Topic:Animal Models
Animal models in equine research refer to the use of horses or other species to study biological and disease processes relevant to equine health. These models facilitate the investigation of various physiological and pathological conditions, allowing researchers to explore disease mechanisms, test therapeutic interventions, and understand genetic influences on health outcomes. Horses themselves are often studied as models for human diseases due to certain physiological similarities. Additionally, other species may be used to model equine-specific conditions when direct study in horses is impractical. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the application, development, and findings of animal models in equine research.
Can grimace scales estimate the pain status in horses and mice? A statistical approach to identify a classifier. Pain recognition is fundamental for safeguarding animal welfare. Facial expressions have been investigated in several species and grimace scales have been developed as pain assessment tool in many species including horses (HGS) and mice (MGS). This study is intended to progress the validation of grimace scales, by proposing a statistical approach to identify a classifier that can estimate the pain status of the animal based on Facial Action Units (FAUs) included in HGS and MGS. To achieve this aim, through a validity study, the relation between FAUs included in HGS and MGS and the real pain co...
Genome-Wide Signatures of Selection Reveal Genes Associated With Performance in American Quarter Horse Subpopulations. Selective breeding for athletic performance in various disciplines has resulted in population stratification within the American Quarter Horse (QH) breed. The goals of this study were to utilize high density genotype data to: (1) identify genomic regions undergoing positive selection within and among QH subpopulations; (2) investigate haplotype structure within each QH subpopulation; and (3) identify candidate genes within genomic regions of interest (ROI), as well as biological pathways, predicted to play a role in elite performance in each group. For that, 65K SNP genotyping data on 143 elit...
Could the Visual Differential Attention Be a Referential Gesture? A Study on Horses (Equus caballus) on the Impossible Task Paradigm. In order to explore the decision-making processes of horses, we designed an impossible task paradigm aimed at causing an expectancy violation in horses. Our goals were to verify whether this paradigm is effective in horses by analyzing their motivation in trying to solve the task and the mode of the potential helping request in such a context. In the first experiment, 30 horses were subjected to three consecutive conditions: no food condition where two persons were positioned at either side of a table in front of the stall, solvable condition when a researcher placed a reachable reward on the ...
An unexpected acoustic indicator of positive emotions in horses. Indicators of positive emotions are still scarce and many proposed behavioural markers have proven ambiguous. Studies established a link between acoustic signals and emitter's internal state, but few related to positive emotions and still fewer considered non-vocal sounds. One of them, the snort, is shared by several perrisodactyls and has been associated to positive contexts in these species. We hypothesized that this could be also the case in horses. In this species, there is a clear need for a thorough description of non-vocal acoustic signals (snorts, snores or blows are often used interch...
Infectivity and virulence of Trypanosoma evansi and Trypanosoma equiperdum Venezuelan strains from three different host species. The infectivity and virulence of seven Trypanosoma evansi and Trypanosoma equiperdum Venezuelan strains isolated from horses, donkeys and capybaras were compared in a mouse model up to 41 days, for parasitemia, animal weight, survival rates, packed cell volume, haemoglobin and erythrocyte count. Two T. equiperdum strains and three of the T. evansi strains resulted in 100% mice mortality, while the two T. evansi donkey strains exhibited lower infectivity and mortality. T. equiperdum strains had shorter pre-patent periods (4 days) than the T. evansi strains (4-12 days). In terms of pathoge...
Development and evaluation of recombinant antigen and monoclonal antibody based competition ELISA for the sero- surveillance of surra in animals. Trypanosoma evansi, a haemoflagellated protozoan parasite, is responsible for chronic as well as the acute debilitating disease called surra in a wide range of herbivores and carnivores including domestic and wild animals. Since the parasite is having wide host range, there is a need for diagnostic test which can detect the T. evansi specific antibody in different species of animals for generating sero-surveillance data. In the present study we developed and evaluated competitive enzyme immunoassay using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against recombinant variable surface glycoprotein (rVS...
GWAS by GBLUP: Single and Multimarker EMMAX and Bayes Factors, with an Example in Detection of a Major Gene for Horse Gait. Bayesian models for genomic prediction and association mapping are being increasingly used in genetics analysis of quantitative traits. Given a point estimate of variance components, the popular methods SNP-BLUP and GBLUP result in joint estimates of the effect of all markers on the analyzed trait; single and multiple marker frequentist tests (EMMAX) can be constructed from these estimates. Indeed, BLUP methods can be seen simultaneously as Bayesian or frequentist methods. So far there is no formal method to produce Bayesian statistics from GBLUP. Here we show that the Bayes Factor, a commonly...
Cross-modal perception of human emotion in domestic horses (Equus caballus). Humans have domesticated many kinds of animals in their history. Dogs and horses have particularly close relationships with humans as cooperative partners. However, fewer scientific studies have been conducted on cognition in horses compared to dogs. Studies have shown that horses cross-modally distinguish human facial expressions and recognize familiar people, which suggests that they also cross-modally distinguish human emotions. In the present study, we used the expectancy violation method to investigate whether horses cross-modally perceive human emotions. Horses were shown a picture of a ...
Hepatocyte growth factor acts as a mitogen for equine satellite cells via protein kinase C δ-directed signaling. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) signals mediate mouse skeletal muscle stem cell, or satellite cell (SC), reentry into the cell cycle and myoblast proliferation. Because the athletic horse experiences exercise-induced muscle damage, the objective of the experiment was to determine the effect of HGF on equine SC (eqSC) bioactivity. Fresh isolates of adult eqSC were incubated with increasing concentrations of HGF and the initial time to DNA synthesis was measured. Media supplementation with HGF did not shorten (P > 0.05) the duration of G0/G1 transition suggesting the growth factor does not aff...
Human Demonstration Does Not Facilitate the Performance of Horses (Equus caballus) in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task. Horses’ ability to adapt to new environments and to acquire new information plays an important role in handling and training. Social learning in particular would be very adaptive for horses as it enables them to flexibly adjust to new environments. In the context of horse handling, social learning from humans has been rarely investigated but could help to facilitate management practices. We assessed the impact of human demonstration on the spatial problem-solving abilities of horses during a detour task. In this task, a bucket with a food reward was placed behind a double-detour barrier ...
Xenogenic Implantation of Equine Synovial Fluid-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Leads to Articular Cartilage Regeneration. Horses are widely used as large animal preclinical models for cartilage repair studies, and hence, there is an interest in using equine synovial fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SFMSCs) in research and clinical applications. Since, we have previously reported that similar to bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMMSCs), SFMSCs may also exhibit donor-to-donor variations in their stem cell properties; the current study was carried out as a proof-of-concept study, to compare the in vivo potential of equine BMMSCs and SFMSCs in articular cartilage repair. MSCs from these two sources were isolated from t...
Evaluation of Systemic and Local Inflammatory Parameters and Manifestations of Pain in an Equine Experimental Wound Model. In the last decades, a well-established equine wound model has been used to study fibroproliferative wound healing disorders. The aim of this study was to characterize the degree of discomfort of wounding and sampling in an equine excisional wound model by evaluating systemic and local inflammatory responses and signs of pain. A total of 12 cutaneous wounds, three on each shoulder and each metatarsus, were created in a standing surgical procedure. Wounds were biopsied on days 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after surgery. Clinical parameters (rectal temperature, heart rate, respiratory frequency) and ...
Seroprevalence of Equine Herpesviruses 1 and 9 (EHV-1 and EHV-9) in Wild Grévy’s Zebra ( Equus grevyi) in Kenya. Equid herpesviruses types 1 (EHV-1) and 9 (EHV-9) are unusual among herpesviruses in that they lack strong host specificity, and the full extent of their host range remains unclear. The virus establishes latency for long periods and can be reactivated and shed, resulting in clinical disease in susceptible species. A sensitive and specific peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to study the seroprevalence of both viruses in a broad range of species among both wild and captive populations. We used this assay to study the seroprevalences of EHV-1 and EHV-9 in a natural popu...
Social information in equine movement gestalts. One model of signal evolution is based on the notion that behaviours become increasingly detached from their original biological functions to obtain a communicative value. Selection may not always favour the evolution of such transitions, for instance, if signalling is costly due to predators usurping signal production. Here, we collected inertial movement sensing data recorded from multiple locations in free-ranging horses (Equus caballus), which we subjected to a machine learning algorithm to extract kinematic gestalt profiles. This yielded surprisingly rich and multi-layered sets of informa...
The grazing gait, and implications of toppling table geometry for primate footfall sequences. Many medium and large herbivores locomote forwards very slowly and intermittently when grazing. While the footfall order during grazing is the same as for walking, the relative fore-hind timing-phasing-is quite different. Extended periods of static stability are clearly required during grazing; however, stability requirements are insufficient to account for the timing. Aspects of relatively rapid rolling and pitching-toppling due to the resistance of the back to bending and twisting-can be included in a simplifying geometric model to explain the observation that, in grazing livestock, a step f...
The Relationship between Intuitive Action Choices and Moral Reasoning on Animal Ethics Issues in Students of Veterinary Medicine and Other Relevant Professions. With growing understanding of animals' capabilities, and public and organizational pressures to improve animal welfare, moral action by veterinarians and other relevant professionals to address animal issues is increasingly important. Little is known about how their action choices relate to their moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. A moral judgment measure, the VetDIT, with three animal and three non-animal scenarios, was used to investigate the action choices of 619 students in five animal- and two non-animal-related professional programs in one Australian university, and how these relat...
Large Animal Models for Osteochondral Regeneration. Namely, in the last two decades, large animal models - small ruminants (sheep and goats), pigs, dogs and horses - have been used to study the physiopathology and to develop new therapeutic procedures to treat human clinical osteoarthritis. For that purpose, cartilage and/or osteochondral defects are generally performed in the stifle joint of selected large animal models at the condylar and trochlear femoral areas where spontaneous regeneration should be excluded. Experimental animal care and protection legislation and guideline documents of the US Food and Drug Administration, the American S...
Genetic parameter estimation for long endurance trials in the Uruguayan Criollo horse. The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic parameters of performance in a 750-km, 15-day ride in Criollo horses. Heritability (h2 ) and maternal lineage effects (mt2 ) were obtained for rank, a relative placing measure of performance. Additive genetic and maternal lineage (rmt) correlations among five medium-to-high intensity phase ranks (pRK) and final rank (RK) were also estimated. Individual records from 1,236 Criollo horses from 1979 to 2012 were used. A multivariate threshold animal model was applied to the pRK and RK. Heritability was moderate to low (0.156-0.275). Estimates of mt...
Viscoelasticity and structure of blood clots generated in-vitro by rheometry: A comparison between human, horse, rat, and camel. Although the coagulation system is evolutionary well preserved, profound species differences exist in viscoelastic as well as in common laboratory tests of coagulation. Objective: Evaluating differences in clot formation and material characterisation of clots of four mammalian species on macro-, micro- and nanoscales by the means of rheometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Methods: Blood samples were collected from healthy human volunteers, laboratory rats (HL/LE inbred strain), warmblood horses and dromedary camels. Clot formation was observed by ...
Evolutionary Analysis Provides Insight Into the Origin and Adaptation of HCV. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) belongs to the genus and is genetically heterogeneous, with seven major genotypes further divided into several recognized subtypes. HCV origin was previously dated in a range between ∼200 and 1000 years ago. Hepaciviruses have been identified in several domestic and wild mammals, the largest viral diversity being observed in bats and rodents. The closest relatives of HCV were found in horses/donkeys (equine hepaciviruses, EHV). However, the origin of HCV as a human pathogen is still an unsolved puzzle. Using a selection-informed evolutionary model, we show that the c...
Cortical Neurons Derived from Equine Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Are Susceptible to Neurotropic Flavivirus Infection and Replication: An In Vitro Model for Equine Neuropathic Diseases. Horses are susceptible to a number of neurotropic viruses, including West Nile virus (WNV), which is a pathogen of global significance in both horses and humans. However, there are no in vitro models with which to study infectious neuropathic diseases in the horse. In an effort to redress this, we have generated neurons from equine induced pluripotent stem cells (equiPSCs) that express a range of cortical neuron-specific markers, in addition to the membrane-bound ligand ephrin B3, which plays an important role in axon guidance as well as functioning as the receptor through which henipaviruses,...
Transformation of animal genomics by next-generation sequencing technologies: a decade of challenges and their impact on genetic architecture. For more than a quarter of a century, sequencing technologies from Sanger's method to next-generation high-throughput techniques have provided fascinating opportunities in the life sciences. The continuing upward trajectory of sequencing technologies will improve livestock research and expedite the development of various new genomic and technological studies with farm animals. The use of high-throughput technologies in livestock research has increased interest in metagenomics, epigenetics, genome-wide association studies, and identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms and copy number va...
Mechanisms of cancer resistance in long-lived mammals. Cancer researchers have traditionally used the mouse and the rat as staple model organisms. These animals are very short-lived, reproduce rapidly and are highly prone to cancer. They have been very useful for modelling some human cancer types and testing experimental treatments; however, these cancer-prone species offer little for understanding the mechanisms of cancer resistance. Recent technological advances have expanded bestiary research to non-standard model organisms that possess unique traits of very high value to humans, such as cancer resistance and longevity. In recent years, several...
Greenshell™ Mussels: A Review of Veterinary Trials and Future Research Directions. The therapeutic benefits of Greenshell™ mussel (GSM; Perna canaliculus) preparations have been studied using in vitro test systems, animal models, and human clinical trials focusing mainly on anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects. Activity is thought to be linked to key active ingredients that include omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, a variety of carotenoids and other bioactive compounds. In this paper, we review the studies that have been undertaken in dogs, cats, and horses, and outline new research directions in shellfish breeding and high-value nutrition research programmes ta...
Antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacteriaceae recovered from companion animal and livestock environments. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria represent an important concern impacting both veterinary medicine and public health. The rising prevalence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), AmpC beta-lactamase, carbapenemase (CRE) and fluoroquinolone-resistant Enterobacteriaceae continually decreases the efficiency of clinically important antibiotics. Moreover, the potential for zoonotic transmission of antibiotic-resistant enteric bacteria increases the risk to public health. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of specific antibiotic-resistant bacteria on human contact surfaces in various ...
A cross-species judgement bias task: integrating active trial initiation into a spatial Go/No-go task. Judgement bias tasks are promising tools to assess emotional valence in animals, however current designs are often time-consuming and lack aspects of validity. This study aimed to establish an improved design that addresses these issues and can be used across species. Horses, rats, and mice were trained on a spatial Go/No-go task where animals could initiate each trial. The location of an open goal-box, at either end of a row of five goal-boxes, signalled either reward (positive trial) or non-reward (negative trial). Animals first learned to approach the goal-box in positive trials (Go) and to...
Domestic horses (Equus ferus caballus) fail to intuitively reason about object properties like solidity and weight. From early infancy, humans reason about the external world in terms of identifiable, solid, cohesive objects persisting in space and time. This is one of the most fundamental human skills, which may be part of our innate conception of object properties. Although object permanence has been extensively studied across a variety of taxa, little is known about how non-human animals reason about other object properties. In this study, we therefore tested how domestic horses (Equus ferus caballus) intuitively reason about object properties like solidity and height, to locate hidden food. Horses were ...
Cardiac electrophysiological adaptations in the equine athlete-Restitution analysis of electrocardiographic features. Exercising horses uniquely accommodate 7-8-fold increases in heart rate (HR). The present experiments for the first time analysed the related adaptations in action potential (AP) restitution properties recorded by in vivo telemetric electrocardiography from Thoroughbred horses. The horses were subjected to a period of acceleration from walk to canter. The QRS durations, and QT and TQ intervals yielded AP conduction velocities, AP durations (APDs) and diastolic intervals respectively. From these, indices of active, λ = QT/(QRS duration), and resting, λ0 = TQ/(QRS duration), AP wavelengths wer...
Emotional state and personality influence cognitive flexibility in horses (Equus caballus). Emotions are recognized as strong modulators of cognitive capacities. However, studies have mainly focused on the effect of negative emotions, with few investigating positive emotions. Recent studies suggest that traits of personality can modulate the effects of emotion on cognitive performance. This study aimed to assess whether emotional states differing according to their valence influenced the ability to achieve instrumental conditioning and learning flexibility and to determine the influence of personality. After being tested for their personality, 55 mares underwent acquisition and extin...
Wharton’s Jelly Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Comparing Human and Horse. Wharton's jelly (WJ) is an important source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) both in human and other animals. The aim of this study was to compare human and equine WJMSCs. Human and equine WJMSCs were isolated and cultured using the same protocols and culture media. Cells were characterized by analysing morphology, growth rate, migration and adhesion capability, immunophenotype, differentiation potential and ultrastructure. Results showed that human and equine WJMSCs have similar ultrastructural details connected with intense synthetic and metabolic activity, but differ in growth, migration, a...