Diet alters peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression profile in dogs; a proof of concept study

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) gene expression profiling is a low-invasive tool used in human diet intervention studies. In dogs this technique has been used to investigate disease states but not to examine the effect of diet. We tested the hypothesis that diet alters dog systemic immune cell gene expression profiles by comparing PBMC gene expression in dogs fed either a premium kibbled diet or a raw red meat diet for 9 weeks. Our results showed that diet shifted the dogs’ PBMC gene expression profile and these alterations corresponded with changes in plasma IgA levels. This illustrates that PBMC microarrays are a useful tool that may be applied to study the long-term effects of diet on health outcomes for the dog. Two colour microarray, loop design. 2 treatments (either kibble diet or meat diet) with 4 timepoints (Start of experiment: timepoint 0 and one measurement every 3 weeks for 9 weeks). All sample types: Canis lupus familiaris PBMC. Biological replicates: 6