Serum metabolomic alterations in Beagle dogs experimentally infected with Toxocara canis

Zou, Yang; Zheng, Wen-Bin; Elsheikha, Hany M.; Liu, Guo-Hua; Hu, Min-Hua; Wang, Shui-Lian; Zhu, Xing-Quan

Abstract

Background
Toxocara canis, a globally distributed roundworm, can cause debilitating disease in dogs and humans; however, little is known about the metabolomic response of the hosts to T. canis infection. There is an increasing need to understand the metabolic mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of T. canis infection in dogs. Here, we examined the metabolomic changes in Beagle dogsʼ serum following T. canis infection using LC-MS/MS.

Results
The metabolic profiles of Beagle dogsʼ serum were determined at 12 h, 24 h, 10 d and 36 d after oral infection with 300 infectious T. canis eggs by LC-MS/MS. We tested whether the T. canis-associated differentially abundant metabolites could distinguish the serum of infected dogs from controls, as measured by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). The differentially expressed metabolites were further evaluated by principal components analysis and pathway enrichment analysis. A total of 5756 and 5299 ions were detected in ESI+ and ESI− mode, respectively. ROC curve analysis revealed nine and five metabolite markers, at 12 hpi and 24 hpi to 36 dpi, respectively, with potential diagnostic value for toxocariasis. The levels of taurocholate, estradiol, prostaglandins and leukotriene were significantly changed. Primary bile acid biosynthesis pathway, steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids pathway were significantly altered by T. canis infection.

Conclusions
These findings show that T. canis infection can induce several changes in the dog serum metabolome and that the metabolic signature associated with T. canis infection in dogs has potential for toxocariasis diagnosis.

Citation

Zou, Y., Zheng, W., Elsheikha, H. M., Liu, G., Hu, M., Wang, S., & Zhu, X. (2019). Serum metabolomic alterations in Beagle dogs experimentally infected with Toxocara canis. Parasites and Vectors, 12(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3703-5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 4, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Sep 11, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019-12
• Deposit Date: Sep 17, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 17, 2019
• Journal: Parasites & Vectors
• Electronic ISSN: 1756-3305
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 447
• Pages: 1-10
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3703-5
• Keywords: Toxocara canis; Toxocariasis; Beagle dog; Serum; Metabolomic; LC-MS/MS
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2625053
• Publisher URL: https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-019-3703-5