The mean age of dogs with evidence of glomerular disease was 5.1years with no difference between dogs with UPC>2 and those with UPC between 0.5 and<2 or renal azotemia only. was used to detect antibodies toB. burgdorferisensu lato,E. canisandAnaplasmaspp. and antigen ofD. immitis. == Results == Laboratory evidence of kidney disease was significantly more common in BMDs than in control dogs (17.8% versus 1.8%) (p= 0.005). The proportion of BMDs with anti-B. burgdorferisensu latu antibodies and anti-A. phagocytophilumantibodies was significantly higher in BMDs (p< 0.001). However, an association between these findings could not be identified. == Conclusion == BMDs are more often affected by kidney disease and have a higher prevalence of antibodies to bacterial pathogens transmitted by Ixodes ticks than control dogs. However, a causal relationship between these two variables could not be established due to a lack of association between these two findings. Keywords:Proteinuria, Canine, Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, Glomerulonephritis, Chronic kidney disease, Azotemia == Background == Chronic kidney disease is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in dogs [1]. Some studies showed that renal disease is one of the most frequent causes of death in Bernese mountain dogs and among the diseases associated with the shortest median survival time in this breed [2,3]. In previous studies, glomerular diseases have been shown to occur more often in Bernese mountain dogs (BMDs) than in other breeds [48]. An increased incidence of glomerulonephritis in BMDs was first described in 1991 in a doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich [9]. In this five-year retrospective study and a following twenty-four months prospective study [9], frequency, etiology, and laboratory parameters of kidney diseases in BMDs were investigated. The histological changes in the kidneys in dogs presented a HDAC5 complex picture of BMS-599626 glomerular changes including membranous, mesangioproliferative, membranoproliferative, and chronic-sclerosing types. A genetic cause could neither be supported nor refuted through a pedigree analysis [9]. Subsequent studies described a BMD typical BMS-599626 membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) comorbid with interstitial nephritis [7,8]. Based on pedigree analysis, there was a high probability that the susceptibility for MPGN in BMDs has a hereditary cause [7]. Furthermore, the same study demonstrated the presence of IgG immunofluorescence assay (IFA) antibodies toBorrelia (B.) burgdorferisensu lato in all investigated BMDs. However, immunohistochemical examination for that organism in sections of the myocardium and kidney was negative in all dogs. Therefore, this study and other subsequent studies could not prove a causal relationship between the presence of antibodies toB. burgdorferisensu lato and glomerular disease [713]. Several studies revealed a significantly higher prevalence of antibodies toB. burgdorferisensu BMS-599626 lato and toAnaplasma (A.) phagocytophilumin BMDs than in control dogs indicating a higher infection prevalence [14,15]. Chronic persistent infections, such as withB. burgdorferisensu lato,Ehrlichiaspp., andAnaplasmaspp. as well asDirofilaria spp.are potential causes of glomerular disease [16]. Despite the fact that an association ofBorreliaspp. infection and the presence of kidney disease has not convincingly been proven in dogs, in the United States some authors describe a disease entity in Labrador and Golden Retrievers as Lyme nephritis and it BMS-599626 was speculated whether this disease would be similar to what is seen in BMD in Europe [17,18]. So far, there are no large studies investigating the prevalence of laboratory abnormalities suggestive for kidney disease in BMDs in comparison to an age- and weight-matched control group. It is also not clear if the higher prevalence ofAnaplasmaspp. antibodies is associated with a higher prevalence of laboratory abnormalities indicating the presence of kidney disease. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of laboratory abnormalities suggestive of kidney diseases in clinically healthy BMDs compared to a control population. Furthermore, it was investigated whether there is.