Effect of a single rectal fecal microbiota transplantation on clinical severity and fecal microbial communities in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy

Abstract

Background: Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been advocated as a treatment for chronic enteropathy (CE) in dogs. However, so far only short-term clinical effects have been reported whereas the effect on the microbiota remains unexplored.

Hypothesis/objectives: Assess if a single FMT enema can lead to clinical improvement in dogs with CE when accompanied by presumed favorable microbiota changes. The effect of glycerol as a cryopreservative when storing FMT preparations also was assessed.

Animals: Seven dogs with CE that received FMTs from 2 healthy donor dogs.

Materials and methods: Six dogs received a single FMT, 1 dog received 3 consecutive FMTs. Canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI) and fecal samples were obtained before (Day 0), and 7, 30 and 90 days after FMT. Samples were stored with and without 10% glycerol. Sequencing of microbiota (16S rRNA, Illumina) was performed and compared by accepted analysis pipelines.

Results: Median CCECAI before FMT was 8 (range, 5-14), decreased to a median of 3 (range, 1-12) within 1 week and a median of 1 (range, 0-12) by Day 30 (P < .01), with an average duration of response of approximately 10 weeks. Significant variation in the donors' microbiota composition was observed across different donations. Recipient microbiota composition or diversity did not change over time. Glycerol addition was associated with a difference in microbiota composition (P ≤ .001).

Conclusions and clinical importance: A single FMT can be considered an appropriate treatment in dogs with CE, but consistent microbiota changes were not observed.

Keywords: bacteria; diarrhea; inflammatory bowel disease; microbiome; transfaunation.

FIGURE 1

Microbiota composition of the 2 FMT donor dogs for this study. The upper 2 panels show predominant bacterial orders, and the lower 2 panels predominant bacterial genera.

FIGURE 2

Canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI) in 7 dogs before, 7 and 30 days after receiving a single rectal FMT.

FIGURE 3

NMDS clustering of samples using Bray‐Curtis dissimilarity values (stress = 0.18). Different colors indicate days since FMT administration, donor samples are gray. Upper panel: All samples from both donors and all recipients, by sample type (indicated by different shaped symbols): FMT, fecal microbiota transplant slurry; FS, fecal sample before processing; Glyc, with the addition of 10% glycerol. Lower panels: Samples from all FMT recipients from donor 1 (left) and donor 2 (right). Donors are represented by (gray) triangles and recipients by squares.

FIGURE 4

Upper panels: Boxplots showing richness (A: Chao1 Index) and diversity (B: Inverse Simpson's index) of fecal samples from FMT donor and recipient dogs with or without the addition of glycerol. Lower panels: Log fold changes in OTUs (C) and genera (D) that were defined as significantly differently abundant by ANCOMBC2 (q < 0.05) between samples with and without glycerol. Error bars represent standard errors.

FIGURE 5

Boxplots showing richness (A: Chao1 Index) and diversity (B: Inverse Simpson's index) of fecal samples from dogs that had received 1 fecal transplant. FMT, fecal microbial transplant.

FIGURE 6

Barplot showing relative abundance of bacterial orders within fecal samples from FMT recipients at different time points after FMT and their matching donor.

FIGURE 7

Barplot showing relative abundance of bacterial genera within fecal samples from FMT recipients at different time points after FMT and their matching donor.

FIGURE 8

Barplot showing relative abundance of bacterial orders within fecal samples from 1 dog given 3 FMT treatments (from 2 different donors).