A review of phosphorus homeostasis and the impact of different types and amounts of dietary phosphate on metabolism and renal health in cats.

Elevated concentrations of serum phosphate are linked with progression and increased case fatality rate in animals and humans with chronic kidney disease. Elevated concentrations of serum phosphate can be a risk factor for development of renal and cardiovascular diseases or osteoporosis in previously healthy people. In rodents, an excess intake of dietary phosphorus combined with an inverse dietary calcium : phosphorus ratio (<1 : 1) contributes to renal calcification. Renal injury also has occured in cats fed experimental diets supplemented with highly soluble phosphate salts, especially in diets with inverse calcium : phosphorus ratios. However, not all phosphorus sources contribute similarly to this effect. This review, which focuses on cats, summarizes the published evidence regarding phosphorus metabolism and homeostasis, including the relative impact of different dietary phosphorus sources, and their impact on the kidneys. No data currently shows that commercial cat foods induce renal injury. However, some diets contain high amounts of phosphorus relative to recommendations and some have inverse Ca : P ratios and so could increase the risk for development of kidney disease. While limiting the use of highly soluble phosphates appears to be important, there are insufficient data to support a specific upper limit for phosphate intake. This review also proposes areas where additional research is needed in order to strengthen conclusions and recommendations regarding dietary phosphorus for cats.

Similarity of the dog and human gut microbiomes in gene content and response to diet.

BACKGROUND: Gut microbes influence their hosts in many ways, in particular by modulating the impact of diet. These effects have been studied most extensively in humans and mice. In this work, we used whole genome metagenomics to investigate the relationship between the gut metagenomes of dogs, humans, mice, and pigs. RESULTS: We present a dog gut microbiome gene catalog containing 1,247,405 genes (based on 129 metagenomes and a total of 1.9 terabasepairs of sequencing data). Based on this catalog and taxonomic abundance profiling, we show that the dog microbiome is closer to the human microbiome than the microbiome of either pigs or mice. To investigate this similarity in terms of response to dietary changes, we report on a randomized intervention with two diets (high-protein/low-carbohydrate vs. lower protein/higher carbohydrate). We show that diet has a large and reproducible effect on the dog microbiome, independent of breed or sex. Moreover, the responses were in agreement with those observed in previous human studies. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that findings in dogs may be predictive of human microbiome results. In particular, a novel finding is that overweight or obese dogs experience larger compositional shifts than lean dogs in response to a high-protein diet.

Effects of the Dietary Protein and Carbohydrate Ratio on Gut Microbiomes in Dogs of Different Body Conditions.

Obesity has become a health epidemic in both humans and pets. A dysbiotic gut microbiota has been associated with obesity and other metabolic disorders. High-protein, low-carbohydrate (HPLC) diets have been recommended for body weight loss, but little is known about their effects on the canine gut microbiome. Sixty-three obese and lean Labrador retrievers and Beagles (mean age, 5.72 years) were fed a common baseline diet for 4 weeks in phase 1, followed by 4 weeks of a treatment diet, specifically, the HPLC diet (49.4% protein, 10.9% carbohydrate) or a low-protein, high-carbohydrate (LPHC) diet (25.5% protein, 38.8% carbohydrate) in phase 2. 16S rRNA gene profiling revealed that dietary protein and carbohydrate ratios have significant impacts on gut microbial compositions. This effect appeared to be more evident in obese dogs than in lean dogs but was independent of breed. Consumption of either diet increased the bacterial evenness, but not the richness, of the gut compared to that after consumption of the baseline diet. Macronutrient composition affected taxon abundances, mainly within the predominant phyla, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes The LPHC diet appeared to favor the growth of Bacteroides uniformis and Clostridium butyricum, while the HPLC diet increased the abundances of Clostridium hiranonis, Clostridium perfringens, and Ruminococcus gnavus and enriched microbial gene networks associated with weight maintenance. In addition, we observed a decrease in the Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes ratio and an increase in the Bacteroides to Prevotella ratio in the HPLC diet-fed dogs compared to these ratios in dogs fed other diets. Finally, analysis of the effect of diet on the predicted microbial gene network was performed using phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt). IMPORTANCE: More than 50% of dogs are either overweight or obese in the United States. A dysbiotic gut microbiota is associated with obesity and other metabolic problems in humans. HPLC diets have been promoted as an effective weight loss strategy for many years, and potential effects were reported for both humans and dogs. In this study, we explored the influence of the protein and carbohydrate ratio on the gut microbiome in dogs with different body conditions. We demonstrated significant dietary effects on the gut microbiome, with greater changes in obese dogs than in lean dogs. The HPLC diet-fed dogs showed greater abundances of Firmicutes but fewer numbers of Bacteroidetes than other dogs. This knowledge will enable us to use prebiotics, probiotics, and other nutritional interventions to modulate the gut microbiota and to provide an alternative therapy for canine obesity.

Pilot study to evaluate the effect of oral supplementation of Enterococcus faecium SF68 on cats with latent feline herpesvirus 1.

Feline herpesvirus 1 (FHV-1) infection is extremely common in cats and is frequently associated with morbidity because of recurrent ocular and respiratory clinical signs of disease. Enterococcus faecium strain SF68 is an immune-enhancing probiotic used as a dietary supplement. In this pilot study, 12 cats with chronic FHV-1 infection were administered either SF68 or a placebo, monitored for clinical signs of disease, monitored for FHV-1 shedding, and evaluated for FHV-1 specific humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and fecal microbiome stability. Fecal microbial diversity was maintained throughout the study in cats supplemented with SF68, but decreased in cats fed the placebo, indicating a more stable microbiome in cats fed SF68. While clinical results varied among individual cats, the overall findings suggest that administration of the probiotic lessened morbidity associated with chronic FHV-1 infection in some cats. Additional study is warranted to determine efficacy in a clinical setting.

Supplementation of food with Enterococcus faecium (SF68) stimulates immune functions in young dogs.

The gut microflora play a crucial role in several physiologic functions of the host, including maturation of the gut-associated lymphoid tissues during the first months of life. Oral administration of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) modulates the immune system of humans and some laboratory animals. This effect has never been examined in dogs; therefore, our aim was to study the capacity of a probiotic LAB to stimulate immune functions in young dogs. Puppies were allotted to two groups receiving either a control diet or a diet supplemented with 5 x 10(8) colony forming units (cfu)/d of probiotic Enterococcus faecium (SF68) from weaning to 1 y of age. Fecal and blood samples were collected from the dogs at different time points for the measurement of fecal immunoglobulin (Ig)A, circulating IgG and IgA, and the proportions of lymphoid cell subsets. Fecal IgA and canine distemper virus (CDV) vaccine-specific circulating IgG and IgA were higher in the group receiving the probiotic than in controls. There were no differences in the percentages of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells between the groups, but the proportion of mature B cells [CD21(+)/major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II(+)] was greater in those fed the probiotic. These data show for the first time that a dietary probiotic LAB enhance specific immune functions in young dogs, thus offering new opportunities for the utilization of probiotics in canine nutrition.