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.
Kamr AM, Dembek KA, Gilsenan W, Bozorgmanesh R, Hassan HY, Rosol TJ, Toribio RE.Hypocalcemia is a common finding in critically ill equine patients. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) helps to maintain calcium homeostasis in hypocalcemic patients by promoting renal calcium reabsorption and bone resorption. Increased serum PTH concentrations have been reported in critically ill people and animals, including horses and foals. It is unknown whether increased secretion of PTH is associated with markers of bone turnover in hospitalized foals. The goals of this study were to measure markers of bone resorption (C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen [CTX-I]) and bone formation (osteoca...
Wong KS, Cheung HW, Choi TLS, Kwok WH, Curl P, Mechie SC, Prabhu A, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.Recent advances in label-free quantitative proteomics may support its application in identifying and monitoring biomarkers for the purpose of doping control in equine sports. In this study, we developed a workflow of label-free quantitative proteomics to propose plasma protein biomarkers in horses after administration with krypton (Kr), a potential erythropoiesis-stimulating agent. Plasma proteomes were profiled by using nanoliquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. An in-house mass spectral library consisting of 1121 proteins was compiled using samples collected from geldings (...
Han H, Chen Q, Gao Y, Li J, Li W, Dang R, Lei C.In the biological process of testicular spermatogenesis, the expression and interaction of many genes are regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs). However, comparisons of miRNA expression between descended testes (DTs) and undescended testes (UDTs) are rarely done in horses. In this study, we selected two UDTs (CKY2b and GU4b) from Chakouyi (CKY) and Guanzhong (GU) horses and eight DTs (GU1-3, CKY1, CKY3, CKY2a, GU4a, and GU5). Three groups were compared to evaluate expression patterns of testicular miRNA in stallion testes. Group 1 compared normal CKY horses and GU horses (CKY1 and CKY3 vs. GU1-3). G...
Powell CD, Dhanoa MS, Garber A, Murray JMD, López S, Ellis JL, France J.Two models are proposed to describe atypical biphasic gas production profiles obtained from in vitro digestibility studies. The models are extensions of the standard Mitscherlich equation, comprising either two Mitscherlich terms or one Mitscherlich and one linear term. Two models that describe typical monophasic gas production curves, the standard Mitscherlich and the France model [a generalised Mitscherlich (root-) equation], were assessed for comparison. Models were fitted to 25 gas production profiles resulting from incubating feedstuffs with faecal from equines. Seventeen profiles displa...
Pieńkowska-Schelling A, Kaul A, Schelling C.Abnormalities of chromosomes are an important and well documented cause of disorders of sexual development, fertility problems and congenital anomalies in mammals. Detection of low-level 63,X/64,XX mosaicism during routine cytogenetic evaluation is a challenge because its clinical significance is not yet fully clear. This study describes the prevalence and levels of 63,X mosaicism for a cohort of fertile mares and compares the results with eight problem mares for which no clinical cause of sub-fertility was found. The study design allowed for the analysis of micronuclei which are biomarkers of...
Peal BT, Gagliardi R, Su J, Fortier LA, Delco ML, Nixon AJ, Reesink HL.The objectives of this study were to evaluate temporal changes in lubricin, hyaluronan (HA), and HA molecular weight (MW) distributions in three distinct models of equine joint injury affecting the carpal (wrist), tarsal (ankle), and femoropatellar (knee) joints. To establish ranges for lubricin, HA, and HA MW distributions across multiple joints, we first evaluated clinically healthy, high-motion equine joints. Synovial fluid was collected from high-motion joints in horses without clinical signs of joint disease (n = 11 horses, 102 joints) and from research horses undergoing carpal osteo...
Schott HC, Esser MM.Clinicopathologic evaluation of renal function and renal disease in sick adult horses remains grounded in detection of azotemia, assessment of serum and urine electrolyte concentrations, and evaluation of urinalysis findings, including specific gravity, reagent strip analysis, and sediment examination. Because increases in serum or plasma urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations are insensitive indicators of a decreased glomerular filtration rate, there is considerable interest in identifying novel biomarkers of renal function or injury in blood and urine, with serum symmetric dimethylargin...
Long A, Nolen-Walston R.Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a marker of inflammation and infection in the horse that can be assessed in the field, with rapid and marked changes seen following initiation of an inflammatory stimulus. This quality of SAA also makes its clinical use challenging, because even small inflammatory conditions can cause large changes in SAA levels. Review of the current literature provides guidelines for responses of SAA to various conditions, which can be applied to specific clinical cases. The practitioner is encouraged to use SAA in conjunction with physical examination and other diagnostic modalities...
Canisso IF, Loux SC, Lima FS.Placentitis is an important cause of abortion, stillbirth, and neonatal death in horses. The diagnosis of placentitis is based on occurrence of clinical signs (premature mammary gland development and vulvar discharge) and ultrasonography of the caudal placental pole. However, early and subtle cases can be missed. In the last few years, several studies have provided objective means of diagnosing placentitis in mares with single or serial measurements of blood markers. Among the markers evaluated the steroids produced by the fetoplacental unit have been shown to change in association with placen...
Diel de Amorim M, Khan FA, Chenier TS, Scholtz EL, Hayes MA.The objective of this study was to evaluate the differences in the uterine flush fluid proteome between healthy mares and mares with endometritis or fibrotic endometrial degeneration (FED). Uterine flush fluid samples were collected from healthy mares (n=8; oestrus n=5 and dioestrus n=3) and mares with endometritis (n=23; oestrus n=14 and dioestrus n=9) or FED (n=7; oestrus n=6 and dioestrus n=1). Proteomic analysis was performed using label-free liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Of 216 proteins identified during oestrus, 127 were common to all three groups, one protein was exclu...
Hellings IR, Krontveit R, Øverlie M, Kallmyr A, Holm T, Fintl C.Elevated cardiac troponin T (cTnT) concentrations may provide evidence of myocardial injury but physiological post-exercise release also occurs. Reference intervals are not fully established in horses making interpretation difficult. The aims of this study were to establish an upper reference limit for serum cTnT, compare pre-and post-race serum cTnT concentrations, and to evaluate factors that may influence these in a population of healthy, race-fit Standardbred racehorses. Serum samples were collected pre- (n = 108) and 1-2 h post-racing (n = 101) and analysed using a high sensitivity-cTnT a...
Pennington PM, Splan RK, Jacobs RD, Chen Y, Singh RP, Li Y, Gucek M, Wagner AL, Freeman EW, Pukazhenthi BS.Insulin resistance (IR) is characterized by an increase in biomarkers of systemic inflammation and susceptibility to laminitis in horses. Impacts on reproduction include a lengthened interovulatory period in horses. Dietary omega-3 (docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) promotes anti-inflammatory processes, has been implicated in health benefits, and can reduce cytokine secretion. This preliminary study investigated the impact of IR as well as the influence of dietary supplementation (DHA) on the uterine fluid proteome in early pregnant horses. Mares were artificially inseminated; uterine fluid and embr...
Höfner L, Luther AM, Waberski D.Ongoing progress in proteomic characterization of seminal plasma has stimulated research on the identification of biomarkers for male fertility and sperm preservability. So far, many studies have evaluated the benefits of reconstituting cryopreserved or sex-sorted semen with seminal plasma. Less information is available about the effect of remaining or added seminal plasma in liquid preserved semen. The interaction between seminal plasma and spermatozoa is species -specific, and within species often complex and ambiguous. This article aims to review the action of seminal plasma on sperm functi...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Hevia ML, Escribano D, Lamy E, Tecles F, Cerón JJ.This study aims to evaluate the effect of the presence of food and the material used in a panel of biomarkers in saliva of horses. For the food effect study, clean saliva was incubated with a known amount of food consisting of oats, hay or grass. Significant changes were observed when saliva was incubated with oats for total protein (P = .050) and phosphorus (P = .008), with grass for total protein (P = .037), salivary alpha-amylase (sAA, P = .018), total esterase (TEA, P = .018), butyrilcholinesterase (BChE, P = .037), adenosine deaminase (ADA, P = .037), and total bilirubin (P...
Mayaki AM, Abdul Razak IS, Noraniza MA, Mazlina M, Rasedee A.Neurological disorders (NDs) are often fatal to horses. Thus, symptoms of equine NDs commonly indicate euthanasia. Current diagnostic approaches for equine NDs is based on clinical signs, differential diagnoses, analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), assessment of histopathological lesions, and imaging. However, advances in biofluid biomarkers in the diagnosis of human neurological diseases can potentially be applied to equine NDs. In this review, we described the established human blood and CSF neurobiomarkers that could potentially be used to diagnose equine NDs.
Jacobsen S, Vinther AM, Kjelgaard-Hansen M, Nielsen LN.Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a major equine acute phase protein and of great value in detection and monitoring of inflammation. A new immunoturbidometric assay based on monoclonal antibodies (VET-SAA, Eiken Chemical Co., Japan) may be useful for SAA measurements in routine diagnostic laboratories. The aim of the study was to validate the VET-SAA immunoturbidometric assay and use it to measure serum SAA concentrations in a variety of clinical cases. Precision was assessed by intra- and interassay coefficients of variation of repeated measurements of serum pools (low, intermediate, high concentratio...
Graham RJTY, Anderson JR, Phelan MM, Cillan-Garcia E, Bladon BM, Taylor SE.Palmar osteochondral disease (POD) is a common cause of lameness in competition horses. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most sensitive diagnostic modality currently available, however it may not be financially or logistically practical for routine screening of POD. There is increasing interest in the use of metabolomics for diagnosis prior to progression to irreversible damage. Objective: To determine metabolite levels in synovial fluid (SF) of horses with a clinical diagnosis of POD based on diagnostic analgesia and MRI, with the hypothesis that metabolomic profiles differ between dis...
Kirchmeier A, van Herwaarden AE, van der Kolk JH, Sauer FJ, Gerber V.This study describes steroid profiles in equine plasma before and after ACTH stimulation. In human medicine, other steroids have been shown to have a more pronounced reaction to an ACTH stimulation test than cortisol. This study aimed to determine if the same was true for the horse. A total of 11 clinically healthy horses were selected for this study. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid plasma samples were taken before and 60 min after stimulation with 1 μg/kg BW of synthetic ACTH administered intravenously. The samples were analyzed for cortisol, 11-deoxycortisol, 21-deoxycortisol, cortisone, ...
Viljanto M, Kicman AT, Walker CJ, Wolff K, Muir T, Hincks P, Biddle S, Scarth J.Boldenone (1-dehydrotestosterone) is an exogenous anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) but is also known to be endogenous in the entire male horse and potentially formed by microbes in voided urine, the gastrointestinal tract, or feed resulting in its detection in urine samples. In this study, equine fecal and urine samples were incubated in the presence of selected stable isotope labeled AAS precursors to investigate whether microbial activity could result in 1-dehydrogenation, in particular the formation of boldenone. Fecal matter was initially selected for investigation because of its high mic...
Contreras-Aguilar MD, Henry S, Coste C, Tecles F, Escribano D, Cerón JJ, Hausberger M.Acute stress induces an array of behavioural reactions in horses that vary between individuals. Attempts to relate behavioural patterns and physiological responses have not always given clear-cut results. Here, we measured the changes in a panel of salivary components: salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), lipase, total esterase (TEA), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), adenosine deaminase (ADA), and cortisol, and their potential link with horses' behaviours after acute stress. Saliva samples were collected in nine riding horses subjected to a test consisting of opening an umbrella. Saliva sampling was obt...
Coppelman EB, David FH, Tóth F, Ernst NS, Trumble TN.Osteoarthritis (OA) of the distal intertarsal (DIT) and tarsometatarsal (TMT) joints occurs commonly. Synovial fluid (SF) biomarkers of collagen and bone turnover have potential clinical value. Objective: To measure SF biomarker concentrations from DIT and TMT joints in adult horses and determine if they correlate with radiographic OA severity and are higher in joints with radiographic OA compared to controls. Methods: Cross-sectional. Methods: Radiographic OA of DIT and TMT joints was evaluated from adult horses (5-35 years old). Overall radiographic scores divided horses into those with mil...
Shawaf T, El-Deeb WM, Elgioushy M.The aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic efficiency of gastrin, pepsinogen, proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6), and oxidative stress biomarkers in horses with equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS). Thirty horses diagnosed with gastroscopic EGUS and 15 clinically healthy horses were selected for this study. The serum levels of gastrin, pepsinogen showed nonsignificant changes in horses with EGUS when compared with healthy horses. The serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 revealed a significant increase in horses with EGUS when compared with healthy ones. Oxidative stress is evident in...
Krakowski L, Brodzki P, Krakowska I, Opielak G, Marczuk J, Piech T.The aim of the study was to determine the level of prolactin (PRL), serum amyloid A (SAA), and selected biochemical markers (T-Chol, AST, TP, Mg, P, and Ca) in the blood of mares during the perinatal period. The study involved 14 mares of the Polish Coldblood Horse breed, which were in the third trimester of pregnancy. Blood was collected for testing 2 weeks before parturition and then 24 hours after delivery and in the foal heat (9 days) and 9 days after ovulation and breeding. The research revealed significant differences in the level of PRL and SAA before and after delivery. The highest...
Bullone M, Lavoie JP.Human asthma is a complex and heterogeneous disorder characterized by chronic inflammation, bronchospasm and airway remodeling. The latter is a major determinant of the structure-function relationship of the respiratory system and likely contributes to the progressive and accelerated decline in lung function observed in patients over time. Corticosteroids are the cornerstone of asthma treatment. While their action on inflammation and lung function is well characterized, their effect on remodeling remains largely unknown. An important hindrance to the study of airway remodeling as a major focu...
Fazio F, Cicero N, Piccione G, Giannetto C, Licata P.Mercury (Hg) exists in various chemical forms, and it is different to health effects. The most toxic effects occur in the central nervous system during fetal development with irreversible alterations of the nerve cells of the cerebral cortex and, it is essential to monitor the tissue residues of Hg to protect the animal's health. The present investigation was carried out during May 2019 in 20 horses located in equine sport center near the area of Milazzo, Messina, that is a part of Sicilian territory heavily polluted by many toxic substances. The purpose of this study was to determine the conc...
De Angelis E, Cacchioli A, Ravanetti F, Bileti R, Cavalli V, Martelli P, Borghetti P.Chondrocyte dedifferentiation is a key limitation in therapies based on autologous chondrocyte implantation for cartilage repair. Articular chondrocytes, obtained from (metacarpophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal) joints of different aged horses, were cultured in monolayer for several passages (P0 to P8). Cumulative Populations Doublings Levels (PDL) and gene expression of relevant chondrocyte phenotypic markers were analysed during culturing. Overall data confirmed that, during proliferation in vitro, horse chondrocytes undergo marked morphological and phenotypic alterations of their differen...
White SJ, Moore-Colyer M, Marti E, Hannant D, Gerber V, Coüetil L, Richard EA, Alcocer M.Severe equine asthma (sEA), which closely resembles human asthma, is a debilitating and performance-limiting allergic respiratory disorder which affects 14% of horses in the Northern Hemisphere and is associated with increased allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) against a range of environmental proteins. A comprehensive microarray platform was developed to enable the simultaneous detection of allergen-specific equine IgE in serum against a wide range of putative allergenic proteins. The microarray revealed a plethora of novel pollen, bacteria, mould and arthropod proteins significant in t...
Denham J.Telomeres are genetically conserved nucleoprotein complexes located at the ends of chromosomes that preserve genomic stability. In large mammals, somatic cell telomeres shorten with age, owing to the end replication problem and lack of telomere-lengthening events (e.g. telomerase and ALT activity). Therefore, telomere length reflects cellular replicative reserve and mitotic potential. Environmental insults can accelerate telomere attrition in response to cell division and DNA damage. As such, telomere shortening is considered one of the major hallmarks of ageing. Much effort has been dedicate...
Girardi FM, da Fonseca LA, Ribeiro Filho JD, Souto PC, Ferreira DAC, Dornelas LRSM, Bento LD, de Carvalho Filho WP.Obesity in human and veterinary medicine is one of the most complex challenges within emerging diseases in the context of health. The problem of obesity in horses results in severe comorbidities; therefore, acute-phase proteins should be investigated for fluctuations increasing or decreasing by at least 25% in response to inflammation; these are candidates for future biomarkers and might provide new perspectives on early diagnosis and prognosis. Serum samples were analyzed in nine healthy animals (C) and nine obese animals (O). The proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylami...
Chen JW, Stefanovski D, Haughan J, Jiang Z, Boston R, Soma LR, Robinson MA.Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) can potentially mask painful injuries in equine athletes. Tests to detect whether a horse has received ESWT prior to competition are needed. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is known to affect inflammatory mediators in other species, and if these mediators are altered in the horse, these could serve as biomarkers of ESWT. Objective: To test the hypothesis that a single application of ESWT will alter the circulating protein concentrations of 10 inflammatory mediators in horse plasma. Methods: Prospective repeated measures experimental study. Methods: Elev...
Anderson ST, Kidd LJ, Barton AJ, Greer RM.Breeding mares typically foal yearly. Little is known about the dynamics of maternal bone stores during gestation and lactation, the timing of any maternal bone mobilisation, re-accretion post-foaling, or the dynamics of bone metabolism in foals. We measured serum osteocalcin (OC) and serum pyridinoline (PYD) concentrations in 18 mares monthly from 6months gestation to foaling, and in both mares and foals for 4months after birth. From 6 to 11months of gestation, there was no change in mean monthly OC. Serum PYD increased between 7months gestation and foaling. After foaling, mean serum OC was l...
Kirschvink N, Art T, Smith N, Lekeux P.To test whether isoprostanes could be used as markers of oxidative stress in horses, their concentration was determined in plasma and in pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF) in 3 models of oxidative stress: (1) strenuous exercise, (2) acute COPD crisis and (3) exercise combined with COPD crisis. Four horses were investigated twice, once in crisis and once in remission. The animals underwent a standardised treadmill exercise test. Isoprostane assessment was performed in plasma and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid 24 h before and 1 h after exercise and in plasma also immediately after exercise. ...
Fedorka CE, Ball BA, Wynn MAA, McCormick ME, Scoggin KE, Esteller-Vico A, Curry TE, Kennedy LA, Squires EL, Troedsson MHT.Preterm labor and/or abortion causes considerable economic impact on the equine industry. Unfortunately, few experimental models exist for the induction of various pregnancy-related complications, and therefore extrapolations are made from the experimental model for ascending placentits, although inferences may be minimal. Certain steroid hormones (progestogens, estrogens) and fetal proteins (alpha-fetoprotein; AFP) might improve the diagnostics for abnormal pregnancy, but the utility of these markers in the field is unknown. To assess this, thoroughbred mares (n = 702) were bled weekly begi...
Pennington PM, Splan RK, Jacobs RD, Wang Y, Wagner AL, Freeman EW, Pukazhenthi BS.The reproductive cycle and early pregnancy represent dynamic physiological states in mammals, but mechanisms involved in early pregnancy in the domestic horse remain poorly understood. Proteins in uterine secretions have been studied, but the proteome of peripheral serum during various reproductive states has not been investigated. This study characterized and compared the serum proteome in the domestic horse during various reproductive states. Serum was collected from three mares during: (1) estrus (day [d] -1; d 0 = ovulation), (2) diestrus (d 12.5, non-mated), (3) early pregnancy (d 12.5,...
Deride C, Chihuailaf R, Arnés V, Morán G, Uberti B.Microminerals are necessary for all bodily functions. In animal species, selenium (Se), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) all form part of antioxidant enzymes. Micromineral deficiencies, particularly Se, are well recognized in large animal species in Chile. Glutathion peroxidase (GPx) is a widely used biomarker for Se nutritional status and to diagnose Se deficiency in horses. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a Cu and Zn-dependant antioxidant enzyme, although it is not commonly used as a proxy for the nutritional status of these minerals. Ceruloplasmin (CP) is used as a biomarker of Cu nutritional status...
Romero BF, Iglesis García M, Gil Molino M, Gómez L, Galapero J, Parejo C, Martín Cuervo M.Equine uveitis is a common eye disease that affect horses from different breeds, ages, and genders. Uveitis has been described as inflammation of the uvea secondary immunomediated processes or eye trauma. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common tumor that can affect the equine kidneys. The present case describe a horse that was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Extremadura with bilateral uveitis. The horse was treated for the primary complain but the horse collapse and die during hospitalization. At necropsy, a tumoral mass in kidney with extensive in othe...
Dobiáš R, Jahn P, Tóthová K, Dobešová O, Višňovská D, Patil R, Škríba A, Jaworská P, Škorič M, Podojil L, Kantorová M, Mrázek J....Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) may be a rare cause of granulomatous pneumonia in horses. The mortality of IPA is almost 100%; direct diagnostic tools in horses are needed. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum samples were collected from 18 horses, including individuals suffering from IPA (n = 1), equine asthma (EA, n = 12), and 5 healthy controls. Serum samples were collected from another 6 healthy controls. Samples of BALF (n = 18) were analyzed for spp. DNA, fungal galactomannan (GM), ferricrocin (Fc), triacetylfusarinin C (TafC), and gliotoxin (Gtx). Analysis of 24 serum s...
Equine pulmonary aspergillosis is a rare deep mycosis often due to the hematogenous spread of hyphae after gastrointestinal tract disease. We describe herein the main clinic-pathological findings observed in a foal, which spontaneously died after showing diarrhea and respiratory distress. Necropsy and histopathological investigations allowed to diagnose pulmonary aspergillosis, which likely developed after necrotic typhlitis-colitis. Biomolecular studies identified section strain as the causative agent. Notably, severe oxalate nephrosis was concurrently observed. Occasionally, oxalate nephro...
de Grauw JC.Diseases affecting synovial joints are a major cause of chronic disability both in humans and in companion animal species, most notably dogs and horses. As progressive deterioration of the articular cartilage is the hallmark of degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis, research efforts traditionally tended to focus primarily on cartilage pathology. However, in recent years it has become clear that synovial joints should be considered intricate organs in their own right, with each of the constituent tissues (cartilage, bone, and synovial membrane) interacting with each other both in health ...
Ertelt A, Stumpff F, Merle R, Kuban S, Bollinger L, Liertz S, Gehlen H.Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is a cardiac biomarker in humans, symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) a renal biomarker in humans, cats, and dogs. The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate if measuring serum ADMA and SDMA concentrations via ELISA allows detection of cardiac disease in horses in a routine laboratory setting. In this context, reference values in horses were established. Methods: Seventy-eight horses with no known medical history were compared to 23 horses with confirmed structural cardiac disease with/or without arrhythmias. Horses underwent physical examination,...
Powell CD, Dhanoa MS, Garber A, Murray JMD, López S, Ellis JL, France J.Two models are proposed to describe atypical biphasic gas production profiles obtained from in vitro digestibility studies. The models are extensions of the standard Mitscherlich equation, comprising either two Mitscherlich terms or one Mitscherlich and one linear term. Two models that describe typical monophasic gas production curves, the standard Mitscherlich and the France model [a generalised Mitscherlich (root-) equation], were assessed for comparison. Models were fitted to 25 gas production profiles resulting from incubating feedstuffs with faecal from equines. Seventeen profiles displa...
Weber KS, Wagener K, Blanco M, Bauersachs S, Bollwein H.Subfertility is a major problem in modern horse breeding. Especially, mares without clinical signs of reproductive diseases, without known uterine pathogens and no evidence of inflammation but not becoming pregnant after several breeding attempts are challenging for veterinarians. To obtain new insights into the cause of these fertility problems and aiming at improving diagnosis of subfertile mares, a comparative analysis of the intrauterine transcriptome in subfertile and fertile mares was performed. Uterine cytobrush samples were collected during estrus from 57 mares without clinical signs o...
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...
De Kock SS, Rodgers JP, Swanepoel BC, Guthrie AJ.This study investigated the biochemical effects of administration of three types of recombinant growth hormone (GH; somatotropin) to the Thoroughbred horse. Equine or bovine or porcine GH was administered at a recommended dosage to 3-5-year old Thoroughbred geldings, for up to 21 days. It was shown that, in addition to equine GH, bovine and porcine GH were active in the horse; however, porcine GH caused injection-site reactions that were so serious that administration had to be terminated. The concentrations of a range of GH-related serum protein markers were determined before, during and afte...
Sanclemente JL, Rivera-Velez SM, Dasgupta N, Horohov DW, Wood PL, Sanz MG.Many foals that develop thoracic ultrasonographic lesions as a result of Rhodococcus equi infection heal on their own. However, most of these foals receive antimicrobials because foals at risk of developing clinical pneumonia cannot be identified. Untargeted lipidomics is useful to identify candidate biomarkers. Objective: (a) To describe the changes that occur in foal lipidomics as a result of ageing (birth to 8 weeks) and (b) To compare these results with those observed in foals after experimental infection with R. equi. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Healthy newborn foals (n = 9) ...
Jackson BF, Lonnell C, Verheyen K, Wood JL, Pfeiffert DU, Price JS.Injuries to the skeleton are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in racehorses and age, gender and season have all been shown to influence risk of injury. Objective: To use biochemical markers of bone cell activity to establish to whether cellular processes in bone underlie these described effects. Methods: Blood samples were collected monthly from 2-year-old horses in race training between November 1998 and September 1999. Mean age at the start of the study was 20 months (range 18-23 months), with no significant difference in average age between colts (n = 84) and fillies (n = 63). Three...
Yuan M, Breitkopf SB, Asara JM.Horse urine is easily collected and contains molecules readily measurable using mass spectrometry that can be used as biomarkers representative of health, disease or drug tampering. This study aimed at analyzing microliter levels of horse urine to purify, identify and quantify proteins, polar metabolites and non-polar lipids. Urine from a healthy 12 year old quarter horse mare on a diet of grass hay and vitamin/mineral supplements with limited pasture access was collected for serial-omics characterization. The urine was treated with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and methanol to partition into...
Boger BL, Manfredi JM, Yob C, Weber PSD, Jacobs CC.Diagnosis of equine septic arthritis is not straightforward, and increasing time between onset, diagnosis, and treatment can have serious consequences for quality of life. Defensins are used in diagnosis of human joint infection. The presence of beta defensins (BDs) in equine synovial fluid and their utility as a biomarker of sepsis has not been investigated; therefore, our objectives were to (1) compare in vitro gene expression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated equine neutrophils to unstimulated neutrophils and (2) compare BD protein expression from normal, aseptically inflamed, and sept...
Finding EJT, Lawson C, Elliott J, Harris PA, Menzies-Gow NJ.Microvesicles are small (up to 1 μm) vesicles found in plasma and other bodily fluids. They are recognised as part of the normal system of inter-cellular communication but altered numbers are also used as biomarkers of disease. Microvesicles have not been studied in detail in the horse but may be relevant to diseases such as laminitis. Identification of equine cell specific microvesicles was performed by developing a panel of cross reactive antibodies to use in flow cytometry to detect microvesicles of platelet, leucocyte and endothelial origin in plasma from healthy ponies and those predis...
Girardi FM, da Fonseca LA, Ribeiro Filho JD, Souto PC, Ferreira DAC, Dornelas LRSM, Bento LD, de Carvalho Filho WP.Obesity in human and veterinary medicine is one of the most complex challenges within emerging diseases in the context of health. The problem of obesity in horses results in severe comorbidities; therefore, acute-phase proteins should be investigated for fluctuations increasing or decreasing by at least 25% in response to inflammation; these are candidates for future biomarkers and might provide new perspectives on early diagnosis and prognosis. Serum samples were analyzed in nine healthy animals (C) and nine obese animals (O). The proteins were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylami...
Urayama S, Arima D, Mizobe F, Shinzaki Y, Nomura M, Minamijima Y, Kusano K.Although hyperglycemia at admission with colic has been reported to have a poor prognosis, there is no report specifically about acute colitis with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in horses. In this study, we measured blood glucose (Glu), insulin (Ins), and cortisol (Cor) levels in 17 Thoroughbred racehorses diagnosed as having acute colitis with SIRS, and examined the relationship between time-dependent changes in Glu, Ins, and Cor and prognosis. Glu levels were high in 3 horses at admission, but thereafter no horses had persistently high Glu levels. There was no significant di...
Kirchmeier A, van Herwaarden AE, van der Kolk JH, Sauer FJ, Gerber V.This study describes steroid profiles in equine plasma before and after ACTH stimulation. In human medicine, other steroids have been shown to have a more pronounced reaction to an ACTH stimulation test than cortisol. This study aimed to determine if the same was true for the horse. A total of 11 clinically healthy horses were selected for this study. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid plasma samples were taken before and 60 min after stimulation with 1 μg/kg BW of synthetic ACTH administered intravenously. The samples were analyzed for cortisol, 11-deoxycortisol, 21-deoxycortisol, cortisone, ...
Lejeune JP, Serteyn D, Gangl M, Schneider N, Deby-Dupont G, Deberg M, Henrotin Y.Several breeds of draft horses suffer from degenerative digital osteoarthropathy, resulting in a reduced active lifespan. A group of 30 Ardenner horses was followed, in standardized conditions, from 15 to 28 months of age to detect the early manifestations of the disease. The severity of the disease was assessed according to a personal grading system including clinical and radiographic items. Coll 2-1, a peptide of the helical region of type II collagen, and its nitrated form (Coll 2-1 NO(2)) were assayed in blood plasma collected at 452 +/- 18 days, 504 +/- 20 days, 558 +/- 18 days, 613 +/- 1...
Medeiros do Nascimento RC, Graboschii ACG, da Fonseca LS, Silva AR, Souto PC, da Fonseca LA, Goulart MOF, Escodro PB.In most animals, pain can compromise physiological functions and delay healing so, rapid detection of pain through behavior and inflammatory reaction with biomarkers are necessary. This study aimed to evaluate pain, physiological variations and Acute Phase Proteins (APP) in donkeys undergoing orchiectomy technique by inguinal access. For this research, 15 male northeastern donkeys kept in extensive management were selected, with a mean age of 4.5±3.1 years. All animals had the same anesthetic protocol, using dissociative anesthesia and local block with lidocaine, followed by orchiectomy by in...
Banfield J, Lisak R, Omar A, Domingos W, Fiaschitello A, Morales-Gomez A, Divers TJ, Mohammed HO.We carried out an investigation to identify the factors that predispose to the risk of equine motor neuron disease (EMND) and evaluated the long-term impact of an intervention. Data on several biomarkers, including antioxidants (α-tocopherols, β-carotenes, glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx)), and superoxide dismutase (SOD1), neurofilaments, and other putative risk factors hypothesized to associate with the likelihood of EMND were collected. The data were analyzed for their significance of association with the condition. The EMND outbreak started in 1991 and continued until 1998. A total of 69 EM...
Wang L, Unger L, Sharif H, Eriksson S, Gerber V, Rönnberg H.Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) plays a key role in the synthesis of deoxythymidine triphosphate (dTTP) and is thus important for DNA replication and cell proliferation. The expression of TK1 is highest during S-phase, and it is rapidly degraded after mitosis. In cancer cells, TK1 is upregulated, resulting in leakage of excess TK1 into the blood. Consequently, serum TK1 has been used as a diagnostic and prognostic cancer biomarker, mainly in human medicine. The aims of this work were to characterize equine TK1 and to evaluate its suitability as a serum biomarker for equine lymphoma. Results: Equine T...
Siwinska N, Zak A, Paslawska U.Acute kidney injury (AKI) in horses may develop as a complication of a primary disease or following the administration of nephrotoxic drugs, and may pose a diagnostic challenge. Hence, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the concentrations and diagnostic significance of serum symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) and conventional renal dysfunction biomarkers in healthy horses, horses at risk of developing AKI, and horses with clinically evident AKI. A second aim was to assess how gastrointestinal disease and exposure to potentially nephrotoxic drugs affected SDMA levels. Thirty health...
Fukuda K, Mita H, Tamura N, Kuroda T, Kuwano A, Takahashi T, Sato F.Persistent synovitis damages the articular cartilage in horses. To evaluate the effectiveness of treatment for synovitis using a model induced by intra-articular administration of monoiodoacetic acid (MIA), it is necessary to identify inflammatory biomarkers characteristic of the MIA model. Synovitis was induced by administering MIA into the unilateral antebrachiocarpal joints of five horses, and saline was injected into the contralateral joints as a control on day 0. Clinical and ultrasonographic examinations and synovial fluid collection were performed on days 0, 1, 2, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35....
Kirschvink N, Bureau F, Art T, Lekeux P.The 8-epi-PGF2alpha is a marker of oxidative stress which is increased in lungs of asthmatic humans and heaves-susceptible horses. 8-Epi-PGF2alpha has also been demonstrated to be an in vitro and in vivo bronchoconstrictor in humans and rodents. We hypothesised that inhaled 8-epi-PGF2alpha was a bronchoconstrictor in healthy and heaves-susceptible horses in clinical remission. The effect on ventilatory mechanics of nebulised 8-epi-PGF2alpha was compared to that of PGF2alpha and U46619, a thromboxane A2 agonist. Pulmonary resistance (R(L)) and dynamic compliance (Cdyn) were assessed in six heal...
Li J, Zhao Y, Mi J, Yi Z, Holyoak GR, Wu R, Wang Z, Zhu Y, Zeng S.Endometritis is a common disease in donkeys that causes economic losses to donkey farms and the common cause is bacterial infection. Uterine flush fluid proteomics has been used to study protein biomarkers associated with endometritis in mares. As a convenient diagnostic tool, serum proteomics has not been studied yet in equine species with endometritis. This study is aiming to evaluate the serum proteomics in jennies with and without endometritis and identify potential proteins as biomarker for endometritis diagnosis. Nine donkeys recruited into this study were diagnosed of bacterial (Escheri...
