Diseases of the Small and Large Intestine, Liver and Pancreas in Small Animals: Second Edition

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to present you with the second edition of the Animals Special Issue on “Diseases of the Small and Large Intestine, Liver and Pancreas in Small Animals.”

After the first edition collected amazing manuscripts from eminent international authors in the field, we wish to continue to contribute to the sharing of scientific evidence in small animal gastroenterology.

This Special Issue welcomes a wide range of research articles related to small animal gastroenterology. We welcome papers from any field related to diseases of the intestine, liver, and pancreas in small animals, such as clinical and clinicopathological markers, interactions between the diet, microbiota, and gut, metabolomics, ultrasonography, and advanced imaging, interventional radiology, novel treatments, and comparative pathologies. Intestinal, pancreatic, and hepatic diseases present a daily challenge for clinicians worldwide; small animal gastroenterology is still one of the fastest-growing research fields with new diagnostic and prognostic markers and therapeutic strategies for various intestinal, pancreatic, and liver diseases.

Dr. Alessio Pierini
Dr. Eleonora Gori
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• small animal gastroenterology
• intestine
• liver
• pancreas
• microbiota
• gut
• clinicopathological markers

• Diseases of the Small and Large Intestine, Liver and Pancreas in Small Animals in Animals (7 articles)

Title: Fecal bile acids in canine chronic hepatobiliary disease: results in 46 dogs
Authors: Verena Habermaass; Francesco Bartoli; Eleonora Gori; Rebecca Dini; Aurora Cogozzo; Caterina Puccinelli; Alessio Pierini; Veronica Marchetti
Affiliation: 1 Department of Veterinary Sciences, Veterinary Teaching Hospital “Mario Modenato”, University of Pisa, Via Livornese Lato Monte, San Piero a Grado, 56122 Pisa, Italy 2 Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Via Savi 10, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Abstract: Both fecal and serum bile acids (BAs) concentrations are known to be altered in human patients with chronic hepatobiliary diseases (CHBDs), especially with biliary involvement (BTD). Scarce literature is available regarding potential fecal BAs modifications during canine CHBDs. The present study aimed to evaluate fecal BAs in dogs with CHBDs according to different clinical and clinicopathological variables. Forty-six dogs were enrolled. Canine feces were analyzed by HPLC. Cholic Acid (CA), Chenodeoxycholic Acid (CDCA), Ursodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA), Deoxycholic Acid (DCA), Lithocholic Acid (LCA), Deoxycholic Acid (DCA) were measured, Total Primary (CA+CDCA) and Secondary BAs (UDCA+DCA+LCA), Primary/Secondary (P/S) ratio were calculated. Primary BAs, CA, CDCA, P/S ratio and Total BAs were significatively increased in BTD dogs (n=18) compared to non-BTD (n=28). Gastrointestinal clinical signs were significantly more prevalent in BTD dogs compared to non-BTD dogs, supporting the hypothesis of some pathological mechanisms assimilable to bile acid diarrhea (BAD). Primary BAs were significantly reduced in dogs with more relevant serum Alanine-Aminotransferase increase. Our results could reflect imbalances of the Liver-Gut axis in CHBD dogs. Further studies involving gut microbiome and metabolomic assessment are needed to better understand possible clinical implications of BAs metabolism disruption and their potential role in canine CHBD.