Abstract: 

Murine models cannot fully portray the pathophysiology of intestinal diseases that take place in humans. This gap in knowledge can be addressed using larger animal models, such as canine, because the gut physiology, diet, and intestinal microbiota, and ability to get spontaneous diseases are highly comparable to that of humans. Enterocyte height and width as well as goblet cell numbers are one of the parameters frequently used to assess various diseases states but are rarely reported in literature. The aim of this study was therefore to establish normal values for enterocyte height and width for canine adult and puppy tissues of all areas of the intestine.  A total of 41 dogs were included in this study. Histological blocks and slides from previous research experiments conducted by SMART Lab were analyzed by the pathology department of the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab for Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) and Alcian blue staining. Measurement of enterocytes’ height and width and counting of Goblet cells and enterocytes were performed using ImageJ. Statistics analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variance using GraphPad Prism 9 software (p-value: 0.05). Overall, the height and width of the duodenal enterocyte were significantly lower in healthy puppy canine compared with healthy adult canines. However, those values in the ileum enterocyte were significantly higher in healthy puppy than in healthy adults. The jejunum of the healthy puppies had a significantly lower height but wider width than healthy adult. No difference was observed in the colonocytes. Results from goblet cells to enterocytes ratio in the duodenum and colon showed no significant difference opposed to the ileum and jejunum. The order of estimated goblet cells to enterocytes’ ratio in the puppies’ intestinal segment was consistent with previous reports in mice from the literature. However, for the adult canine, the ratio was not consistent with previous reports in mice from the literature. This data can be used in the future to better understand abnormal finding in diseased animals. Moving forward, this information will be useful for comparative studies of various intestinal diseases in dogs and humans.   

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