Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and development in horses. This process involves a series of biochemical events leading to characteristic cell changes and death, which are crucial for removing damaged or unnecessary cells without eliciting an inflammatory response. In horses, apoptosis plays a role in various physiological and pathological conditions, including tissue remodeling, immune response regulation, and the progression of certain diseases. Studies on equine apoptosis explore the molecular mechanisms, regulatory pathways, and implications for health and disease management. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the mechanisms, regulation, and significance of apoptosis in equine biology and medicine.
Sternberg S, Johannisson A, Magnusson U, Jensen-Waern M.After exposure of equine granulocytes from both foals and adult horses to culture supernatants from clinical isolates of Actinobacillus equuli, phagocytic capacity and respiratory burst was examined by flow-cytometry and a chemiluminescence assay, respectively. One haemolytic isolate of an equine Actinobacillus was also included in the study. An average decrease of 22% in total number of granulocytes, in the flow cytometric assay (P < 0.01), and an average decrease of 26% in light emission, in the chemiluminescence assay (P < 0.001), was seen after exposure to bacterial culture supernata...
Hess S, Gulati R, Peluso JJ.The present studies showed that sequential treatment with equine CG (eCG) and hCG not only induced an increase in ovarian weight, but also caused an estimated 4.6-fold increase in the number of ovarian surface epithelial cells. In addition, eCG-hCG treatment increased ovarian hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) messenger RNA levels. These studies also demonstrated that rat primary ovarian surface epithelial cells as well as a cell line derived from rat ovarian surface epithelium (i.e. ROSE-179 cells) do not express the LH (hCG) receptor. Both of these cells express c-Met, the receptor for HGF. To a...
Cottrell DF, McGorum BC, Pearson GT.Autonomic dysfunction constitutes a prominent clinical feature of equine grass sickness (EGS). Significant injury to the nervous control of the alimentary system is life threatening, partly because of dysphagia but also because of the failure of the unique regulatory mechanisms in equine digestion involving water and electrolyte balance. The neuropathology also indicates the presence of a somatic polyneuropathy. The morphological features of EGS are similar to those of excitotoxic neuronal degeneration, which resembles neuronal apoptosis. It is difficult to ascertain from published accounts th...
Henson FM, Davenport C, Butler L, Moran I, Shingleton WD, Jeffcott LB, Schofield PN.The effects of insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) I and II on fetal and foal chondrocytes were investigated in vitro. Chondrocytes from the lateral trochlear ridge of the distal femur were obtained from 2 fetuses (280 and 320 days gestation) and one 4-day-old foal and cultured. Membrane proteins consistent with type 1 and type 2 IGF receptors were demonstrated by radioligand cross linking and equilibrium binding analysis. It was demonstrated that both IGF-I and IGF-II acted as mitogens for isolated equine chondrocytes when present as the sole mitogenic factor in monolayer culture. ...
Papaioannou KZ, Murphy RP, Monks RS, Hynes N, Ryan MP, Boland MP, Roche JF.An objective double-staining method was developed to evaluate viability and mitochondrial function of stallion spermatozoa using flow cytometry. Sperm viability was assessed by propidium iodide (PI) exclusion, and mitochondrial function was measured by the intensity of rhodamine 123 (R123) fluorescence. Flow cytometry estimates of sperm viability measured by PI were equivalent (P > 0.05) to estimates made using Hoechst 33258 stain and fluorescent microscopy (% dead: 25 +/- 2.4 vs 21.5 +/- 3.5). The use of both PI and R123 was validated by addition of various proportions of freeze-shocked (m...
Birch HL, Wilson AM, Goodship AE.Tendons that store energy during locomotion, such as the equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and human Achilles tendon, suffer a high incidence of central core degeneration which is thought to precede tendon rupture. Although energy storage contributes to the efficiency of locomotion, tendons are not perfectly elastic and some energy is lost in the form of heat. Recent studies have shown that the central core of equine SDFT reaches temperatures as high as 45 degrees C during high-speed locomotion. In this study, we test the hypothesis that hyperthermia causes tendon cell death and ...
The Journal of nutritionMay 1, 1997
Volume 127, Issue 5 Suppl 830S-833S doi: 10.1093/jn/127.5.830S
Merrill AH, Schmelz EM, Wang E, Dillehay DL, Rice LG, Meredith F, Riley RT.Sphingolipids are highly bioactive compounds that participate in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, diverse cell functions, and apoptosis. They are present in both plant and animal foods in appreciable amounts, but little is known about their nutritional significance. Recent studies have shown that feeding sphingomyelin to female CF1 mice treated with a colon carcinogen (1,2-dimethylhydrazine) reduced the number of aberrant colonic crypt foci; longer-term feeding also affected the appearance of colonic adenocarcinomas. Therefore, dietary sphingolipids should be considered in studi...
Hu S, Vincenz C, Buller M, Dixit VM.Molluscum contagiosum virus proteins MC159 and MC160 and the equine herpesvirus 2 protein E8 share substantial homology to the death effector domain present in the adaptor molecule Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD) and the initiating death protease FADD-like interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme (FLICE) (caspase-8). FADD and FLICE participate in generating the death signal from both tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (TNFR-1) and the CD-95 receptor. The flow of death signals from TNFR-1 occurs through the adaptor molecule tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated death domain protein (TRA...
Catena C, Asprea L, Carta S, Tortora G, Conti D, Parasacchi P, Righi E.We have investigated and compared DNA damage and cell killing induced in human and equine lymphocytes after in vitro X-irradiation. Our data show that the cytogenetic and the lethality effects are both greater in equine lymphocytes, but that the difference is wider for lethality. The ratios between doses inducing the same effect are 1.3, 1.7 and 9.4 for the number of binucleated cells with micronuclei, micronucleus frequency in binucleated cells and DNA synthesis inhibition, respectively. The very different radiosensitivity observed for the two mammalian species encourages us to use their lymp...
Bucci TJ, Hansen DK, LaBorde JB.Two of five pregnant rabbits gavaged with purified fumonisin B1 at 1.75 mg/kg/day died, one after 9 and one after 13 doses. Microscopic examination revealed focal small hemorrhages in cerebral white matter in both animals, with malacia and hemorrhage also present in the hippocampus of one. The lesions were bilateral. Both animals also had marked degeneration of renal tubule epithelium and of hepatocytes. Apoptosis was the dominant degenerative change in kidney and liver. Fumonisin is known to cause leukoencephalomalacia and hemorrhage in equines, but CNS changes associated with exposure to fum...
Jolly WT, Whittem T, Jolly AC, Firth EC.The dose-related effects of phenylbutazone and Depo-Medrol on chondrocyte viability and chondrocyte-mediated synthesis and depletion of proteoglycans were investigated using cultured explants of equine middle carpal joint articular cartilage. Explants from 12 horses (941 x 3 mm diameter) were cultured for a total of 5 days, which included 3 days' exposure to either phenylbutazone (0, 2, 20, 200 or 2000 micrograms/mL) or Depo-Medrol (0, 20, 200 or 2000 micrograms/mL). For each explant, amino sugar content was used as a measure of proteoglycan content, 35S incorporation as a measure of the rate ...
Uto A, Dux E, Hossmann KA.Glutamate neurotoxicity was studied in primary neuronal cultures prepared from rat cerebral cortex and hippocampal CA1 sector. Neurons were cultivated with 5% native horse serum and then exposed to 0.1 or 1.0 mM glutamate for 5 min. Subsequently, neurons were allowed to recover for 24 hours either in the presence or in the absence of 5% native horse serum. In the absence of serum, neurons showed morphological signs of degeneration and exhibited marked loss of vitality as tested by vital staining and release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). In contrast, when neurons were cultivated in the presen...
Bruyas JF, Bézard J, Lagneaux D, Palmer E.Sixteen embryos were recovered nonsurgically at day 6.5 after induced ovulation from Welsh pony mares and were evaluated for cellular changes that occur because of exposure to the cryoprotectant with or without the freeze and thaw process. Day 6.5 horse embryos were either (i) frozen and thawed using glycerol as cryoprotectant (n = 6), (ii) given only the glycerol treatment (n = 5), or (iii) washed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) the same number of times as in the glycerol treatment (n = 5). After treatments, embryos were incubated in Minimum Essential Medium (MEM), supplemented with BSA, g...
Wilson JM, Caceci T, Potter GD, Kraemer DC.Embryos were recovered non-surgically at about Day 6 after ovulation from 15 Quarter horse-type mares and were evaluated for morphological changes which may occur because of exposure to the cryoprotectant and/or cryopreservation. Electron microscopy was used to elucidate the fine structure of intracellular organelles which, if damaged, could cause cellular death. The horse embryo does not totally re-expand in the 10% glycerol freezing medium, nor will it completely re-expand in the isotonic holding medium following glycerol removal whether or not the embryo has been frozen. Embryos in this stu...
Hollanders B, Mougin A, N'Diaye F, Hentz E, Aude X, Girard A.A new two-step gradient technique has been used in the separation of the different classes of lipoproteins from the serum of cows, horses, dogs, pigs, rabbits and rats. Total lipoproteins were first isolated at d 1.21 then floated through a d 1.006 to d 1.21 gradient. Collection by mean of a gradient fractionator provided directly comparable lipoprotein profiles, allowed the determination of the exact density range of each lipoprotein class and the fraction by fraction analysis of composition. Cholesterol and apo AI recoveries were high. Horse, dog, rabbit and pig exhibited three distinct lipo...
Hegre OD, Marshall S, Hickey GE.Plasma amine oxidase activities (benzylamine oxidase and spermine oxidase) were determined in the sera of a number of species of various ages. Benzylamine oxidase (BZO) activity, measured spectrophotometrically, was present in bovine, equine, and ovine species examined. Generally its activity in serum increased with the age of the animal. Spermine oxidase activity (SPO) was estimated by a bioassay of in vitro toxicity and did not necessarily correlate with BZO. Cytotoxicity in the presence of spermidine was found only in the sera of the ruminant species examined. Serum activity tended to rise ...
Jenkinson DM, Nimmo MC, Jackson D, McQueen L, Elder HY, Mackay DA, Montgomery I.Lanthanum injected intradermally in vivo into the skin of cattle, sheep, goats and ponies penetrated the intercellular spaces of the sweat glands. It was not, however, detected in the glandular lumen either visually or by electron probe microanalysis even at elevated ambient temperatures when the animals were sweating. It is concluded that the luminal intercellular connections between epithelial cells in these glands are tight junctions, which remain so during sweating despite the occurrence of cell death and extrusion into the lumen.
Divers TJ.Regulation of renal blood flow is by both extrinsic and intrinsic systems. Intrinsic regulation occurs via the afferent and efferent arterioles and tubuloglomerular feedback mechanisms with activation of the juxtaglomerular apparatus. Mechanisms of acute kidney injury are frequently associated with changes in renal blood flow. Acute tubular necrosis and apoptosis are common in horses following ischemic or toxic insults and in sepsis-associated acute kidney injury. Sepsis-associated renal injury often has a complex mechanism of disease involving both functional and obstructive changes in intrar...
Inoue OJ, Freeman DE, Wallig MA, Clarkson RB.To determine effects of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), with and without flunixin meglumine, on equine right ventral colon (RVC) in vitro. Methods: 18 healthy horses and ponies. Methods: In 3 groups of 6 animals each, short-circuit current and conductance were measured in RVC mucosa in Ussing chambers. The 3 groups received physiologic saline (0.9% NaCl) solution, IV, 10 minutes before euthanasia and tissue incubation in Krebs-Ringer-bicarbonate (KRB) solution; flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg, IV) 10 minutes before euthanasia and tissue incubation in KRB solution; or physiologic saline solut...
Elkhawagah AR, Nervo T, Poletto M, Martino NA, Gallo D, Bertero A, Vincenti L.The aim of the study was to ascertain effects of different concentrations of relaxin added to extender medium during the pre-freezing incubation periods on quality variables of stallion frozen-thawed spermatozoa. Semen samples collected from three stallions were filtered, diluted with skim milk, and centrifuged at 600g for 10 min. Sperm pellets were suspended in BotuCrio freezing medium to a final concentration of 50 × 10 sperm/mL. The diluted semen was divided into five experimental groups supplemented with 0 (control), 12.5, 25, 50, or 100 ng/mL of relaxin. The semen samples were transferre...
Turn JT, Mayer J, Nagata K, Banovic F, Meichner K, Hurley DJ, Koslowski E, Gogal RM.Apitherapy is a form of alternative medicine that utilizes products from the western honeybee (Apis mellifera), including honey, propolis, and honeybee venom, to improve the health status of human patients by altering host immunity. An added benefit of these products is that they are nutraceuticals and relatively inexpensive to aquire. Currently, little is known about the use of honeybee products in veterinary species, as well as their impact on host immunity. In the present in vitro study, honey, propolis, and honeybee venom were co-cultured with enriched canine, equine, and chicken periphera...
Heidari N, Faragher RGA, Pattison G, Dudhia J, Smith RKW.Tendinopathy is a common age-related disease which causes significant morbidity for both human athletes and performance horses. In the latter, the superficial digital flexor tendon is an excellent model for human tendinopathies because it is a functional homologue of the human Achilles tendon and a primary site of injuries with strong similarities to the human disease. Corticosteroids have been previously used clinically to treat tendinopathic inflammation, but they upregulate the p53-p21 axis with concomitant reductions in cell proliferation and collagen synthesis in human tenocytes. This phe...
Engiles JB, Stefanovski D, van Eps A.To examine the effects of prolonged preferential weight bearing (PWB) and reduced ambulation (RA) on hoof lamellae using a nonpainful in vivo experimental model. Unassigned: 12 healthy Standardbred horses were housed in stocks continuously for 92 hours. A platform shoe was placed on 1 forelimb in the PWB group (n = 6) to increase the load on the supporting limb (SL) by approximately 10% bodyweight, whereas the RA group (n = 6) had normal weight bearing. Archived healthy horse (n = 8) samples were used as controls. Histomorphometry and histochemistry (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP ...
Gugole PM, Zannoni A, Forni M, Iacono E, Zambelli F, Merlo B.This study investigates the effects of overnight holding and naloxone (Nx) supplementation on the vitrification outcomes of equine immature oocytes. Oocytes were divided into six experimental groups based on treatment combinations: fresh (F) and held (H) control oocytes, oocytes vitrified with or without Nx (10 M) (VIT and VIT-Nx), oocytes vitrified after overnight holding with or without Nx (10 M) (H-VIT and H-VIT-Nx). They were assessed for survival, meiotic competence, intracellular oxidative stress, mitochondrial activity and distribution, apoptosis, and apoptotic gene expression. At sur...
Vachkova E, Arnhold S, Petrova V, Heimann M, Koynarski T, Simeonova G, Piperkov P.The impact of donor age on Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ASC) functionality and safety remains insufficiently characterized, particularly in equine models. This study investigates the influence of age on ASCs proliferation dynamics and the expression of tumorigenic and apoptosis-related markers. Equine ASCs were isolated from juvenile (<5 years), middle-aged (5-15 years), and geriatric (>15 years) horses and assayed across multiple passages. The relative mRNA expressions of pluripotency (Oct4), tumorigenic (CA9), and apoptosis-related (Bax and Bcl 2) markers were evaluated. The Gomper...
Alves NC, Freitas MM, Faria JRD, Horta CL, Martins-Filho OA, Araújo MSS, Costa GMJ, Costa EA, de Almeida FRL, Amaral PHR, Pérez JCG, Lana ÂQ....Niacin acts as an antioxidant that protects cells from oxidative damage. This study evaluated the effects of adding niacin to the equine semen freezing extender on sperm quality and gene expression after cryopreservation. Ejaculates from ten stallions were frozen using the INRA 96 extender (control) or extenders supplemented with 10- and 20-mM niacin. After thawing, sperm were analysed for motility, kinematics, viability, membrane integrity, mitochondrial potential, lipid peroxidation, nitrite, hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations, DNA integrity, ...
Scoggin KE, Rakha SI, Abdellatif AM, Adlan F, Helmy YA, Ruby R, Ball B, Boakari Y, Ali HE.Ascending placentitis is a significant cause of equine pregnancy loss, yet the upstream inflammatory triggers are poorly defined. Recently, we identified S100A8/S100A9 (S100A8/A9) alarmins as potential upstream regulators in a chronic equine placentitis model. The current study aimed to determine whether this upregulation is sustained in the acute model and in clinical cases, and to elucidate the expression of their downstream inflammatory mediators. Using an experimental model, we quantified mRNA expression in acute ( = 5) and chronic ( = 6) placentitis induced by ssp. . We found mRNA expre...
Semik-Gurgul E, Ocłoń E, Zubel-Łojek J, Pędziwiatr R, Pawlina-Tyszko K.Sarcoids are locally invasive skin tumors in equids, associated with bovine papillomavirus. Objective: Address potential applications of cannabidiol (CBD) in veterinary medicine. We evaluated the response of equine sarcoid cells to CBD in vitro, focusing on viability, invasiveness, and matrix remodeling. Methods: Three primary sarcoid cell lines. Methods: Cells were treated with CBD (20, 6.75, 2.25, 0.75 μM) and incubated for 6, 24, 48, 72 hours. Cell viability, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis were assessed using the ApoTox-Glo Assay. Based on these results, further analyses were performed for ...
Sancler-Silva YFR, Papa FO, Esteller-Vico A, Silva-Junior E, Oliveira TES, El-Sheikh Ali H, Boakari YL, Freitas MSE, Ball BA.This study evaluated the effects of oral pentoxifylline on testicular biometry, histology, and gene expression in stallions subjected to scrotal heat stress. Fourteen stallions were divided into three groups: Control (CRL, n = 4), Testicular Degeneration (DEG, n = 5), and Testicular Degeneration Treated with Pentoxifylline (DEG + PTX, n = 5). Testicular degeneration was induced by scrotal insulation, twice daily, over two consecutive days (D-1 and D0). Starting the next day (D1), oral pentoxifylline (17 mg/kg) was administered every 12 h for 30 days. Testicular biometry was measured ...
Medina-Bolívar AL, Muñoz-Duque JD, Martínez-Aranzales JR.Information regarding Survivin protein expression in the gastric mucosa of equids is scarce. This protein has been associated with functions related to modulating apoptosis and promoting mitosis in epithelial cells and is considered part of gastric cytoprotection mechanisms in humans and mice, maintaining mucosal integrity and regulating cellular renewal. Objective: This study aimed to determine the expression of cytoplasmic and nuclear Survivin in gastric mucosae of equids (horses, donkeys, and mules). Methods: A total of 30 healthy stomachs, 10 from each species, were evaluated using histolo...
Khalil WA, Mostafa HE, Derbala MK, Alfattah MA, Alhujaili W, Hassan MAE, El-Harairy MA, Abdelnour SA.Encapsulating natural antioxidants presents a robust strategy to neutralize oxidative stress, thereby improving semen preservation. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of butylated hydroxytoluene nanoparticles (BHT-NPs) in improving stallion semen preservation by investigating sperm quality, redox balance, semen bacteriology, apoptosis, ultrastructure, and acrosome status of chilled stallion semen preserved at 4 °C for 72 h. This in vitro experiment was evidenced by molecular docking analysis. Twenty-five ejaculates from five stallions were collected and extended with 0 (BH...
Khalil WA, Sharf MI, Derbala MK, Alfattah MA, Hassan MAE, Alhujaili W, El-Harairy MA, Abdelnour SA.Oxidative stress is a major contributor to male infertility. Therefore, fortifying assisted reproductive technology with nanotechnology could enhance sperm preservation. Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of myo-inositol nano-emulsion (MINE) supplementation in semen extender on sperm quality, redox balance, semen bacteriology, apoptosis, ultrastructure, and acrosome status of chilled stallion semen. Methods: Semen samples were collected and preserved with 0 (MINE0), 1 (MINE1), and 2 (MINE2) mg of MINE/mL of extender. Results: Results revealed that extender fortified with 1 or 2 ...
Gugole PM, Zannoni A, Iacono E, Merlo B.Cryopreservation of equine mature oocytes remains a major challenge in assisted reproduction, mainly due to the limited availability of material and logistical constraints requiring a holding phase. To address these issues, this study evaluated whether naloxone (NX), an opioid receptor antagonist with reported antioxidant properties, could improve vitrification outcomes and whether bovine oocytes could serve as a suitable preliminary and supportive model. Two experiments were conducted. In experiment 1, immature (bGV) and mature (bMII) bovine oocytes were vitrified without (VIT) or with NX (VI...
Del Prete C, Gaspari G, Kosior MA, Merlo B, Iacono E, Longobardi C, Martino NA, Dell'Aquila ME, Damiano S, Cocchia N, Gasparrini B, Lange-Consiglio A.Over the years, regenerative therapies have emerged as promising alternatives for persistent breeding-induced endometritis. In vitro studies testing the effects of these therapies on equine endometrial cells are still scarce. This study aimed to evaluate in vitro the effect of Wharton's jelly (WJ) mesenchymal stromal/stem cell (MSCs)-derived conditioned medium (WJ-CM) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on equine endometrial cells, with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation. The WJ-CM was obtained after 24 h of starvation in Ringer's lactate of WJ-MSCs and PRP was prepared using...
Khorsand F, Hamali H, Qasemi-Panahi B, Tohidkia M.This study evaluated the effects of supplementation of the freezing extender with different concentrations of silymarin on the quality of frozen-thawed Arabian stallion spermatozoa. Semen samples from three stallions (1, 2, and 3) were suspended in the freezing extender without or with silymarin (0, 25 μg/mL, 50 μg/mL, 75 μg/mL, and 100 μg/mL) and cryopreserved in 0.5 mL straws. After 1 month of storage, the frozen semen samples in straws were thawed and evaluated in terms of viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, kinematic parameters, total and progressive motility, plasma membrane ...
Wu Y, Li L, Bai W, Li T, Qian X, Liu Y, Wang S, Liu C, Wan F, Zhang D, Liu Y, Wu K, Ling Y, Zhou H, Meng F, Zhang Y, Cao J.Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is an important pathogen of the MicroRNA virus family. Infection of livestock can cause physical weakness, weight loss, reduced milk production, and a significant reduction in productivity for an extended period. It also causes a high mortality rate in young animals, seriously affecting livestock production. The host range of FMDV is mainly limited to cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle and sheep, while odd-toed ungulates such as horses and donkeys have natural resistance to FMDV. The mechanism underlying this resistance in odd-toed ungulates remains unclea...
