Complete Blood Count-Derived Inflammatory Markers Changes in Dogs with Chronic Inflammatory Enteropathy Treated with Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Mesenchymal stem cells exhibit anti-inflammatory properties, and their administration to dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy has been shown to be safe and effective. Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, platelet/lymphocyte ratio, and the systemic immuno-inflammation index are considered novel biomarkers to assess the inflammatory status of patients. The present study aimed to compare the clinical evolution and the changes in these inflammatory biomarkers in dogs with chronic enteropathy before and after cell therapy. The values of the three inflammatory biomarkers were higher in dogs with chronic enteropathy before the treatment compared to the values obtained from healthy dogs. After treatment, those values decreased significantly over time, and nine months later, no difference was observed between healthy dogs and dogs with chronic enteropathy in two of the three studied markers. A relationship between the amelioration of the clinical signs and the decrease in the blood inflammatory markers was also established. These results demonstrate that the clinical improvement of patients with chronic enteropathy treated with stem cells is accompanied by a normalization of the inflammatory biomarkers studied. ABSTRACT: Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ad-MSCs) exhibit anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activities. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) have been reported as novel biomarkers of the inflammatory state; however, they have never been examined in dogs with chronic inflammatory enteropathy (CIE) treated with Ad-MSCs. This study aimed to compare the clinical evolution and the changes in the NLR, PLR, and SII in dogs with CIE before and after cell therapy. Sixteen dogs with CIE were administered a single intravenous dose of Ad-MSCs. The canine chronic enteropathy clinical activity index (CCECAI), NLR, PLR, and SII were assessed before treatment (T0) and at 2 (T2) and 9 (T9) months post-treatment and compared over time and with the reference values obtained from a group of healthy dogs. NLR, PLR, and SII were significantly increased at T0 compared to the reference values, decreasing significantly over time. At T9, the NLR and SII did not differ from the reference values, but PLR remained above the reference values. A correlation was observed between CCECAI and the three markers. These findings show that the clinical improvement of dogs with CIE treated with Ad-MSCs is accompanied by a normalization of the inflammatory status.