Local treatment of canine chronic ulcerative stomatitis using adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells – a case report

Abstract

Canine chronic ulcerative stomatitis (CCUS) is a condition characterized by chronic pain, associated with oral ulceration, inflammation and mucosal necrosis. We report the case of a 5-year-old female Akita Inu canine with sialorrhea, halitosis, oral ulcers, submandibular lymphadenopathy and substantial oral discomfort. After a poor response to conventional scaling and antibiotic treatment, the patient improved when prednisolone was administered at a dose of 1mg / kg daily. Aggressive immunosuppressive treatments and teeth extractions were ruled out, so cellular therapy was started. This study evaluates the effect of allogeneic thawed and expanded canine adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs) therapy in a case of CCUS. Four local injections of AT-MSCs (3.5 to 8×106 cells) were administered every 3–4 weeks under general anesthesia and immediately after dental scaling. A higher dose of AT-MSCs (22×106 cells) was injected 5 months later under the same conditions. After the AT-MSCs treatment, the patient showed an improvement in oral lesions and reduction of oral pain for at least 4 weeks. We concluded that a dose of 1×106 AT-MSCs/kg body weight reduced the symptoms of CCUS for at least one month in this case. To our knowledge, this is the first description of allogeneic AT-MSC therapy on canine chronic ulcerative stomatitis.