Comparison of Intestinal Microbiota Between Healthy and MMVD Chihuahuas Using 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing

Ryuji Araki; Koji Iwanaga; Kazunori Ueda; Ayaka Shima; Genki Ishihara; Mitsuhiro Aizu; Toshiharu Fukayama; Mitsuhiro Isaka

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.846492

Comparison of Intestinal Microbiota Between Healthy and MMVD Chihuahuas Using 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing

Front Vet Sci. 2022 Mar 30:9:846492. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.846492. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ryuji Araki^{1

2

3}, Koji Iwanaga², Kazunori Ueda¹, Ayaka Shima⁴, Genki Ishihara⁴, Mitsuhiro Aizu⁴, Toshiharu Fukayama⁴, Mitsuhiro Isaka³

Affiliations

¹ Yokohama Yamate Dog & Cat Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan.
² Tokyo Veterinary Cardiology Center, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University, Ebetsu, Japan.
⁴ Anicom Insurance, Inc., Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) is the most common cause of congestive heart failure in dogs, and although complications of MMVD to the lungs and kidneys have been identified, complications to the gut are less well understood. The intestinal microbiota is an important factor in the gut, and although the association between heart disease and the intestinal microbiota has been shown in human medicine, it is unknown in dogs. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between MMVD and gut microbiota. A total of 69 healthy Chihuahuas and Chihuahuas with MMVD were evaluated for cardiac health by echocardiography and chest radiography and grouped according to ACVIM guidelines. Fecal samples were collected from all cases and 16S rRNA sequencing was used to reveal the intestinal microbiota. There were significant differences in LA/Ao, LVIDd, E vel, VHS, and VLAS with the severity of ACVIM. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the diversity and composition of gut microbiota among the groups. The present study did not identify the effects of MMVD on the gut microbiota.

Keywords: Chihuahua; fractional shortening; intestinal complication; intestinal microbiota; myxomatous mitral valve disease.