Figure 1.

Tissue sections belonging to colonic mucosa biopsies of different dogs that were enrolled in the study and affected by chronic colitis, before (A and B) and after (C and D) the supplementation with high-fiber and probiotic diets. Histopathological features changed significantly before and after the treatment; colonic samples from treated dogs (C and D) showed a residual inflammatory infiltrate throughout the mucosal lamina propria and a substantial improvement in the epithelial layer is observed, with a correct proportion of goblet cells in the glandular and covering epithelium. Conversely, a histopathologic evaluation of colonic biopsies collected before changing the diet and starting the administration of the probiotic, reveals moderate to severe transmural infiltration with inflammatory cells associated with fibrosis (A) or with necrosis and areas of erosion/exulceration of colonic mucosa (B). (H and E stain, 10×. Scale bar = 250 µm).