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Dietary Betaine and Carnitine Influence Metabolites and Immune Cell Response in Dogs


 
 
 Evaluate the interaction of dietary betaine and carnitine on subsequent circulating metabolomics and immune cell response.
 
 
 
 This study was a complete factorial with or without added betaine (276 and 5600 mg/kg as fed analyzed) and 2 levels of added dietary carnitine (26 and 382 mg/kg as fed analyzed). Thirty two dogs (range 2–11) were used. All dogs were assigned to one of the four treatment foods: control, control plus betaine, control plus carnitine and control plus betaine plus carnitine. All treatment foods were fed for ninety days. Blood analysis (metabolomics) and released cytokine concentrations were assessed at the beginning and at the end of the study. Whole blood was added and maintained in the TruCulture in vitro model using Null and LPS stimulated tubes. The supernatant, including circulating immune cells, was collected after incubation. The cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, MCP-1, IL-10, and IL-15 were measured using ELISA. The molar concentration of the sum of all the cytokines was the overall response variable. Statistical analysis of metabolomics was a repeated measure design using dietary betaine, carnitine, the presence of LPS in the culture medium, time on test, and their interactions as independent factors in the statistical model with P < 0.05 used as a cut off for significance.
 
 
 
 Betaine supplementation induced more significant biochemical perturbations in the plasma than carnitine alone and elicited a shift in the profiles of biochemicals involved in one-carbon metabolism. Carnitine supplementation influenced fatty acid oxidation signatures and possibly influenced gut microbiome metabolism as shown by increased indolelactate and indoleacetate. There was an interaction in the response of cytokines released to stimulation with LPS and dietary treatment such that the combination of dietary betaine and carnitine had the largest reduction in cytokine concentration after treatment without stimulation and the largest increase in cytokines in response to stimulation with LPS.
 
 
 
 Dietary betaine influences the methyl donor pathway. Dietary carnitine influences fatty acid oxidation and the combination reduces inflammatory cytokine production in unstimulated cells while increasing cytokine production when cells are exposed to LPS.
 
 
 
 This study was funded by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.
