Circulating markers of endothelial activation in canine parvoviral 4 enteritis

Abstract

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a debilitating disease affecting young wild and domestic canines. Canine parvovirus attacks rapidly dividing cells including intestinal epithelium, lymphoid tissue and bone marrow. The most common clinical manifestations of CPV infection are severe gastrointestinal signs and immunosuppression. During CPV, endotoxins are released from the compromised gastrointestinal tract. Increased inflammatory cytokines have been described in previous studies. The endotoxins, raised inflammatory cytokines and the severe immunosuppression stimulates the systemic inflammatory response causing widespread peripheral vasodilation, capillary permeability is increased, cardiac function depression and the coagulation cascade is activated. The state of the endothelium in CPV has not been investigated. Markers of endothelial activation including intercellular adhesive molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular adhesive molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB-1) give insight into the state of vascular endothelium during disease. These markers of endothelial activation have been investigated in inflammatory diseases in humans and animals. In this study, we aimed to investigate the concentration of circulating markers of endothelial activation to gain insight into the state of vascular endothelium during CPV. Thirty dogs naturally infected with CPV were used in the study and compared to ten age-matched control dogs. A significant lower median value for ICAM-1 was found in dogs with CPV compared to control dogs. No significant difference was seen for VCAM-1 or HMGB-1. This indicates that despite the systemic inflammation and raised cytokine levels seen in dogs with CPV there seems to be a lack of endothelial activation based on the circulating levels of the markers of endothelial activation. The significance of these findings warrants further investigation.