Full proffesor University of Cordoba CORDOBA, Andalucia, Spain
Abstract: Background – Probiotic supplementation has been suggested as an adjuvant therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Hypothesis/Objectives – The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a commercial probiotic formulation for companion animals on fecal microbiota in dogs with CKD. Animals – Sixteen dogs with CKD (IRIS Stage II and III) were recruited to a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study. Either placebo (n=8) or probiotic (Fortiflora® Nestle Purina PetCare) (n=8) were added to their renal diets for 60 days. Feces were collected at the beginning and the end of the study. In addition, ten clinically normal dogs fed a standard commercial diet donated feces that were used as a control. Methods – Fresh stool samples were processed to determine the intestinal microbiota profile by sequencing the Microbial rRNA on the IlluminaMiSeq. Microbiome Analyst 2.0 was used to compare groups at baseline and to visualize the results, using a taxonomic heat tree and the Wilcox test as statistical analysis. Results –Higher abundance of Lachnospiraceae family and Blautia bacterial species and Ruminococcus gnavus group and lower abundance of Gammaproteobacteria class, Burkholderiales order, Sutterellaceae family and Sutterella bacterial species was observed in dogs with CKD when compared with healthy dogs (Figure 1). Probiotic treatment resulted in a significant reduction in the population of Ruminococcus gnavus group but did not influence the other bacterial taxa (Figure 2). Conclusions –In conclusion, feeding the probiotic Fortiflora® to dogs with CKD resulted in attenuation of uremia-induced dysregulation of the gut microbiota.
