Topic:Animal Study
Animal studies involving horses encompass a wide range of research activities aimed at understanding various aspects of equine biology, behavior, health, and management. These studies can include investigations into equine physiology, nutrition, reproduction, and disease processes. Research often involves controlled experiments or observational studies to gather data on how horses respond to different interventions, environments, or management practices. This topic includes peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore methodologies, findings, and implications of animal studies in equine science, contributing to the broader understanding of horse welfare and management.
Monorchidism in a Phenotypic Mare With a 64,XY, SRY-Positive Karyotype. Disorders of sexual development (DSD) are associated with atypical chromosomal, gonadal, or phenotypic sex. It is likely that the number of cases of DSD are underestimated in the equine population. Monorchidism in the horse is very rare. This case report describes the clinical assessment of a phenotypic mare with stallion-like behavior which led to the diagnosis of a DSD. A 4-year-old Quarter Horse mare presented in good body condition, with normal external genitalia for a mare, and normal mammary glands with two bilaterally symmetric teats. No uterus, cervix, or gonads were detected on transr...
Changes in equine intestinal stem/progenitor cell number at resection margins in cases of small intestinal strangulation. Intestinal epithelial stem cells (ISC) are responsible for epithelial regeneration and are critical to the intestine's ability to regain barrier function following injury. Evaluating ISC biomarker expression in cases of small intestinal strangulation (SIS) may provide insight into clinical progression. Objective: Intestinal resection margins from cases of SIS were evaluated to determine if (1) evidence of injury could be identified using histomorphometry, (2) ISC biomarker expression was decreased in the proximal resection margin compared to control and distal resection margin, and (3) the ISC...
Unique insertion/deletion polymorphisms within histidine-rich region of histidine-rich glycoprotein in Thoroughbred horses. Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is abundant plasma protein with various effects on angiogenesis, coagulation, and immune responses. Previously, we identified the base and amino acid sequences of equine HRG (eHRG) and revealed that eHRG regulates neutrophil functions. In this study, we first conducted a large-scale gene analysis with DNA samples extracted from 1700 Thoroughbred horses and identified unique insertion/deletion polymorphisms in the histidine-rich region (HRR) of eHRG. Here we report two types of polymorphisms (deletion type 1 [D1] and deletion type 2 [D2]) containing either a 45...
Double and quadruple deletion mutant of EHV-1 is highly attenuated and induces optimal immune response. Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) infection causes significant health problems in equines. The EHV-1 infection leads to abortion storm in mares, respiratory disease and myeloencephalopathy. Despite the wide use of vaccines, the outbreaks of EHV-1 infections keep occurring globally, suggesting the need for the development of improved vaccines. Gene deletion attenuated mutant viruses could be a good candidate for the development of modified live vaccines. Here, we report the generation of mutant EHV-1 by deleting virulence (glycoprotein E & internal repeat 6; IR6) and immune evasive (pUL43 &a...
Detection of the growth hormone secretagogue MK-0677 in equine hair following oral administration. MK-0677 (ibutamoren) is an orally active non-peptide growth hormone secretagogue that binds to the ghrelin receptor stimulating the secretion of endogenous growth hormone. It is one of the most prevalent performance-enhancing compounds currently available online and is potentially subject to abuse both in human and equine sports. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether it could be detected in equine hair following oral administration of MK-0677 mesylate to a Thoroughbred racehorse. MK-0677 and its O-dealkylated metabolite were extracted using an existing method for prohibited s...
Genetic characterization of three recently discovered parvoviruses circulating in equines in China. The family comprises many major viral pathogens that can infect humans and multiple other species, causing severe diseases. However, knowledge of parvoviruses that infect equids is limited. In the present study, we found that three equine parvoviruses (EqPVs), namely, equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H), equine parvovirus-cerebrospinal fluid (EqPV-CSF) and equine copivirus (EqCoPV) cocirculated among horses in China. We examined the prevalence of these three EqPVs in 225 horse serum samples in China and found EqPV-H, EqPV-CSF and EqCoPV viremia in 7.6% (17/225), 2.7% (6/225) and 2.2% of samp...
A seasonal idiopathic hepatitis syndrome in horses presented to a Midwestern veterinary teaching hospital. To report history, clinical examination findings, clinicopathologic findings, diagnostic test results, treatment, and outcome in horses with a novel idiopathic hepatitis syndrome. 13 client-owned horses. Medical records of horses that were presented with fever and increased blood liver enzyme activity over a 16-month period were reviewed (December 1, 2020, to April 1, 2022). Collected data included signalment, history, clinical and clinicopathologic findings, diagnostic test results, treatment, clinical progression, and short-term outcome. Affected horses were presented between December and Ap...
Blood Profile, Hormones, and Telomere Responses: Potential Biomarkers in Horses Exhibiting Abnormal Oral Behavior. The high prevalence of abnormal oral behavior (AOB) in working horses has been linked to management issues and the pathophysiology of this behavior remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the blood profile, hormones, and telomere length responses between low and high levels of AOB among different horse working groups. A total of 207 healthy horses from various breeds were initially selected from four working groups (leisure riding, equestrian, endurance, and patrolling) and observed for the time spent on AOB. Then, six horses each with higher and lower AOB than the population ...
Immobilization of Captive Kulans (Equus hemionus kulan) Without Using Ultrapotent Opioids. Etorphine is widely used in zoological medicine for the immobilization of large herbivores. All reported immobilization protocols for kulans use etorphine as the primary immobilizing agent. However, etorphine can trigger severe side effects and is highly toxic for humans, its availability is occasionally limited for use in wildlife medicine. Therefore, two different alpha-2 agonist-based protocols for the general anesthesia of kulans were investigated and compared with the standard etorphine immobilization. In total, 21 immobilizations were performed within the scope of routine husbandry manag...
Selection signature analyses and genome-wide association reveal genomic hotspot regions that reflect differences between breeds of horse with contrasting risk of degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis. Degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis is a progressive idiopathic condition that leads to scarring and rupture of suspensory ligament fibers in multiple limbs in horses. The prevalence of degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis is breed related. Risk is high in the Peruvian Horse, whereas pony and draft breeds have low breed risk. Degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis occurs in families of Peruvian Horses, but its genetic architecture has not been definitively determined. We investigated contrasts between breeds with differing risk of degenerative suspensory ligament desmitis and ide...
A safety evaluation of allogeneic freeze-dried platelet-rich plasma or conditioned serum compared to autologous frozen products equivalents in equine healthy joints. Hemoderivatives such as autologous conditioned serum (ACS) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) have been used as potential disease-modifying therapies in musculoskeletal disorders such as osteoarthritis (OA). These therapies are based on the delivery of multiple growth factors and anti-inflammatory cytokines that are known to participate in inflammatory processes. The variability of cytokine content due to the autologous nature of the product, the non-availability for immediate use and need for storage at low temperatures are limitations for its use in the field. An allogeneic freeze-dried conditio...
A comparative study of different tissue materials for bioprosthetic aortic valves using experimental assays and finite element analysis. Extracting the mechanical behaviors of bioprosthetic aortic valve leaflets is necessary for the appropriate design and manufacture of the prosthetic valves. The goal of this study was to opt a proper tissue for the valve leaflets by comparing the mechanical properties of the equine, porcine, and donkey pericardia with those of the bovine pericardium and human aortic valve leaflets. Methods: After tissue fixation in glutaraldehyde, the mechanical behaviors of the pericardial tissues were experimentally evaluated through computational methods. The relaxation tests were performed along the tissue...
Hematology and biochemical values in equines naturally infected with Theileria equi in Nigeria. Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease of equines with resultant economic consequences. To date, little information is available regarding the effects of EP on the health of equids in Nigeria. Therefore, this study was carried out to ascertain the effects of natural sub-clinical infection with T. equi on the hematology and biochemical profiles of horses and donkeys. Blood and serum samples were subjected to hematology and serum biochemistry analyses, respectively. Data corresponding to PCR-positive (infected) and PCR-negative (uninfected) was computed to ascertain changes in any of ...
Platelet Lysate Enhances Equine Skeletal Muscle Regeneration in A Bupivacaine-Induced Muscle Injury Model☆. This study aimed to verify the effects of platelet lysate (PL) administration on the repair of injured horse tissue. Skeletal muscle injuries were induced in 26 Thoroughbreds by bupivacaine administration. PL or saline was administered 1 day (1D) after injury. Muscle samples from 22 horses injected with PL or saline were obtained by needle biopsy at 2, 3, 4, or 7 days (2D, 3D, 4D, or 7D, respectively) after injury, and growth-factor concentrations and muscle regeneration-associated gene expression levels were determined. Intact samples were similarly collected before injury, and samples of inj...
Cardiopulmonary function and intestinal blood flow in anaesthetised, experimentally endotoxaemic horses given a constant rate infusion of dexmedetomidine. Endotoxaemia causes untoward inflammatory-mediated effects that might be attenuated by dexmedetomidine. Objective: To evaluate the effects of a dexmedetomidine intravenous (IV) infusion on systemic and intestinal haemodynamics and arterial blood gas values in sevoflurane-anaesthetised horses administered Escherichia coli O55:B5 lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Methods: Randomised controlled in vivo experiment. Methods: A total of 13 horses weighing 456 ± 86 kg (mean ± standard deviation) and aged 13.9 ± 9.0 years donated for euthanasia underwent ventral midline celiotomy using sevoflurane...
Measurement properties of grimace scales for pain assessment in nonhuman mammals: a systematic review. Facial expressions of pain have been identified in several animal species. The aim of this systematic review was to provide evidence on the measurement properties of grimace scales for pain assessment. The protocol was registered (SyRF#21-November-2019), and the study is reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Studies reporting the development, validation, and the assessment of measurement properties of grimace scales were included. Data extraction and assessment were performed by 2 investigators, following the COnsensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement INstruments ...
The First Report of Genetic Polymorphisms of the Equine SPRN Gene in Outbred Horses, Jeju and Halla Horses. Prion disease is a fatal infectious disease caused by the accumulation of pathogenic prion protein (PrP) in several mammals. However, to date, prion disease has not been reported in horses. The Sho protein encoded by the shadow of the prion protein gene (SPRN) plays an essential role in the pathomechanism of prion diseases. To date, the only genetic study of the equine SPRN gene has been reported in the inbred horse, Thoroughbred horse. We first discovered four SPRN single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 141 Jeju and 88 Halla horses by direct DNA sequencing. In addition, we found that the g...
Treatment of temporohyoid osteoarthropathy in horses with a basihyoid-ceratohyoid disarticulation technique: 6 cases (2018-2019). To describe a technique for basihyoid-ceratohyoid disarticulation (BCD) in standing sedated horses affected by temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO) and report outcomes for horses that underwent the procedure. Methods: 6 client-owned horses. Methods: Electronic medical records of a veterinary teaching hospital were searched to identify horses that underwent BCD for treatment of THO from 2018 to 2019. Signalment, clinical data, use of the horse, and complications were recorded. Follow-up data obtained by telephone interview with owners included the clinical outcome and time to improvement after s...
Transcriptomic analysis of equine chorioallantois reveals immune networks and molecular mechanisms involved in nocardioform placentitis. Nocardioform placentitis (NP) continues to result in episodic outbreaks of abortion and preterm birth in mares and remains a poorly understood disease. The objective of this study was to characterize the transcriptome of the chorioallantois (CA) of mares with NP. The CA were collected from mares with confirmed NP based upon histopathology, microbiological culture and PCR for Amycolatopsis spp. Samples were collected from the margin of the NP lesion (NPL, n = 4) and grossly normal region (NPN, n = 4). Additionally, CA samples were collected from normal postpartum mares (Control; CRL, nâ...
Pathology of female mice experimentally infected with an in vitro cultured strain of Trypanosoma equiperdum. Dourine, caused by infection with Trypanosoma equiperdum, is one of the trypanosomiasis in equids. The clinical course of dourine is long-term, ranging from 1-2 months to several years. Since the pathogenesis of dourine has not yet been elucidated, experimental studies using mouse infection models are needed. Although mice are not susceptible to most T. equiperdum strains, some strains can infect mice. Even in such strains, infected mice develop rapidly transient parasitemia and die within 2-8 days. Therefore, mice experimentally infected with these T. equiperdum strains are not suitable for m...
First Case of Autochthonous Equine Theileriosis in Austria. A 23-year-old pregnant warmblood mare from Güssing, Eastern Austria, presented with apathy, anemia, fever, tachycardia and tachypnoea, and a severely elevated serum amyloid A concentration. The horse had a poor body condition and showed thoracic and pericardial effusions, and later dependent edema and icteric mucous membranes. Blood smear and molecular analyses revealed an infection with . Upon treatment with imidocarb diproprionate, the mare improved clinically, parasites were undetectable in blood smears, and 19 days after hospitalization the horse was discharged from hospital. However, 89 ...
Influence of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) Seed Cakes on Biochemical Values of Equine Plasma Subjected to Physical Exertion. Veterinarians can recommend milk thistle for the treatment of equine liver disease and laminitis. Milk thistle seed cakes were fed in the range of normal feed doses in this study. The milk thistle seed cakes were fed (twice a day) to the experimental group of the horses ( = 5) and biochemical blood markers (TP, Albumin, ALT (alanine transaminase), AST (aspartate transaminase), ALP (alkaline phosphatase), GGT (gamma-glutamyltransferase), Bilirubin, Cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein), LDL (low-density lipoprotein), TAG (triacylglycerol), BHB (beta-hydroxybutyric acid), NEFA (non-esterif...
Successful Surgical and Medical Management of a Pararectal Abscess in a Horse. Pararectal abscesses are life-threatening conditions that can rupture and cause septic peritonitis. The objective of this case report is to describe aggressive treatment of a pararectal abscess to allow a quick return to competitions. A 14-year-old pony was admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) of the University of Perugia because of a suspected intra-abdominal mass. Two weeks earlier, it exhibited clinical signs compatible with colic which was treated medically; however, because of the persistence of a firm mass on the right side of the abdomen noted on rectal palpation, the pony...
Precision and spatial variation of cyathostomin mucosal larval counts. Cyathostomins are pervasive parasites of equids across the world. Larval stages encyst in the mucosa of the cecum, ventral and dorsal colon and can induce an inflammatory response leading to larval cyathostominosis, a life-threatening generalized typhlocolitis. Mucosal digestion is the only gold standard procedure for identifying and quantifying all larval stages. There is a lack of standardization of this technique and several aspects are ambiguous, such as precision of the method and the possibility of spatial variation of mucosal larval counts. The aim of this study was to estimate precisio...
Occurrence of Trypanosoma spp. and piroplasm infections of horses at Obollo-Afor southeastern Nigeria and resistance profiles of trypanosomes to isometamidium and diminazene salts. Epidemiological data on trypanosomosis and piroplasmosis of horses are lacking in southeastern Nigeria. The prevalence of trypanosome and piroplasm infections in horses and resistance profile of isolated trypanosomes to diminazene and isometamidium salts were investigated. For the cross-sectional study of horses billed for slaughter, 304 horses were randomly sampled. Approximately 2Â ml of blood was collected into anticoagulant-treated bottles for haematocrit (HCT) determination, direct microscopic examinations, and rat inoculation. Gender, body condition scores (BCS), age groups, and body wei...
Comparison of Muscle MEPs From Transcranial Magnetic and Electrical Stimulation and Appearance of Reflexes in Horses. Transcranial electrical (TES) and magnetic stimulation (TMS) are both used for assessment of the motor function of the spinal cord in horses. Muscular motor evoked potentials (mMEP) were compared intra-individually for both techniques in five healthy horses. mMEPs were measured twice at increasing stimulation intensity steps over the extensor carpi radialis (ECR), tibialis cranialis (TC), and caninus muscles. Significance was set at < 0.05. To support the hypothesis that both techniques induce extracranially elicited mMEPs, literature was also reviewed. Results: Both techniques show the pr...
Protective effects of dexmedetomidine on small intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury in horses. Strangulating small intestinal lesions in the horse have increased morbidity and mortality compared to nonstrangulating obstructions due to mucosal barrier disruption and subsequent endotoxaemia. Objective: To investigate protective effects of dexmedetomidine on small intestinal ischaemia-reperfusion injury in the horse. Methods: Randomised, controlled, experimental study. Methods: Eighteen systemically healthy horses were randomly assigned to three groups: control, preconditioning, and post-conditioning. During isoflurane anaesthesia, complete ischaemia was induced in a 1-m segment of jejunum...
Objective Assessment of Acute Pain in Foals Using a Facial Expression-Based Pain Scale. Pain assessment is very important for monitoring welfare and quality of life in horses. To date, no studies have described pain scales for objective assessment of pain in foals. Studies in other species have shown that facial expression can be used in neonatal animals for objective assessment of acute pain. The aim of the current study was to adapt a facial expression-based pain scale for assessment of acute pain in mature horses for valid pain assessment in foals. The scale was applied to fifty-nine foals (20 patients and 39 healthy controls); animals were assessed from video recordings (30-6...
The effect of foal or adult horse plasma on equine monocyte-derived dendritic cell phenotype and function. Immunological and endocrine immaturity in foals increases foal morbidity and mortality from bacterial sepsis. Dendritic cells (DC) are critical in activating the adaptive immune response, but foal DC are phenotypically and functionally different than those of adult horses. Age-related variations in availability of some soluble plasma factors, such as hormones, might govern some age-related differences in DC function. Effects of exposure to plasma factors on equine DC phenotype and function have not been described. We hypothesized that exposure to plasma from foals or adult horses would differe...
Screening and Identification of Pathogen Box® Compounds with anti-Trypanosoma evansi Activity. The development of new drugs targeting neglected animal diseases is imperative. In Asia and South America, Trypanosoma evansi is a pathogen that affects horses and other species, causing economic losses associated with reduced animal productivity and death. In order to accelerate the identification of drugs with activity against neglected diseases, Medicines for Malaria Venture has developed Pathogen Box®, a library of 400 different molecules. The present work aimed to identify compounds present in the Pathogen Box® library, measuring in vitro activity against T. evansi. Among the 400 compou...