Biomarkers in horses are measurable indicators of biological processes, states, or conditions that can be used to assess health and disease. These biomarkers can be identified in various biological samples such as blood, urine, or tissue. They provide valuable information for diagnosing diseases, monitoring health status, and evaluating treatment responses in equine medicine. Common biomarkers in horses include enzymes, hormones, and metabolites, which may change in response to physiological or pathological conditions. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the identification, quantification, and application of biomarkers in equine health and disease management.
Terhaar HM, Allbaugh RA, Mochel JP, Sebbag L.To determine total protein content (TPC) and serum albumin levels in the tears of horses with healthy or diseased eyes. Methods: Forty-two horses with healthy eyes and 11 horses with unilateral (n = 10) or bilateral (n = 1) ocular disease. Methods: Each eye underwent an ophthalmic examination including detailed conjunctivitis scoring and tear collection with Schirmer strips. TPC and serum albumin levels were quantified in tear samples and compared among healthy eyes, affected eyes, and contralateral unaffected eyes. The impact of the following variables on lacrimal protein levels were asse...
Villar T, Pascoli AL, Chaulagain S, Fadl-Alla BA, Martins BC.Corneal neovascularization can result from many pathological processes affecting the ocular surface leading to disturbances and opacifications that reduce corneal clarity and may impact vision. In veterinary medicine, the use of topical corticosteroid is contraindicated in the presence of ulcerative keratitis, and there is sparse research regarding safe medical alternatives to inhibit corneal neovascularization in dogs to improve visual outcome. To investigate the pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) concentration in equine amniotic membrane homogenate (EAMH) and its in-vitro vascular endo...
Gaitskell-Phillips G, Martín-Cano FE, Ortiz-Rodríguez JM, Silva-Rodríguez A, Rodríguez-Martínez H, Gil MC, Ortega-Ferrusola C, Peña FJ.Some stallions yield ejaculates that do not tolerate conservation by refrigeration prior to artificial insemination (AI), showing improvement after removal of most of the seminal plasma (SP) by centrifugation. In this study, the SP-proteome of 10 different stallions was defined through high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry and bioinformatic analysis in relation to the ability of the ejaculates to maintain semen quality when cooled and stored at 5°C. Stallions were classified into three groups, depending on this ability: those maintaining good quality after direc...
Battaglia F, Meucci V, Tognetti R, Bonelli F, Sgorbini M, Lubas G, Pretti C, Intorre L.In human medicine, procalcitonin (PCT), the precursor of calcitonin, is used for the rapid identification of the origin and severity of sepsis. In veterinary medicine, PCT has been studied in horses, cattle, and dogs, but the use of PCT in diagnostic and/or prognostic settings is not possible because of the lack of validated assays to obtain reference ranges. The aim of the present study was the investigation of commercially available ELISA kits for the detection of canine and equine PCT in plasma samples. Validation of the ELISA kits was performed by using species-specific recombinant protein...
Much ML, Leatherwood JL, Martinez RE, Silvers BL, Basta CF, Gray LF, Bradbery AN.Twenty stock-type horses (589 ± 126 kg BW; 13 ± 8 yr) were used in a completely randomized design for 28-d to evaluate the impact of a joint supplement on gait kinematics, inflammation, and cartilage metabolism. Horses were stratified by age, sex, body weight (BW), and initial lameness scores and were randomly assigned to one of two dietary treatments consisting of either a 100-g placebo top-dressed daily to 0.6% BW (as-fed) commercial concentrate (CON; n = 10; SafeChoice Original, Cargill, Inc.), or an oral joint supplement (SmartPak Equine LLC) containing glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, ...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Lamy E, Escribano D, Cerón JJ, Tecles F, Quiles AJ, Hevia ML.This study aims to evaluate the circadian and circannual variations in a panel of analytes in horse saliva that have been previously described as biomarkers related to stress and disease, in order to interpret them correctly when they are measured in this species. This panel of analytes integrated cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), lipase (Lip), total esterase (TEA), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), adenosine deaminase (ADA), γ-glutamyl transferase (gGT), creatine kinase (CK), urea, total bilirubin, total protein (TP), and phosphorus. These analytes were measured in saliva obtained from a p...
Griffin RA, Swegen A, Baker M, Aitken RJ, Skerrett-Byrne DA, Silva Rodriguez A, Martín-Cano FE, Nixon B, Peña FJ, Delehedde M, Sergeant N, Gibb Z.The horse breeding industry relies upon optimal stallion fertility. Conventional sperm assessments provide limited information regarding ejaculate quality and are not individually predictive of fertilizing potential. The aim of this study was to harness mass spectrometry to compare the proteomic profiles of high- and low-quality stallion spermatozoa, with the ultimate goal of identifying fertility biomarker candidates. Extended stallion semen (n = 12) was fractionated using Percoll density gradients to isolate low-quality and high-quality sperm populations. Motility and morphological assessmen...
Yoshimura S, Koziy RV, Dickinson R, Moshynskyy I, McKenzie JA, Simko E, Bracamonte JL.While serum amyloid A (SAA) has been investigated as a potential marker for septic arthritis in horses, no study has reported on whether SAA can be used to detect eradication of joint infection. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether the eradication of joint infection in experimentally induced septic arthritis in horses can be detected using serum and synovial fluid SAA. A total of 17 horses were randomly assigned to 3 groups. A middle carpal joint of each horse was injected with saline (control group, = 3), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (nonseptic synovitis group, = 6)...
Raza F, Ivanek R, Freer H, Reiche D, Rose H, Torsteinsdóttir S, Svansson V, Björnsdóttir S, Wagner B.Culicoides hypersensitivity (CH) is induced in horses by salivary allergens of Culicoides midges. In Iceland, the causal Culicoides species for CH are not present. Previous epidemiological data indicated that Icelandic horses are more susceptible to CH when they are exported from Iceland and first exposed to Culicoides at adult age. Horses born in countries where Culicoides is endemic, develop the disease less frequently. Here, we established a longitudinal allergy model to identify predictive and diagnostic serological biomarkers of CH. Results: Sixteen adult Icelandic horses from Iceland wer...
Ekici S, Ozmen O.The active roles of microribonucleic acids (miRNAs) in gene regulation have made miRNAs a key point for the scientific world in the study of physiological processes. Although saliva includes the largest number of miRNAs, there is no miRNA study in saliva on horses has been found. Our study is the first study on miRNAs isolation from saliva in horses. In the present study, saliva was studied in Arabian racehorses to better understand the molecular mechanisms of expression levels that are effective in lipid metabolism of miRNAs and their target genes during the race. Identification of lipid meta...
El-Deeb W, Fayez M, Elsohaby I, Mkrtchyan HV, Alhaider A.Clostridium difficile (CD) is considered a major health care problem both in developing and developed countries; frequently reported to be associated with enterocolitis and diarrhea in horses and other animals. In this study, we examined acute phase response (APR), cytokines response, neopterin (NP) procalcitonin (PCT) production and oxidative stress condition in horses and foals with C. difficile-induced enterocolitis (CDIE) and evaluated the effectiveness of these parameters as biomarkers for the disease. A total of 407 Arabian horses in 35 stables were examined between January 2017 to Decem...
Anderson JR, Phelan MM, Foddy L, Clegg PD, Peffers MJ.Osteoarthritis is an age-related degenerative musculoskeletal disease characterized by loss of articular cartilage, synovitis, and subchondral bone sclerosis. Osteoarthritis pathogenesis is yet to be fully elucidated with no osteoarthritis-specific biomarkers in clinical use. equine cartilage explants ( = 5) were incubated in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)/interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-supplemented culture media for 8 days, with the media removed and replaced at 2, 5, and 8 days. Acetonitrile metabolite extractions of 8 day cartilage explants and media samples at all time points underwent one-d...
Couetil L, Cardwell JM, Leguillette R, Mazan M, Richard E, Bienzle D, Bullone M, Gerber V, Ivester K, Lavoie JP, Martin J, Moran G, Niedźwiedź A....The 2019 Havemeyer Workshop brought together researchers and clinicians to discuss the latest information on Equine Asthma and provide future research directions. Current clinical and molecular asthma phenotypes and endotypes in humans were discussed and compared to asthma phenotypes in horses. The role of infectious and non-infectious causes of equine asthma, genetic factors and proposed disease pathophysiology were reviewed. Diagnostic limitations were evident by the limited number of tests and biomarkers available to field practitioners. The participants emphasized the need for more accessi...
Silvers BL, Leatherwood JL, Arnold CE, Nielsen BD, Huseman CJ, Dominguez BJ, Glass KG, Martinez RE, Much ML, Bradbery AN.While beneficial in rehabilitation, aquatic exercise effects on cartilage and bone metabolism in young, healthy horses has not been well described. Therefore, 30 Quarter Horse yearlings (343 ± 28 kg; 496 ± 12 d of age) were stratified by age, body weight (BW), and sex and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments for 140-d to evaluate effects of aquatic, dry, or no exercise on bone and cartilage metabolism in young horses transitioning to an advanced workload. Treatments included nonexercise control (CON; n = 10), dry treadmill (DRY; n = 10), or aquatic treadmill exercise (H2O; n = 10; water: 6...
Bazzano M, Laghi L, Zhu C, Lotito E, Sgariglia S, Tesei B, Laus F.In the present study, data related to the metabolomics of saliva and serum in trained standardbred horses are provided for the first time. Metabolomic analysis allows to analyze all the metabolites within selected biofluids, providing a better understanding of biochemistry modifications related to exercise. On the basis of the current advances observed in metabolomic research on human athletes, we aimed to investigate the metabolites' profile of serum and saliva samples collected from healthy standardbred horses and the relationship with physical exercise. Twelve trained standardbred horses we...
Bażanów BA, Chełmecka E, Romuk E, Stygar DM.Hucul and Arabian horses differ in the physiological constitution and exposition to environmental conditions. Oxidative stress plays a pathogenic role in many diseases and enables further injuries. The objective of this study was to compare the levels of enzymatic and nonenzymatic oxidative stress markers in Hucul horses living in seminatural conditions and in commercially handled Arabian horses. We tested the serum samples for total superoxide dismutase (total SOD), Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD), and Mn-dependent superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) activity; for lipofuscin (LPS), ceruloplasmi...
França de Souza D, Alonso MA, Brito MM, Meirelles MG, Francischini MCP, Nichi M, Fernandes CB.In newborns, exposure to the extrauterine environment with high oxygen tension and sudden pulmonary adaptation leads to an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS have several physiological roles, which are essential for neonatal development, however, when unbalanced, these highly unstable molecules can cause cellular destabilisation, compromising vital processes. Objective: To characterise the oxidative status in healthy equine neonates, evaluating an indicator of lipid peroxidation and both enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant systems, during the first week of life. Methods: Experim...
Bazzano M, Laghi L, Zhu C, Magi GE, Tesei B, Laus F.The use of an untargeted metabolomic approach to investigate biofluids of respiratory origin is of increasing interest in human and veterinary lung research. Considering the high incidence of equine asthma (> 14%) within horse population and the importance of this animal model for human disease, we aimed to investigate the metabolomic profile of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in healthy and asthmatic horses. Results: On the basis of clinical, endoscopic and BALF cytology findings, 6 horses with severe asthma (Group A) and 6 healthy horses (Group C) we...
Knych HK, Weiner D, Arthur RM, Baden R, McKemie DS, Kass PH.Corticosteroids are potent anti-inflammatory drugs and as such are commonly administered to performance and racehorses. The objectives of the current study were to describe blood and urine concentrations and the pharmacokinetics and effects on cortisol and inflammatory mediator concentrations, following intravenous and oral administration to 12 exercised horses. Horses received an intravenous administration of 40 mg of dexamethasone sodium phosphate and 20 mg of dexamethasone tablets with a 4 week washout in between administrations. Blood and urine samples were collected prior to and for up to...
Journal of proteomicsJune 19, 2020
Volume 225 103880 doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.103880
Chiaradia E, Miller I.Equine medicine represents a relevant field of veterinary science and the horse industry generates a significant economic impact. Horses can be involved in different sport disciplines, meat production, work and recreational purposes. Horses are also important for human health as they can be used as animal models for studying human diseases and in equine-assisted therapy. This review summarizes the data related to body fluids such as plasma/serum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, saliva, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and peritoneal fluid obtained using proteomic analysis. Horse body f...
Schumacher SA, Toribio RE, Scansen B, Lakritz J, Bertone AL.The objectives of this study were to describe pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes as a result of a single intravenous administration of magnesium sulfate (MgSO ) to healthy horses. MgSO is a magnesium salt that has been used to calm horses in equestrian competition and is difficult to regulate because magnesium is an essential constituent of all mammals. Six healthy adult female horses were administered a single intravenous dose of MgSO at 60 mg/kg of body weight over 5 min. Blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected, and cardiovascular parameters were monitor...
Renaudin CD, Kelleman AA, Keel K, McCracken JL, Ball BA, Ferris RA, McCue PM, Dujovne G, Conley AJ.Granulosa cell tumours (GCT) are the most common ovarian tumours in mares. While the classical presentation may not represent diagnostic challenges, diagnosis is not easy in the early stages. Objective: Illustrate the variability in the presentation and serum biomarkers associated with ovarian abnormalities in the mare. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Nonclassical cases of GCTs and other ovarian conditions were identified and behaviour, GCT endocrine results, palpation and ultrasonographic findings are described and the diagnostic value of each is discussed. Results: Mares in this...
Ahmadpour S, Esmaeilnejad B, Dalir-Naghadeh B, Asri-Rezaei S.Equine theileriosis due to Theileria equi is probably the most widespread and pathogenic disease of equines, which comes with major cardiac and renal complications. This study was undertaken to investigate the biomarkers of cardiac and renal functions in horses infected with T. equi and determine the association between these parameters and the level of parasitemia. Giemsa-stained blood smears from 300 horses with ages of 3-4 years old were examined for detection of T. equi on erythrocytes. Moreover, multiplex PCR was employed for confirmation of the diagnosis in the 28 positive cases. Based o...
Tsogtgerel M, Komyo N, Murase H, Hannan MA, Watanabe K, Ohtaki T, Tsumagari S, Kawate N, Nambo Y.Insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) is an important hormone for testicular descent during embryonic development and a factor for assessing functional status of Leydig cells of testes, but there is limited number of equine studies. Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a useful diagnostic marker for cryptorchidism in horses. This study aimed to compare serum concentrations and testicular expression intensity of INSL3 and AMH in intact and cryptorchid male horses. Serum INSL3 concentrations in intact (n = 9; mean ± SEM, 19.9 ± 5.9 ng/mL) and noncastrated unilateral cryptorchid (UC) male horses (n...
Adler DMT, Serteyn D, Franck T, Jørgensen E, Christophersen MT, Denwood M, Verwilghen DR.To compare the extent of inflammation and catabolic collagen response in the middle carpal joints (MCJs) of healthy horses following intra-articular injection of 2% lidocaine, 2% mepivacaine, lactated Ringer solution (LRS), or 0.1% methyl parahydroxybenzoate. 17 adult horses. In the first of 2 experiments, the left middle carpal joint (MCJ) of each of 12 horses was injected with 10 mL of 2% lidocaine (n = 3), 2% mepivacaine (3), or LRS (control; 6). After a 4-week washout period, the right MCJ of the horses that received lidocaine or mepivacaine was injected with 10 mL of LRS, and the right MC...
Żak A, Siwińska N, Chełmecka E, Bażanów B, Romuk E, Adams A, Niedźwiedź A, Stygar D.The study aims to assess the impact of age, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) and insulin dysregulation (ID) in horses on selected oxidative stress markers. The study includes 32 horses, divided into three groups: "young" adult group (aged 8-16 years old) "geriatric" group (aged 18-24 years old) and the "PPID" group (aged 15-31 years old). The PPID group was further divided into two subgroups: PPID ID+ and PPID ID- based on presence or absence of ID. We measured serum antioxidant stress markers in all horses: total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), ceruloplasmi...
Martinez CR, Santangelo KS, Olver CS.Whole transferrin receptor (TfR) is present in reticulocyte exosomes. Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is cleaved from whole TfR in human plasma, with the remnant cytoplasmic domain (cTfR) remaining membrane associated. In humans, sTfR is a biomarker that can detect iron deficiency in the presence of inflammatory disease. This condition is still a diagnostic dilemma in veterinary species. We aimed to (1) confirm the presence of exosomes and exosome-associated TfR in the serum of dogs, cats, and horses; and (2) to assess and compare the proportion of cTfR to total (cTfR + whole) in exoso...
Arthurs C, Suarez-Bonnet A, Willis C, Xie B, Machulla N, Mair TS, Cao K, Millar M, Thrasivoulou C, Priestnall SL, Ahmed A.Equine penile squamous cell carcinoma (EpSCC) is a relatively common cutaneous neoplasm with a poor prognosis. In this study, we aimed to determine the protein expression and colocalisation of FRA1, c-Myc, Cyclin D1, and MMP7 in normal (NT), tumour (T), hyperplastic epidermis and/or squamous papilloma (Hyp/Pap), poorly-differentiated (PDSCC), or well-differentiated (WDSCC) EpSCC using a tissue array approach. Further objectives were to correlate protein expression to (i) levels of inflammation, using a convolutional neural network (ii) equine papillomavirus 2 (EcPV2) infection, detected using ...
Sotelo EDP, Vendruscolo CP, Fülber J, Seidel SRT, Jaramillo FM, Agreste FR, Silva LCLCD, Baccarin RYA.Several studies in human and equine medicine have produced controversial results regarding the role of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as a therapeutic agent. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of joint lavage with different DMSO concentrations on biomarkers of synovial fluid inflammation and cartilage degradation in joints with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced synovitis. Twenty-six tibiotarsal joints of 13 horses were randomly distributed into four groups (lactated Ringer's solution; 5% DMSO in lactated Ringer's; 10% DMSO in lactated Ringer's; and sham). All animals were evaluated for the prese...
Equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) of various origins have been identified in horses, including MSCs from the bone marrow and adipose tissue. However, these stem cell sources are highly invasive in sampling, which thereby limits their clinical application in equine veterinary medicine. This study presents a novel method using an air-liquid interface to isolate stem cells from the hair follicle outer root sheath of the equine forehead skin. These stem cells cultured herewith showed high proliferation and asumed MSC phenotype by expressing MSC positive biomarkers (CD29, CD44 CD90) while not e...
Hajimohammadi A, Ghane M, Ghari Tehrani M, Paravar B, Mirzaei A, Razavi S, Nikzad M.Sixty-one horses were enrolled in this study and divided into 3 different groups according to their severity of colic (heart rate, oral mucous membrane color, and abdominal distention): a strangulating colic (SC) group (n=21), non-strangulating colic (NC) group (n=20), and control group (n=20) consisting of randomly selected normal horses without signs of colic. The serum concentrations of haptoglobin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), zinc, iron, and copper were evaluated in all horses. The average concentration of TNFα in the SC group was higher tha...
Rouge M, Legendre F, Elkhatib R, Delalande C, Cognié J, Reigner F, Barrière P, Deleuze S, Hanoux V, Galéra P, Bouraïma-Lelong H.The castration of stallions is traditionally performed after puberty, at around the age of 2 years old. No studies have focused on the effects of early castration on osteoarticular metabolism. Thus, we aimed to compare early castration (3 days after birth) with traditional castration (18 months of age) in horses. Testosterone and estradiol levels were monitored from birth to 33 months in both groups. We quantified the levels of biomarkers of cartilage and bone anabolism (CPII and N-MID) and catabolism (CTX-I and CTX-II), as well as of osteoarthritis (HA and COMP) and inflammation (IL-6 and PGE...
Antunes J, Salcedo-Jiménez R, Lively S, Potla P, Coté N, Dubois MS, Koenig J, Kapoor M, LaMarre J, Koch TG.Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of lameness in horses with no effective disease-modifying treatment and challenging early diagnosis. OA is considered a disease of the joint involving the articular cartilage, subchondral bone, synovial membrane, and ligaments. Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a joint disease consisting of focal defects in the osteochondral unit which may progress to OA later in life. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been recognized as small non-coding RNAs that regulate a variety of biological processes and have been detected in biological fluids. MiRNAs are currently investiga...
Fedorka CE, Scoggin KE, El-Sheikh Ali H, Troedsson MHT.The interleukin (IL)-6 family of cytokines is grouped by a common receptor subunit (gp130), but functions in distinct but overlapping physiological activities, including regulation of acute phase reaction and the balance between effector and regulatory T cell populations-both of which play a role in successful pregnancy maturation. Methods: Here, we aim to assess the expression profiles of members of the IL-6 cytokine family throughout equine gestation. To do so, RNA Sequencing was performed on chorioallantois and endometrium of mares at 120, 180, 300, and 330 days of gestation (n = 4/stage), ...
Hobbs KJ, Cooper BL, Dembek K, Sheats MK.Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is fragmented extracellular DNA that is released from cells into various body fluids. Previously published data from adult horses supports cfDNA as a potential disease biomarker, but also shows that direct measurement in plasma is inaccurate due to matrix effect. It is currently unknown whether a similar matrix effect exists in foal plasma. Given this, the objectives of the current study were to investigate foal plasma for potential matrix effect during fluorescence measurement of cfDNA using a Qubit fluorometer, and to determine whether neat and/or extracted plasma cfDNA...
Sävilammi T, Alakangas RR, Häyrynen T, Uusi-Heikkilä S.Gastrointestinal disorders are common and debilitating in horses, but their diagnosis is often difficult and invasive. Fecal samples offer a non-invasive alternative to assessing the gastrointestinal health of horses by providing information about the gut microbiota and inflammation. In this study, we used 16S sequencing to compare the fecal bacterial diversity and composition of 27 healthy horses and 49 horses diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We also measured fecal calprotectin concentration, a marker of intestinal inflammation, in healthy horses and horses with IBD. We found ...
Jakobsen N, Weber NR, Larsen I, Pedersen KS.To mitigate the use of antibiotics for many of the multifactorial diseases seen in pigs, horses and cattle, new diagnostic tools are needed. Acute phase protein (APP) measurements can, in humans, be used to guide antibiotic treatment initiation, evaluate treatment efficacy, and make a prognosis. The aim of this review is to collect evidence on the clinical functionality of APP measurements as a tool to guide antibiotic treatment in pigs, horses, and cattle. Literature was retrieved using Medline, CAB Abstracts and Google Scholar. The acute phase response has been investigated for a plethora of...
Johansson L, Ringmark S, Bergquist J, Skiöldebrand E, Widgren A, Jansson A.The human plasma proteome is rather well studied, but not that of other species, including horses. The aims of this study were to (1), explore differences in plasma proteomic profile of young elite harness trotters kept under standardised conditions and subjected to two different training programmes for 2 years and (2) explore changes in proteomic profile over time during the training period. From September at age 1.5 year to March at age 2 years, 16 Standardbred horses were exposed to the same training programme. In March, high-intensity training was introduced and the horses were divided int...
Aragona F, Giannetto C, Piccione G, Licata P, Deniz Ö, Fazio F.The aim of the present study was the evaluation of the bioaccumulation of cadmium (Cd), Zinc (Zn), Chrome (Cr), Lead (Pb), Iron (Fe) and Copper (Cu), in the blood, serum, tail and mane of horses from the industrialized area of Milazzo (Messina, Sicily), to understand the relationships between haematological parameters: Red Blood Cells (RBCs), White Blood Cells (WBCs), Haemoglobin (Hb), Haematocrit (Hct), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH), Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Platelets (PLTs) and the concentrations of trace elements. Blood and hair ...
Walters M, Skovgaard K, Heegaard PMH, Fang Y, Kharaz YA, Bundgaard L, Skovgaard LT, Jensen HE, Andersen PH, Peffers MJ, Jacobsen S.MicroRNAs, a class of small noncoding RNAs, serve as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and are present in a stable and quantifiable form in biological fluids. MicroRNAs may influence intra-articular responses and the course of disease, but very little is known about their temporal changes in osteoarthritis. Objective: To identify miRNAs and characterise the temporal changes in their abundance in SF from horses with experimentally induced osteoarthritis. We hypothesised that the abundance of miRNA would change during disease progression. Methods: In vivo experiments. Methods: R...
Wong D, Sahoo DK, Faivre C, Kopper J, Dersh K, Beachler T, Esser M.Oxidative injury occurs in septic people, but the role of oxidative stress and antioxidants has rarely been evaluated in foals. Objective: To measure reactive oxygen species (ROS), biomarkers of oxidative injury, and antioxidants in neonatal foals. We hypothesized that ill foals would have higher blood concentrations of ROS and biomarkers of oxidative injury and lower concentrations of antioxidants compared to healthy foals. Methods: Seventy-two hospitalized and 21 healthy neonatal foals. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide [HO]), biomarkers of oxidati...
Anderson JR, Phelan MM, Caamaño-Gutiérrez E, Clegg PD, Rubio-Martinez LM, Peffers MJ.Equine osteoarthritis (OA) is predominantly diagnosed through clinical examination and radiography, leading to detection only after significant joint pathology. The pathogenesis of OA remains unclear and while many medications modify the disease's inflammatory components, no curative or reversal treatments exist. Identifying differentially abundant metabolites and proteins correlated with osteoarthritis severity could improve early diagnosis, track disease progression, and evaluate responses to interventions. Objective: To identify molecular markers of osteoarthritis severity based on histolog...
Yuan X, Yao X, Zeng Y, Wang J, Ren W, Wang T, Li X, Yang L, Yang X, Meng J.Horse racing may cause stress-induced physiological changes and tissue damage in horses, but the changes in miRNA expression, protein expression, and metabolic substances in the plasma exosomes of the horse after racing are still unclear. This study detected miRNA, protein expression, and metabolic substances in the plasma exosomes of horses before and after competition, providing new insights for post-race recovery and care of horses. Methods: Eight three-year-old horses that had undergone training were selected as the research subjects, with four horses that had not competed as the contr...
Aragona F, Rizzo M, Arrigo F, Arfuso F, Fazio F, Giudice E, Pugliatti P, Piccione G, Giannetto C.Among physiological parameters, total locomotor activity (TLA) and heart rate (HR) are used as physiological indicators in animal welfare evaluations. The present study aimed to simultaneously record for 24 h the TLA and HR of ten clinically healthy horses housed in conventional individual boxes subjected to a natural photoperiod and temperature. An actigraphy-based data logger was placed on the headstall, and an equine HR monitor was placed around the chest to monitor TLA and HR, respectively. Activity was monitored with 5 min sampling intervals and HR with 5 s intervals. To make the data poi...
Zhang X, Liu Y, Li L, Ma W, Bai D, Dugarjaviin M.The traditional horse industry has undergone a remarkable evolution, with horse racing emerging as a prominent and pivotal economic driver within the sector. Among the various breeds, Mongolian horses, renowned for their exceptional endurance and speed, occupy a significant position in the horse industry. To investigate their homeostasis mechanisms during and after a 20 km endurance exercise and identify novel oxidative-imbalance markers, we selected 12 two-year-old horses and collected blood samples at various time points before, during (at 5, 10, 15, and 20 km), and after the exercise (at 1,...
Salem MA, El-Gameel SM, Kamel MS, Elsamman EM, Ramadan RM.Equine habronemiasis, caused by Habronema (H.) muscae, H. microstoma, and Draschia megastoma, is a parasitic disease that presents in both gastric and cutaneous forms. Conventional diagnostic methods often lack sensitivity due to intermittent egg shedding and nonspecific clinical signs. This study aimed to enhance diagnostic accuracy by integrating molecular identification, oxidative stress profiling, and cytokine gene expression analysis. Methods: A total of 100 horses from a private farm in Giza, Egypt, were clinically examined for signs of habronemiasis. Fecal and skin samples were exami...
Schnabel CL, Jentsch MC, Lübke S, Kaiser-Thom S, Gerber V, Vrtala S, Huang HJ, Rhyner C, Wagner B, Hoffmann R, Volke D.Severe equine asthma (SEA) is a common, chronic respiratory disease of horses characterized by hyperreactivity to hay dust which has many similarities to severe neutrophilic asthma in humans. SEA-provoking antigens have not been comprehensively characterized, but molds and mites have been suggested as relevant sources. Here, we identified relevant antigen candidates using immunoproteomics with IgG isotype-binding analyses. Proteins from () were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting (2D immunoblots) resulting in a characteristic pattern of 440 spots. After...
Roberts JH, Zhang J, David F, McLean A, Blumenshine K, Müller-Alander E, Halper J.Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis (DSLD) negatively impacts connective tissues in horses, which often leads to progressive chronic pain and lameness. DSLD has been shown to be a systemic disorder that affects multiple body systems, including tendons, sclerae, and the aorta. Currently, the diagnosis is confirmed by post mortem histological examination of a tendon or suspensory ligament. Histology reveals inappropriate accumulations of proteoglycans in the tendons and other tissues in DSLD-affected horses. Unfortunately, there is no reliable method to diagnose DSLD in living horses. Rece...
Lo HC, Winter JC, Merle R, Gehlen H.Acute dehydration caused by a variety of diseases in horses can lead to acute kidney injury. However, current renal biomarkers usually indicate renal damage late in the course of the disease. A novel biomarker would be helpful to diagnose renal disease earlier. Objective: (1) To estimate the correlation of serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) concentrations with the degree of dehydration, traditional renal biomarkers and renal function analysis, and (2) to determine the value of SDMA as a prognostic and early biomarker of renal injury in horses. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: Serum S...
Donnelly CG, Finno CJ.Phosphorylated neurofilament heavy, a marker of neuroaxonal damage, is increased in horses with equine neuroaxonal dystrophy. However, the temporal dynamics of this biomarker during the post-natal risk period are not understood. Objective: To measure serum and cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated neurofilament heavy concentrations in juvenile foals across the post-natal window of susceptibility for equine neuroaxonal dystrophy. Methods: Case-control in vivo experimental study. Methods: Concentrations of phosphorylated neurofilament heavy were measured using frozen serum and cerebrospinal fluid c...
Bollinger L, Bartel A, Weber C, Gehlen H.High elimination rates and concerns for horse welfare are important issues in endurance riding. Improved understanding of the causes of elimination could increase completion rates in this sport. We have identified pre-ride laboratory risk factors that enable an assessment of potential elimination before the ride. A longitudinal cohort study was performed among 49 healthy horses competing in the 160 km endurance ride at the 2016 World Championship of Endurance Riding in Samorin/Slovakia. Blood samples were taken before the event. For statistical evaluation, horses were categorized into three gr...
Morales Gómez AM, Zhu S, Palmer S, Olsen E, Ness SL, Divers TJ, Bischoff K, Mohammed HO.Neurofilaments (NFs) are structural proteins of neurons that are released in significant quantities in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood as a result of neuronal degeneration or axonal damage. Therefore, NFs have potential as biomarkers for neurologic disorders. Neural degeneration increases with age and has the potential to confound the utility of NFs as biomarkers in the diagnosis of neurologic disorders. We investigated this relationship in horses with and without neurological diagnosis. While controlling for horse type (draft, pleasure, and racing), we evaluated the relationship between ser...
Ruggerone B, Paltrinieri S, Giordano A, Scavone D, Nocera I, Rinnovati R, Spadari A, Scacco L, Pratelli P, Sgorbini M.In several species, paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) decreases during inflammation, because of the presence of oxidative stress; its measurement recently has been validated in horses, but its role as a clinical biomarker is unknown. Objective: To evaluate sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratio of PON-1 activity to identify systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)-positive horses or horses with a poor prognosis. Methods: One hundred seventy-two blood samples from 58 sick horses from 3 different veterinary hospitals. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, PON-1 activity was measured upon admissi...
Radcliffe RM, Buchanan BR, Cook VL, Divers TJ.To summarize the current medical literature and provide a clinical perspective of whole blood point-of-care (POC) biomarkers in large animal emergency and critical care practice. Methods: Original studies, reviews, and textbook chapters in the human and veterinary medical fields. Conclusions: POC biomarkers are tests used to monitor normal or disease processes at or near the patient. In both human and veterinary medicine these tools are playing an increasingly important role in the management of critical diseases. The most important whole blood POC biomarkers available for veterinary practitio...
De-Simone SG, Provance DW.Affinity chromatography is a separation method based on a specific binding interaction between an immobilized ligand and its binding partner. An important class of ligands for the effective separation and purification of biotechnologically important substances is lectins, a group of naturally occurring molecules widely found in plants that display a range of specificities to bind different sugars. As sugars are often added to proteins through the process of glycosylation, ∼1/3 of all genetically encoded proteins are glycosylated, numerous cognate pairs of lectins with glycosylation groups ha...
Cheung HW, Wong KS, To NS, Bond AJ, Farrington AF, Prabhu A, Curl P, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.Selective androgen receptor (AR) modulators (SARMs) are potent anabolic agents with a high potential of misuse in horseracing and equestrian sports. In this study, we applied label-free proteomics to discover plasma protein biomarkers in geldings (castrated horses) after administration with a popular SARM named RAD140. Tryptic peptides were prepared from plasma samples and analyzed by nano-flow ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (nano-UHPLC-HRMS/MS) using data-independent acquisition (DIA) method. Orthogonal projection on latent structure-discr...
Arens AM, Puchalski SM, Whitcomb MB, Bell R, Gardner IA, Stover SM.To define scintigraphic, physical examination, and scapular ultrasonographic findings consistent with bone fragility syndrome (BFS) in horses; develop indices of BFS severity; and assess accuracy of physical examination, scapular ultrasonography, and serum biomarkers for BFS diagnosis. Methods: Prospective case-control study. Methods: 48 horses (20 horses with BFS and 28 control horses). Methods: Horses underwent forelimb scintigraphic evaluation, physical examination, scapular ultrasonography, and serum collection. Scintigraphy was used as a reference standard to which physical examination, s...
The objective of the current study was to determine the photoperiod-induced variations and the impact of exercise on oxidative stress biomarkers [2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), aldehydic (AD) and ketonic (KD) derivatives of oxidatively modified proteins (OMP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx)] and biomarkers of metabolic alterations [glucose, urea, and uric acid and the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)] in the blood of Shetland pony mares and stallions involved in recreati...
Podico G, Canisso IF, Ellerbrock RE, Dias NW, Mercadante VRG, Lima FS.The present study aimed to compare two methods of prostaglandin-induced abortion in mares by determining blood markers (progesterone, estradiol-17β, alpha-fetoprotein, 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin-F2α (PGFM)), B-mode ultrasonographic parameters, and time until loss of fetal heartbeat. It was hypothesized that intrauterine infusion of cloprostenol results in earlier fetal compromise than intramuscular administration. Ovarian structures (number and sizes of follicles and corpora lutea area), fetal heartbeat, and fetal mobility of thirteen singleton pregnancies were assessed daily by tra...
