Canine babesiosis is a tick-borne disease with a worldwide distribution, caused by the haemoprotozoan parasites of the genus Babesia. One of the most prevalent complication is acute kidney injury, and an early diagnosis of altered kidney function remains a challenge for veterinary practice. The aim of this study was to assess the urine metabolic profile from dogs with babesiosis and different degree of kidney function using untargeted and targeted MS-based metabolomics approaches. In this study, 22 dogs naturally infected with Babesia canis and 12 healthy dogs were included. Untargeted metabolomics approach identified 601 features with a differential abundance between the healthy group and groups of dogs with babesiosis and different level of kidney function, with 27 of them identified as a match to known standards; while targeted approach identified 17 metabolites with significantly different concentrations between the groups. A pattern of significantly altered metabolites referring to the inflammatory host response, oxidative stress, and energy metabolism modulation in babesiosis was presented. Our findings have demonstrated that kidney dysfunction accompanying canine babesiosis was associated with changes in amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and biochemical pathways such as urea cycle and ammonia detoxication. These findings will enable the inclusion of urinary markers for the detection and monitoring of renal damage in babesiosis, as well as in other similar diseases.

犬巴贝斯虫病是一种蜱传疾病，分布于世界各地，由该属的血原生动物寄生虫引起 巴贝虫. 最普遍的并发症之一是急性肾损伤，而肾功能改变的早期诊断仍然是兽医实践的一个挑战。本研究的目的是使用非靶向和靶向 MS 代谢组学方法评估患有巴贝斯虫病和不同程度肾功能的犬的尿液代谢特征。在这项研究中，22 只狗自然感染了犬巴贝斯虫包括12只健康犬。非靶向代谢组学方法确定了 601 个特征，在健康组和患有巴贝虫病和不同肾功能水平的狗组之间具有差异丰度，其中 27 个特征被确定为与已知标准相匹配；而有针对性的方法确定了 17 种代谢物，在各组之间具有显着不同的浓度。提出了一种显着改变的代谢物模式，涉及巴贝斯虫病中的炎症宿主反应、氧化应激和能量代谢调节。我们的研究结果表明，犬巴贝斯虫病伴发的肾功能障碍与氨基酸代谢、能量代谢、脂肪酸代谢以及尿素循环和氨解毒等生化途径的变化有关。