One dog's waste is another dog's wealth: A pilot study of fecal microbiota transplantation in dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome

PLoS One. 2021 Apr 19;16(4):e0250344. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250344. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Canine acute hemorrhagic diarrhea syndrome (AHDS) has been associated in some studies with Clostridioides perfringens overgrowth and toxin-mediated necrosis of the intestinal mucosa. We aimed to determine the effect of a single fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on clinical scores and fecal microbiomes of 1 and 7 dogs with AHDS from New Zealand and South Africa. We hypothesized that FMT would improve AHDS clinical scores and increase microbiota alpha-diversity and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing microbial communities' abundances in dogs with AHDS after FMT. We sequenced the V3-V4 region of the 16S-rRNA gene in the feces of AHDS FMT-recipients and sham-treated control dogs, and their healthy donors at admission, discharge, and 30 days post-discharge. There were no significant differences in median AHDS clinical scores between FMT-recipients and sham-treated controls at admission or discharge (P = 0.22, P = 0.41). At admission, the Shannon diversity index (SDI) was lower in AHDS dogs than healthy donors (P = 0.002). The SDI did not change from admission to 30 days in sham-treated dogs yet increased in FMT-recipients from admission to discharge (P = 0.04) to levels not different than donors (P = 0.33) but significantly higher than sham-treated controls (P = 0.002). At 30 days, the SDI did not differ between FMT recipients, sham-treated controls, and donors (P = 0.88). Principal coordinate analysis of the Bray-Curtis index separated post-FMT and donor dogs from pre-FMT and sham-treated dogs (P = 0.009) because of increased SCFA-producing genera's abundances after FMT. A single co-abundance subnetwork contained many of the same OTUs found to be differentially abundant in FMT-recipients, and the abundance of this module was increased in FMT-recipients at discharge and 30 days, compared to sham-treated controls. We conclude in this small pilot study FMT did not have any clinical benefit. A single FMT procedure has the potential to increase bacterial communities of SCFA-producing genera important for intestinal health up to 30 days post-FMT.

Publication types

  • Randomized Controlled Trial, Veterinary
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Actinobacteria / genetics
  • Actinobacteria / growth & development
  • Actinobacteria / isolation & purification
  • Animals
  • Bacteroidetes / genetics
  • Bacteroidetes / growth & development
  • Bacteroidetes / isolation & purification
  • Clostridioides / genetics
  • Clostridioides / growth & development
  • Clostridioides / pathogenicity*
  • Clostridium Infections / microbiology
  • Clostridium Infections / pathology
  • Clostridium Infections / therapy*
  • Clostridium Infections / veterinary
  • Diarrhea / microbiology
  • Diarrhea / pathology
  • Diarrhea / therapy*
  • Diarrhea / veterinary
  • Dogs
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile / biosynthesis
  • Fecal Microbiota Transplantation / veterinary*
  • Feces / microbiology*
  • Female
  • Firmicutes / genetics
  • Firmicutes / growth & development
  • Firmicutes / isolation & purification
  • Fusobacteria / genetics
  • Fusobacteria / growth & development
  • Fusobacteria / isolation & purification
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / microbiology
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / pathology
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / therapy*
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / veterinary
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome / physiology*
  • Intestinal Mucosa / microbiology
  • Male
  • New Zealand
  • Pilot Projects
  • Prospective Studies
  • Proteobacteria / genetics
  • Proteobacteria / growth & development
  • Proteobacteria / isolation & purification
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • South Africa

Substances

  • Fatty Acids, Volatile
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

We declare that the funder (i.e., Massey University) provided support in the form of salaries for authors [AG, RB, PB, KG and AM], but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.