Wheat-sensitive enteropathy in Irish setter dogs: possible age-related brush border abnormalities.

The pathogenesis of a wheat-sensitive enteropathy was explored in a litter bred from two Irish setters with a naturally occurring enteropathy. Jejunal biopsies from all eight progeny exhibited morphological changes comparable to those in the parents, while biochemical abnormalities appeared to be related to age. In biopsies obtained from the first group of four dogs at eight months, the activities of alkaline phosphatase and of leucyl-2-naphthylamidase were almost undetectable while disaccharidases were unaltered. In contrast, analytical subcellular fractionation of biopsies obtained from the second group of four dogs at nine months showed that specific activities now reflected a major deficiency of brush border alkaline phosphatase, and normal brush border leucyl-2-naphthylamidase accompanied by elevated soluble activity. Further studies are indicated to determine whether these findings represent an age-related abnormality affecting specific microvillus membrane proteins.