Investigation of diets associated with dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs using foodomics analysis

Caren E Smith,Lisa M Freeman,Chao-Qiang Lai,John E Rush,Laurence D Parnell

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94464-2

Abstract

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart muscle that affects both humans and dogs. Certain canine diets have been associated with DCM, but the diet-disease link is unexplained, and novel methods are needed to elucidate mechanisms. We conducted metabolomic profiling of 9 diets associated with canine DCM, containing ≥ 3 pulses, potatoes, or sweet potatoes as main ingredients, and in the top 16 dog diet brands most frequently associated with canine DCM cases reported to the FDA (3P/FDA diets), and 9 non-3P/FDA diets. We identified 88 named biochemical compounds that were higher in 3P/FDA diets and 23 named compounds that were lower in 3P/FDA diets. Amino acids, amino acid-derived compounds, and xenobiotics/plant compounds were the largest categories of biochemicals that were higher in 3P/FDA diets. Random forest analyses identified the top 30 compounds that distinguished the two diet groups with 100% predictive accuracy. Four diet ingredients distinguished the two diet groups (peas, lentils, chicken/turkey, and rice). Of these ingredients, peas showed the greatest association with higher concentrations of compounds in 3P/FDA diets. Moreover, the current foodomics analyses highlight relationships between diet and DCM in dogs that can identify possible etiologies for understanding diet-disease relationships in dogs and humans.

Highlights

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart muscle that affects both humans and dogs
One group consisted of diets clinically associated with DCM in dogs, from the top 16 dog food brands fed to dogs with DCM reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and contained ≥ 3 pulses, potatoes, or sweet potatoes in the top 20 ingredients[43]
The current study identified a substantial number of biochemical differences in the 3P/FDA diets, which have been associated with DCM in pet dogs, compared to non-3P/FDA d iets[34,40,41,42,43,44,45,46]

Summary

Introduction

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart muscle that affects both humans and dogs. The natural history of DCM in humans is highly variable suggesting that environmental factors may affect disease progression even in DCM with a genetic basis. This disease does occur in humans; DCM is the second most common heart disease affecting pet dogs, with prevalence over 50% in some breeds, such as the Doberman P inscher[4,5,6]. Even in the Doberman Pinscher, in which two different mutations associated with DCM have been identified, some dogs with DCM have a single mutation, some have both mutations, and some have neither[7,8,9] This variable genetic background and a highly variable disease progression, even in dogs with the same mutation, support a role for environmental factors in canine DCM. Carnitine belongs to a chemical category of trimethylated quaternary amines and imines called “betaines,” which have been identified in many foods and linked to human h ealth[38,39]

Methods

Results

Conclusion