ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Comparative and Clinical Medicine
This article is part of the Research TopicBiomarkers of Health and Disease in Veterinary Science - Volume IIView all 11 articles
Plasticity of the fatty acid whole blood lipidome in the progression of canine periodontal disease: a pilot study
Provisionally accepted
Carolina Silva1,2,3
Tiago Sousa4,5Marisa Pinho4,5Ana Carolina Fontes1,2Ana Carolina Abrantes1,2Hugo Brancal3,6,7
Francisco Peixoto8,9
Rosário Domingues4,5
Carlos Alberto Antunes Viegas1,10,2*- 1Universidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro Escola de Ciencias Agrarias e Veterinarias, Vila Real, Portugal
- 2Universidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro Centro de Ciencia Animal e Veterinaria, Vila Real, Portugal
- 3Veterinary Hospital of Covilhã, Quinta das Ferreiras, 6200-293 Covilhã, Portugal, Covilhã, Portugal
- 4Universidade de Aveiro Centro de Espectrometria de Massa, Aveiro, Portugal
- 5Universidade de Aveiro Departamento de Quimica, Ponte de Vagos, Portugal
- 6Universidade da Beira Interior Faculdade de Ciencias da Saude, Covilhã, Portugal
- 7Instituto Politecnico de Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal
- 8Universidade de Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro Centro de Quimica Vila Real, Vila Real, Portugal
- 9RISE-Health: Health Research Network, Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Porto, Portugal
- 10Escola Universitaria Vasco da Gama Centro Investigacao Vasco da Gama, Coimbra, Portugal
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Abstract: Periodontal disease is a progressive infectious-inflammatory disease, and, in the case of dogs, it is one of the most frequently diagnosed pathologies. Fatty acids (FA) play a dual role in inflammatory processes, as they have anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory functions. The goals of this study were to compare the FA profiles of whole blood in different degrees of canine periodontal disease in a single breed, the Portuguese Podengo, and consequently, to analyse the possible variation of these FA with the progression of the disease. Whole blood FA values were determined in healthy dogs, dogs with gingivitis and dogs with periodontitis by gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry. The study sample included 10 dogs considered clinically healthy, 10 dogs with gingivitis and 9 dogs with periodontitis. Arachidonic acid and omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid were significantly higher in periodontitis cases compared to the control group, but curiously the arachidic acid was lower in the gingivitis group compared to the control group. Total saturated FA was significantly lower in the periodontitis group compared to the control group, while the total polyunsaturated FA was significantly higher in gingivitis and periodontitis groups than in the control group. Omega-6 polyunsaturated FA was significantly higher in cases of periodontitis than in healthy dogs. The results presented suggest that the systemic impact of canine periodontal disease is partly reflected in the lipidomic profile of whole blood FA. The potential roles of the FA identified have important implications for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of canine periodontal disease, being equally endowed with potential as biomarkers for diagnosis and disease progression. However, further studies are needed to explore their potential as biomarkers for diagnosis and disease progression.
Keywords: dog, Fatty Acids, Gingivitis, lipidomics, Periodontal disease, Periodontitis, whole blood
Received: 10 Jun 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Silva, Sousa, Pinho, Fontes, Abrantes, Brancal, Peixoto, Domingues and Viegas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Carlos Alberto Antunes Viegas
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