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

Authors: SMITH, CAREN - Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center On Aging At Tufts University; Parnell, Laurence; Lai, Chao Qiang; RUSH, JOHN - Tufts University; FREEMAN, LISA - Tufts University

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/8/2021
Publication Date: 8/5/2021
Citation: Smith, C., Parnell, L.D., Lai, C., Rush, J.E., Freeman, L.M. 2021. Investigation of diets associated with dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs using foodomics analysis. Scientific Reports. 11:15881. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94464-2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94464-2

Interpretive Summary: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart muscle that occurs naturally in dogs and people. Diet can contribute to DCM progression to the point of heart failure and death. Our comparison of different diets eaten by dogs with and without DCM identified biochemical differences that were often related to ingredients in the dog foods. Because people eat many of the same food ingredients as dogs, and suffer similarly from DCM, these results will improve understanding of relationships between diet and heart disease in people as well as dogs.

Technical 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, 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.