Upregulation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathies

Abstract

Background In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in humans, phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3) is upregulated in mucosal epithelial cells and correlates with clinical severity. Hypothesis/Objective To investigate the expression pattern of pSTAT3 in the mucosa of dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) and explore correlations between its expression and clinical and histopathological severity scoring. Animals Twenty‐eight canine CIE patients grouped into food‐responsive enteropathy (FRE; 9), steroid‐responsive enteropathy (SRE; 10), and protein‐losing enteropathy (PLE; 9). Ten healthy beagle dogs served as controls (CO). Methods Retrospective case control study. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect pSTAT3 in canine duodenal mucosa samples. Results Compared to CO, SRE (P < .001) and PLE (P < .001) dogs had significantly higher pSTAT3 expression in the villus epithelium. The SRE group had a significantly higher expression in the villus lamina propria (VLP) compared to controls (P = .009). In the crypt epithelium (CE), all CIE dogs had significantly higher pSTAT3 expression (FRE, P = .002; SRE, P = .003; PLE, P < .001) compared to CO. In the lamina propria crypt region (CLP), dogs with FRE (P = .04) and SRE (P = .03) had significantly upregulated pSTAT3 compared to controls. A positive correlation was found between canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI) scoring and pSTAT3 expression for both epithelial (rho = .541; P < .001) and crypt regions (rho = .32; P = .02). Conclusions and Clinical Importance pSTAT3 is upregulated in CIE in dogs, correlates with clinical severity, and may be helpful as a clinical marker in dogs with CIE.