Microbiome analysis of feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL) and feline oral health

Probiotics and Cat Health: A Review of Progress and Prospects

Cats are increasingly favored as companion animals; their health has drawn widespread attention. Given the continuous improvements in the required living standards of both humans and animals, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, diarrhea, constipation, periodontal disease, obesity, diabetes, and other health issues have become recognized as valid pet problems. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat pet diseases, greatly improving animal health. However, antibiotic abuse is common, especially when seeking to treat bacterial infections. Probiotics are beneficial microorganisms that may be directly ingested in food or as feed additives; they improve the intestinal microflora balance, enhance immunity, and ensure healthy growth. However, cat data are usually inferred from reports on dogs or humans; cat research remains preliminary in nature. Therefore, we here describe the current understanding of how probiotics improve cat health, facilitating the further development and application of probiotics for cats.

Elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in saliva of cats with feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion

Feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL) is an inflammatory oral disease of unknown aetiopathogenesis that affects between 20% to 75% of cats. Twenty immune-associated molecules were measured in saliva of 25 healthy and 40 cats with FORL using a multiplex assay. No statistically significant differences were observed in the levels of these proteins between the healthy group and the diseased group of cats. A two-step cluster analysis of the oral microbiome and salivary cytokine data identified two subgroups of cats with FORL: FORL-1 (subset of cats with a less diverse oral microbiome) and FORL-2 (diseased cats with a microbiome similar to that of healthy animals). The level of some key proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-12p40) and chemokines (IL-8, RANTES, KC) were significantly higher in the FORL-1 subgroup than in the FORL-2 subgroup and the healthy group. In addition, TNF-α levels were greater in the FORL-1 subgroup than in the FORL-2 subgroup. These increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines indicate active ongoing inflammation that may promote the osteoclastic/odontoclastic activity associated with FORL.

The Oral Microbiome across Oral Sites in Cats with Chronic Gingivostomatitis, Periodontal Disease, and Tooth Resorption Compared with Healthy Cats

Feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS) is a chronic mucosal and gingival inflammatory disease in which pathogenesis remains unclear. Interactions between the host inflammatory process, the host immune response, and the oral microbiome are implicated in this pathogenesis. To begin to understand this disease and the impact of the microbiome to host inflammatory disease states, we collected sterile noninvasive plaque biofilm samples from ten distinct sites within the oral cavity in cats with stomatitis (n = 12), healthy cats (n = 9), and cats with tooth resorption or periodontitis (n = 11). Analysis of full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the microbiomes of cats with FCGS presented marked dysbiosis at multiple oral sites. Additionally, microbiome beta diversity varied with oral condition, indicating that stomatitis, periodontitis, and/or tooth resorption influence the microbiome differently. Lastly, we found that the microbiomes of swabs taken from the oral cavity were comparable to those taken from plaque using endodontic paper points, validating this as another sampling method. Collectively, our work furthers our understanding of the dysbiosis and composition of bacteria in the oral microbiome in FCGS, with hopes of contributing to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of this challenging condition in felines.