Breed-specific pro-inflammatory cytokine production as a predisposing factor for susceptibility to sepsis in the dog

Objective : To determine whether 2 dog breeds with a high risk for parvoviral enteritis, a disease associated with sepsis, produce stronger pro-inflammatory cytokine responses to a stimulus than dogs with a lower risk. Design : Blinded comparison. Setting : University outpatient clinic. Animals : Healthy, unrelated, purebred Doberman Pinschers ( n =10) and Rottweilers ( n =9) with age-matched mixed-breed dogs ( n =7). Interventions : Heparinized, whole-blood samples were collected from each dog and incubated for 6 hours with lipopolysaccharide. Plasma was collected, and bioassays were used to determine the concentrations of TNF-Α and IL-6. The mean values obtained from the high-risk breeds were compared with the mean obtained from the mixed-breeds. Measurements and main results : The mean TNF-Α production from dogs with a high risk for parvoviral enteritis (1321±161 pg/mL; Doberman Pinscher and Rottweiler) was greater ( P