Research Communications of the 24th ECVIM-CA Congress

Based on WSAVA histology standards, recorded findings of all samples were considered insignificant. Pro-MMP-2 and -9 activities were found in 17/48 (35%) and 25/48 (52%) of the samples, respectively. Among four different parts of the intestine of 12 dogs, the ileum had the highest positivity rates of 7/12 (58.3%) and 8/12 (66.7%) for pro-MMP-2 and -9 activities, respectively. However, statistical analysis showed no significant difference of pro-MMP-2 and -9 activities between the separate parts of the intestine (P > 0.05). The enzyme activities ranged for pro-MMP-2 between 0.015 and 6.449 arbitrary units (AU) and for pro-MMP-9 between 0.018 and 5.680 AU. None of the intestinal samples showed gelatinolytic activity corresponding to the control bands of active MMP-2 and MMP-9.