4 months. At the end of the study (ie, 4 months), although all dogs were clinically normal, group-2 dogs had significantly (P = 0.010) decreased numbers of jejunal villus plasma cells. However, these histologic changes were not considered clinically important. There were no significant differences in blood eosinophil counts, serum trypsin-like immunoreactivity, or cobalamin, folate, or IgA concentration. Clinical differences were not detected between the 2 groups, before or after the study. Changes were seen in serum IgM and IgG concentrations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Fossum
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Willard
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Carey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count / Q000662:veterinary; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D004285:Dogs / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins