What was observed about colon ASBT mRNA expression between CIE and control dogs?

• A. Significantly higher in CIE
• B. Not significantly different
• C. Significantly lower in CIE
• D. Not measured

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how to interpret gene expression data when comparing disease and control groups. If colon ASBT mRNA levels show no statistically meaningful difference between dogs with CIE and healthy controls, it means there isn’t evidence that colon ASBT transcription is altered in this disease state under the study conditions. A non-significant result (p-value above the chosen threshold) suggests that any observed difference could be due to random variation rather than a true effect, given the sample size and variability.

This implies colon ASBT is not a major factor driving altered bile acid handling in these CIE dogs, at least at the mRNA level in the colon. It points attention away from colon ASBT as a pathophysiologic driver and toward other possibilities, such as effects in the ileum where ASBT is more prominently expressed, other bile acid transporters, or entirely different aspects of bile acid metabolism, microbiota interactions, or mucosal permeability.

In practice, mRNA findings depend on the assay method (often qPCR), normalization to housekeeping genes, and the statistical test used; a lack of significant difference reflects those data rather than an absolute absence of any change.