A lot is known about how diet affects gut health in humans, but much less is known about how it impacts dogs. This study assessed whether a laboratory cell model of the dog gut that mimics the small intestine, could support efforts to understand these effects. To achieve this, cells were exposed to either lipopolysaccharide and/or butyrate, compounds known to promote or reduce inflammation, respectively. The dog cells model responded in a similar manner to known human gut cells models in terms of gut barrier strength; however, expression of proteins involved in maintaining the gut barrier differed as did signaling molecules that mediate communication between gut epithelial and immune cells involved in the inflammatory response. Further studies are required to better understand the contrasting response; however, insights into the value of studying dog-specific models rather than relying on human data are demonstrated.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.