Determination of serum and fecal Zonulin levels in canine gastroenteritis caused by selected infectious and non-infectious diseases
Abstract
This study aimed to simultaneously determine zonulin levels in feces and blood as a reliable biomarker for the detection and severity of intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”), which may develop due to infectious or non-infectious diarrhea of various etiologies in dogs. Fifty-four dogs, 45 with gastroenteritis and 9 healthy controls, were presented to the clinic with a history of diarrhea lasting at least one day and were classified according to etiology based on clinical laboratory analyses. Zonulin levels were measured in blood and fecal samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Significant differences in both serum and fecal zonulin levels were found between the healthy group and all diseased groups. Fecal zonulin levels in the diseased dogs differed significantly between the coronavirus group and the giardia and parvovirus groups, while serum zonulin levels also differed significantly in the distemper group. These findings suggest that fecal and serum zonulin levels may serve as non-invasive biomarkers of blood–brain barrier dysfunction in dogs with gastroenteritis.
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