The study of cells in horses encompasses the examination of various cell types and their functions within the equine body. Cells are the basic structural and functional units of life, and in horses, they contribute to numerous physiological processes, including growth, repair, and immune responses. Different cell types, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and muscle cells, each perform specific roles that are vital for maintaining the health and homeostasis of the horse. This topic includes research on cellular mechanisms, cellular responses to disease or injury, and the application of cellular biology in equine medicine. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the structure, function, and significance of cells in equine biology and health.
Mini-myoglobin (mini-HHMb) is a fragment of horse-heart myoglobin (HHMb) considered to be the prototype of the product encoded by the central exon of the HHMb gene. For this reason, mini-HHMb has been studied extensively showing that carbonylation and oxygenation properties of the ferrous form are similar to those of the full-length protein, while kinetics and thermodynamics of azide binding to the ferric form are significantly different from those of HHMb. To analyze the structure-function relationships in mini-HHMb and the role of conformational fluctuations in ligand accessibility, the mole...
Lange-Consiglio A, Accogli G, Cremonesi F, Desantis S.Amniotic epithelial cells (AECs) spontaneously transform into amniotic mesenchymal cells (AMCs) in vitro during cell culture. Glycocalyx was analyzed to identify the glycan pattern in AECs, AMCs and epithelial-mesenchymal transdifferentiated cells (EMTCs). Pure cell cultures were derived using cloned AEC and AMC cell lines obtained by the dilution technique from amniotic membranes. Mesenchymal cells generated by differentiation of clonal epithelial cells were considered transdifferentiated. Immunocytoscreen, in vitro multipotent differentiation and molecular characterization of EMTCs were perf...
Laval K, Favoreel HW, Poelaert KC, Van Cleemput J, Nauwynck HJ.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a main cause of respiratory disease, abortion, and encephalomyelopathy in horses. Monocytic cells (CD172a(+)) are the main carrier cells of EHV-1 during primary infection and are proposed to serve as a "Trojan horse" to facilitate the dissemination of EHV-1 to target organs. However, the mechanism by which EHV-1 is transferred from CD172a(+) cells to endothelial cells (EC) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate EHV-1 transmission between these two cell types. We hypothesized that EHV-1 employs specific strategies to promote the adhesion o...
Ressel L, Ward S, Kipar A.Equine cutaneous mast cell tumours (CMCTs) are generally considered to be benign skin lesions, although recurrent and multicentric tumours have been described. For canine CMCTs, grading and prognostic approaches are well established and aberrant KIT expression as well as high proliferation indices are associated with poor outcome. However, in the case of equine CMCTs, morphological features, proliferative activity and KIT expression pattern have not been assessed or related to biological behaviour, and there is discussion as to whether CMCTs are true neoplastic processes. The present study des...
Williams LB, Koenig JB, Black B, Gibson TW, Sharif S, Koch TG.Improvement has been reported following intra-articular (i.a.) injection of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in several species. These observations have led to the use of i.a. MSCs in equine practice with little understanding of the mechanisms by which perceived improvement occurs. Objective: To evaluate the effect of i.a. allogeneic umbilical cord blood (CB-) derived MSCs using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced synovitis model. We hypothesised that i.a. CB-MSCs would reduce the inflammatory response associated with LPS injection. Methods: Randomised, blinded experimental study. Methods: Feas...
Mizukami T, Abe Y, Maki K.In this study, the equivalence of the kinetic mechanisms of the formation of urea-induced kinetic folding intermediates and non-native equilibrium states was investigated in apomyoglobin. Despite having similar structural properties, equilibrium and kinetic intermediates accumulate under different conditions and via different mechanisms, and it remains unknown whether their formation involves shared or distinct kinetic mechanisms. To investigate the potential mechanisms of formation, the refolding and unfolding kinetics of horse apomyoglobin were measured by continuous- and stopped-flow fluore...
Sarkar S, Balasuriya UB, Horohov DW, Chambers TM.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is one of the most common and important respiratory viral pathogens of horses. EHV-1 in horses replicates initially in the respiratory epithelium and then spreads systematically to endothelial cells lining the small blood vessels in the uterus and spinal cord, and highly pathogenic virus strains can produce aborted fetuses or myeloencephalopathy. Like other herpes viruses, EHV-1 employs a variety of mechanisms for immune evasion. Some herpes viruses down-regulate the type-I interferon (IFN) response to infection, but such activity has not been described for EHV-1. ...
Derochette S, Serteyn D, Mouithys-Mickalad A, Ceusters J, Deby-Dupont G, Neven P, Franck T.Excessive neutrophil stimulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production are involved in numerous human or horse pathologies. The modulation of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase (NOX) has a great therapeutic potential since this enzyme produces superoxide anion whose most of the other ROS derive. The measurement of NOX activity by cell-free systems is often used to test potential inhibitors of the enzyme. A major drawback of this technique is the possible interferences between inhibitors and the probe, ferricytochrome c, used to measure the activity. We designed the "EquiNox2", a new pharmacol...
Broeckx SY, Borena BM, Van Hecke L, Chiers K, Maes S, Guest DJ, Meyer E, Duchateau L, Martens A, Spaas JH.Several studies report beneficial effects of autologous and allogeneic stem cells on wound healing. However, no comparison between autologous versus allogeneic epithelial-like stem cells (EpSCs) has been made so far. For this reason, we first hypothesize that both EpSC types enhance wound healing in comparison to vehicle treatment and untreated controls. Second, on the basis of other studies, we hypothesized that there would be no difference between autologous and allogeneic EpSCs. Methods: Twelve full-thickness skin wounds were created in six horses. Each horse was subjected to (i) autologous...
Nautscher N, Bauer A, Steffl M, Amselgruber WM.This study described corneal morphology in different domestic animals using histological and immunohistochemical methods. Specifically, we evaluated the species-specific distribution pattern of cytokeratins (CKs) and aquaporins (AQPs) to assess their contribution to the strength and transparency of the cornea, respectively. Methods: Corneal sections (2 μm thick) were obtained from 28 pigs, 11 cows, two goats, six horses, four dogs, and five cats and stained with hematoxylin-eosin and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction. Immunohistochemistry was also performed using CK1 to 3 and AQP1 and 5 an...
Ríos DL, López C, Carmona JU.To study, in normal cartilage explants (CEs) challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the temporal effects (at 48 and 96h) of leukocyte- and platelet-rich gel (L-PRG) and pure platelet-rich gel (P-PRG) supernatants on the production and degradation of platelet-associated growth factors (GFs) (platelet-derived GF isoform BB [PDGF-BB] and transforming growth factor beta-1 [TGF-β1]), pro-inflammatory (tumour necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin 4 [IL-4] and IL-1 receptor antagonist [IL-1ra]). Methods: CEs from six horses were challenged with LPS and cultu...
Seo JP, Kambayashi Y, Itho M, Haneda S, Yamada K, Furuoka H, Tabata Y, Sasaki N.This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a synovial flap and gelatin/β-tricalcium phosphate (GT) sponge loaded with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), and platelet rich plasma (PRP) for repairing of osteochondral defects in horses. Osteochondral defects were created on the medial condyle of both femurs (n=5). In the test group, a GT sponge loaded with MSCs, BMP-2, and PRP (GT/MSCs/BMP-2/PRP) was inserted into the defect and then covered with a synovial flap. In the control group, the defect was treated only with the GT/MSCs/BMP-2/PRP. The test group showe...
Andreassen SM, Berg LC, Nielsen SS, Kristensen AT, Jacobsen S.Studies in humans have shown that haemostatic and inflammatory pathways both play important roles in the pathogenesis of joint disease. The aim of this study was to assess mRNA expression of haemostatic and inflammatory factors in cultured equine fibroblast-like synoviocytes exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), fibrinogen and thrombin. Synovial membranes were collected from metacarpo-phalangeal joints of 6 skeletally mature horses euthanized for non-orthopaedic reasons. Passage 4 fibroblast-like synoviocytes were left non-treated or treated with either 0.1 μg/ml LPS, 5 mg/ml fibrinogen or 5 U...
Naylor RJ, Piercy RJ.To produce a clonal equine myoblast cell line that retains the ability to divide for multiple passages and differentiate into multinucleated myotubes during specific conditions. Methods: Cultured primary equine skeletal muscle-derived cells from a healthy Thoroughbred. Methods: Cell cultures were transfected by electroporation with a plasmid (pNIT) that expresses the temperature-sensitive simian vacuolating virus 40 large T antigen (TAg), which can be controlled by a doxycycline-responsive promoter. Cells that stably integrated the TAg were selected and expanded to passage 25. For each passage...
Ríos DL, López C, Álvarez ME, Samudio IJ, Carmona JU.Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparations are a common treatment in osteoarthritis (OA) and inflammatory synovitis. However, there is ambiguity regarding the ideal concentration of leukocytes and platelets in these preparations necessary to induce an adequate anti-inflammatory and anabolic response in joint tissues, such as the synovial membrane. This research aimed to study, in normal synovial membrane explants (SME) challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the temporal effects (at 48 and 96h) of leukocyte- and platelet-rich gel (L-PRG) and pure platelet-rich gel (P-PRG) supernatants on the pr...
Natenstedt J, Kok AC, Dankelman J, Tuijthof GJ.Articular cartilage has limited regeneration capacities. One of the factors that appear to affect the in vitro cultivation of articular cartilage is mechanical stimulation. So far, no combination of parameters has been identified that offers the best results. The goal is to review the literature in search of the best available set of quantitative mechanical stimuli that lead to optimal in vitro cultivation.The databases Scopus and PubMed were used to survey the literature, and strict in- and exclusion criteria were applied regarding the presence of quantitative data. The review was performed b...
Leemans B, Gadella BM, Stout TA, Heras S, Smits K, Ferrer-Buitrago M, Claes E, Heindryckx B, De Vos WH, Nelis H, Hoogewijs M, Van Soom A.Coincubating equine gametes in the presence of procaine has been reported to facilitate in vitro fertilization, with cleavage rates exceeding 60%. We report that while procaine does trigger sperm hyperactivation, it independently induces cleavage of equine oocytes. First, we found that procaine (1-5 mM) did not facilitate stallion sperm penetration of equine oocytes but instead induced sperm-independent oocyte cytokinesis in the absence of the second polar body extrusion. Indeed, 56 ± 4% of oocytes cleaved within 2.5 days of exposure to 2.5 mM procaine regardless of sperm presence. However, t...
Wilson B, Novakofski KD, Donocoff RS, Liang YX, Fortier LA.Telomere length and telomerase activity are important indicators of cellular senescence and replicative ability. Loss of telomerase is associated with ageing and the development of osteoarthritis. Implantation of telomerase-positive cells, chondrocytes, or stem cells expressing a normal chondrocyte phenotype is desired for cartilage repair procedures. The objective of this study was to identify at what age chondrocytes and at what passage bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) become senescent based on telomerase activity. The effect of osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) or interleukin-1α...
Falomo ME, Ferroni L, Tocco I, Gardin C, Zavan B.Endometriosis is a degenerative process due to a chronic inflammatory damage leading to extracellular matrix components deposition and glandular fibrosis. It is known that mesenchymal stem cells secrete a wide range of bioactive molecules, some of them modulating the immune inflammatory response, and others providing regeneration and remodeling of injured tissue. We have performed in vitro experiments in order to analyze the capability of allogenic equine adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) to infiltrate mares' endometrial tissues and to stimulate the expression of cytokines and metallopeptidas...
Beccati F, Pepe M, Pascucci L, Ceccarelli P, Chiaradia E, Mancini F, Mandara MT.The purpose of this study was to delineate the pattern of sympathetic innervation in the suprasesamoidean region of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) in horses using immunohistochemical staining (IHC) for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and alpha-1 adrenergic receptor (α1-AR). Fourteen forelimbs were collected from 10 horses. Longitudinal sections of the suprasesamoidean region of healthy DDFTs were harvested. Most of the sympathetic innervation was found to be in the walls of blood vessels. The tendon tissue proper was sparsely innervated, with a lesser degree of innervation within the dorsal ...
Douglas HF, Southwood LL, Meyer-Ficca ML, Hart SK, Meyer RG.To evaluate the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1) enzyme and its inhibition in horses and explore its potential as a novel therapeutic target for equine intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury by (1) identifying poly (ADP-ribose) (PAR) as an indication of PARP1 activation in equine cells using available immunoblot analytical techniques, (2) inducing PARP1 activation in an in vitro oxidative DNA damage model, (3) and demonstrating the inhibition of PARP1 in equine cells using commercially available PARP1 inhibitors. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Blood samples were collected from sys...
Unilateral orchiectomy (UO) may interfere with thermoregulation of the remaining testis caused by inflammation surrounding the incision site, thus altering normal spermatogenesis and consequently sperm quality. Two measures of sperm DNA quality (neutral comet assay and the sperm chromatin structure assay [SCSA]) were compared before UO (0 days) and at 14, 30, and 60 days after UO to determine whether sperm DNA changed after a mild testis stress (i.e., UO). The percent DNA in the comet tail was higher at 14 and 60 days compared to 0 days (P < 0.05) after UO. All other comet tail measures (i....
Chintapalli SV, Bhardwaj G, Patel R, Shah N, Patterson RL, van Rossum DB, Anishkin A, Adams SH.The mechanism(s) by which fatty acids are sequestered and transported in muscle have not been fully elucidated. A potential key player in this process is the protein myoglobin (Mb). Indeed, there is a catalogue of empirical evidence supporting direct interaction of globins with fatty acid metabolites; however, the binding pocket and regulation of the interaction remains to be established. In this study, we employed a computational strategy to elucidate the structural determinants of fatty acids (palmitic & oleic acid) binding to Mb. Sequence analysis and docking simulations with a horse (E...
Aguiar C, Therrien J, Lemire P, Segura M, Smith LC, Theoret CL.Skin trauma in horses often leads to the development of chronic nonhealing wounds that lack a keratinocyte cover, vital for healing. Reports in mouse and man confirm the possibility of generating functional keratinocytes from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), thus presenting myriad potential applications for wound management or treatment of skin disease. Similarly, differentiation of equine iPSC (eiPSC) into a keratinocyte lineage should provide opportunities for the advancement of veterinary regenerative medicine. Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient method fo...
Mundy LN, Ishihara A, Wellman ML, Bertone AL.To assess efficiency of gravity filtration to enhance recovery of equine bone marrow elements including stem and progenitor cells. Methods: 12 healthy adult horses. Methods: Bone marrow aspirates were collected from the fifth sternebral body and filtered by gravitational flow to obtain bone marrow elements. Raw and harvested bone marrow and marrow effluent were evaluated for WBC and platelet counts, automated and cytomorphologic cell differential counts, mesenchymal stem cell CFUs, cell viability, and differentiation capacity. Isolated cells were analyzed for CD90 and major histocompatibility ...
Ríos DL, López C, Carmona JU.The aims were as follows: (1) to evaluate the effects at 48 and 96 h of two concentrations (25 and 50%) of leukocyte and platelet-rich gel (L-PRG) and pure PRG (P-PRG) supernatants on the production/degradation in normal equine synovial membrane explants (SME) of platelet derived growth factor isoform BB, transforming growth factor beta-1, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin (IL-) 4 (IL-4), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), and hyaluronan (HA) synthesis and (2) to correlate these molecules with their respective PRG supernatant treatments. SME from 6 horses were cultured for 96 h with...
Chevigny M, Guérin-Montpetit K, Vargas A, Lefebvre-Lavoie J, Lavoie JP.Myocyte hyperplasia and hypertrophy contribute to the increased mass of airway smooth muscle (ASM) in asthma. Serum-response factor (SRF) is a transcription factor that regulates myocyte differentiation in vitro in vascular and intestinal smooth muscles. When SRF is associated with phosphorylated (p)Elk-1, it promotes ASM proliferation while binding to myocardin (MYOCD) leading to the expression of contractile elements in these tissues. The objective of this study was therefore to characterize the expression of SRF, pElk-1, and MYOCD in ASM cells from central and peripheral airways in heaves, ...
Rode K, Sieme H, Richterich P, Brehm R.The formation of the blood-testis barrier (BTB) is defined as occurring with the first appearance of spermatocytes at around puberty and is vital for normal spermatogenesis. This barrier between two adjacent Sertoli cells (SCs) consists of a cell junctional protein complex, which includes tight junctions (TJs), adherens junctions, and gap junctions. In many mammalian species, BTB composition has already been investigated, whereas little is known about the equine BTB. In the present study, immunohistochemistry and qualitative Western Blot analysis were used to assess the expression and distribu...
Nazari F, Parham A, Maleki AF.Quantitative real time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is one of the most important techniques for gene-expression analysis in molecular based studies. Selecting a proper internal control gene for normalizing data is a crucial step in gene expression analysis via this method. The expression levels of reference genes should be remained constant among cells in different tissues. However, it seems that the location of cells in different tissues might influence their expression. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has any effect on exp...
Klein C.Maintenance of pregnancy is dependent on the exchange of signals between the conceptus and the endometrium. The objective of this study was to use next-generation sequencing to determine transcriptome blueprints of the conceptus and endometrium 16 days after ovulation in the horse. There were 7760 and 10 182 genes expressed in the conceptus and endometrium, respectively, of which 7029 were present in both. Genes related to developmental processes were enriched among conceptus-specific transcripts, whereas many endometrium-specific genes had known roles in cell communication, cell adhesion and ...
Poelaert KCK, Van Cleemput J, Laval K, Descamps S, Favoreel HW, Nauwynck HJ.Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as sodium butyrate (SB), sodium propionate (SPr), and sodium acetate (SAc), are metabolic end-products of the fermentation of dietary fibers. They are linked with multiple beneficial effects on the general mammalian health, based on the sophisticated interplay with the host immune response. Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV1) is a major pathogen, which primarily replicates in the respiratory epithelium, and disseminates through the body via a cell-associated viremia in leukocytes, even in the presence of neutralizing antibodies. Infected monocytic CD172a cells and ...
Strohmayer C, Klang A, Kummer S, Walter I, Jindra C, Weissenbacher-Lang C, Redmer T, Kneissl S, Brandt S.Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) is a common malignant tumor in humans and animals. In humans, papillomavirus (PV)-induced HNSCCs have a better prognosis than papillomavirus-unrelated HNSCCs. The ability of tumor cells to switch from epithelial to mesenchymal, endothelial, or therapy-resistant stem-cell-like phenotypes promotes disease progression and metastasis. In equine HNSCC, PV-association and tumor cell phenotype switching are poorly understood. We screened 49 equine HNSCCs for equine PV (EcPV) type 2, 3 and 5 infection. Subsequently, PV-positive versus -negative lesi...
The aim of our study was to analyze circadian rhythm of the hematological profile of horses housed in a loose box and paddock during the different seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter). Blood samples were performed every 4 h for 48 consecutive hours. Red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), white blood cells (WBCs), platelets (PLTs), and leukocyte subpopulations (neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes) were analyzed, and, at the same time, environmental conditions were recorded. A statistically significant effect of housing conditions ( < 0...
M'Cloud WRC, Guzmán KE, Panek CL, Colbath AC.Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and mesenchymal stromal or stem cells (MSCs) have been investigated as treatments for equine tendon and ligament injuries, but little consensus exists on the efficacy of these treatments. The study sought to evaluate the efficacy of PRP and MSC treatments by systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: A systematic review was performed using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. Inclusion criteria required an original, peer-reviewed study where horses were administered MSCs or PRP (or both), and a comparator grou...
Cappelletti E, Piras FM, Sola L, Santagostino M, Petersen JL, Bellone RR, Finno CJ, Peng S, Kalbfleisch TS, Bailey E, Nergadze SG, Giulotto E.Centromeres are epigenetically specified by the histone H3 variant CENP-A. Although mammalian centromeres are typically associated with satellite DNA, we previously demonstrated that the centromere of horse chromosome 11 (ECA11) is completely devoid of satellite DNA. We also showed that the localization of its CENP-A binding domain is not fixed but slides within an about 500 kb region in different individuals, giving rise to positional alleles. These epialleles are inherited as Mendelian traits but their position can move in one generation. It is still unknown whether centromere sliding occu...
Knottenbelt DC.Abstract Trunk/body wounds heal rapidly with prominent Contraction while wounds on the limb commonly fail to heal or heal slowly by centripetal epithelialization. often with insignificant contraction. Chronic exuberant granulating wounds on the limbs heal well after grafting from donor sites on the trunk. Indolent wounds are less common but may granulate significantly following moist wound-healing management. Sarcoid transformation is an increasingly important cause of healing failure. Sarcoid transformations on the trunk are commonly verrucose while those on the limb are usually aggressive...
Kang JG, Park SB, Seo MS, Kim HS, Chae JS, Kang KS.Tendinitis of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is a significant cause of lameness in horses; however, recent studies have shown that stem cells could be useful in veterinary regenerative medicine. Therefore, we isolated and characterized equine umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cells (eUCB-MSCs) from equine umbilical cord blood obtained from thoroughbred mares during the foaling period. Horses that had tendinitis of the SDFT were treated with eUCB-MSCs to confirm the therapeutic effect. After eUCB-MSCs transplantation, the core lesion in the SDFT was found to decrease. These re...
Lunn DP, McClure JT, Schobert CS, Holmes MA.Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) is a fatal autosommal disease of Arabian horses that leads to failure of maturation of T- and B-lymphocyte populations, although natural killer (NK) cells are unaffected. Thymic and lymph node tissues from two foals suffering from SCID were examined in an immunohistological study using a panel of monoclonal antibodies recognising equine leucocyte differentiation antigens. In both foals, the majority of cells in lymphoid tissues had an EqCD3-EqCD4-EqCD8+ phenotype, although rare EqCD3+ cells were also detected. The EqCD3-EqCD4-EqCD8+ cells may represent a...
Luesma MJ, Cantarero I, Sánchez-Cano AI, Rodellar C, Junquera C.The three-dimensional ultrastructure of the tendon is complex. Two main cell types are classically supported: elongated tenocytes and ovoid tenoblasts. The existence of resident stem/progenitor cells in human and equine tendons has been demonstrated, but their location and relationship to tenoblasts and tenocytes remain unclear. Hence, in this work, we carried out an ultrastructural study of the equine superficial digital flexor tendon. Although the fine structure of tendons has been previously studied using electron microscopy, the presence of telocytes, a specific type of interstitial cell, ...
McGorum BC, Pirie RS, Eaton SL, Keen JA, Cumyn EM, Arnott DM, Chen W, Lamont DJ, Graham LC, Llavero Hurtado M, Pemberton A, Wishart TM.Equine grass sickness (EGS) is an acute, predominantly fatal, multiple system neuropathy of grazing horses with reported incidence rates of ∼2%. An apparently identical disease occurs in multiple species, including but not limited to cats, dogs, and rabbits. Although the precise etiology remains unclear, ultrastructural findings have suggested that the primary lesion lies in the glycoprotein biosynthetic pathway of specific neuronal populations. The goal of this study was therefore to identify the molecular processes underpinning neurodegeneration in EGS. Here, we use a bottom-up approach be...
Rønne M.After fluorouracil/5-bromodeoxyuridine synchronization and subsequent FPG-staining, the karyotype of 15 phenotypically normal horses displayed several breaks and gaps. Twelve bands 1q24, 4p12, 8q23, 11p12, 16q21, 17q21, 23q31, 23q32, Xp21, Xq22, Xq25 and Xq27 showed relatively frequent fragility. After thymidine/cytidine synchronization and subsequent GWL-banding the same horses display karyotypes without any fragility. Hence it is suggested that the above listed bands harbour folate and/or 5-bromodeoxyuridine sensitive fragile sites.
Contreras MJ, Arias ME, Fuentes F, Muñoz E, Bernecic N, Fair S, Felmer R.Cryopreservation of stallion semen does not achieve the post-thaw quality or fertility results observed in other species like cattle. There are many reasons for this, but the membrane composition and intracellular changes in stallion sperm predispose them to low resistance to the cooling, freezing, and subsequent thawing process. Damage to the sperm results from different processes activated during cryopreservation, including oxidative stress, apoptosis, and structural modifications in the sperm membrane that increase the deleterious effect on sperm. In addition, significant individual variabi...
Miagkoff L, Girard CA, St-Jean G, Richard H, Beauchamp G, Laverty S.Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major cause of equine lameness. Cannabinoid (CB) receptors are now considered to be promising therapeutic targets in human rheumatology for pain and inflammation, however, little is known about the equine endocannabinoid system. Objective: The primary goal was to assess the presence and expression pattern of CB1 and CB2 in the synovium of healthy joints. A secondary goal was to explore the relationship between the CB expression, degree of synovitis and OA pathology. Methods: Ex vivo experimental study. Methods: Metacarpophalangeal joints (n = 25) from a tissue bank w...
Mironneau J, Martin C, Arnaudeau S, Jmari K, Rakotoarisoa L, Sayet I, Mironneau C.Saturable, high-affinity binding sites for [3H]saxitoxin were identified in equine portal vein smooth muscle membranes. These sites had a dissociation constant of 0.29 nM and a maximal binding capacity of 115 fmol.mg-1 of protein. A similar dissociation constant was obtained with cells prepared from rat portal vein. Specific binding of [3H]saxitoxin was completely displaced by unlabelled saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin, with inhibition constants of 0.42 and 2.10 nM, respectively. Tetrodotoxin blocked the fast Na+ current in single cells of rat portal vein in a concentration-dependent manner, with a...
da Palma RK, Fratini P, Schiavo Matias GS, Cereta AD, Guimarães LL, Anunciação ARA, de Oliveira LVF, Farre R, Miglino MA.Contrary to conventional research animals, horses naturally develop asthma, a disease in which the extracellular matrix of the lung plays a significant role. Hence, the horse lung extracellular matrix appears to be an ideal candidate model for in vitro studying the mechanisms and potential treatments for asthma. However, so far, such model to study cell-extracellular matrix interactions in asthma has not been developed. The aim of this study was to establish a protocol for equine lung decellularization that maintains the architecture of the extracellular matrix and could be used in the future ...
McGorum BC, Dixon PM, Halliwell RE, Irving P.The urea and albumen dilution techniques for standardising the variable concentrations of pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were evaluated in horses. Both techniques proved satisfactory and were of equal accuracy. Albumen adjusted BALF cell counts were significantly higher than PELF cell counts. BALF from normal horses contained, on average, 0.4 per cent PELF (range 0.1 to 1.0 per cent), as determined by the urea dilution technique.
Fukuda K, Kuroda T, Tamura N, Mita H, Kasashima Y.Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been widely applied in various medical fields including humans and horses. This study aimed to establish an optimal activation method to stably and reproducibly maximize the concentrations of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) contained in equine PRP. Autologous PRP was prepared from 11 Thoroughbreds. For the activation test, PRP was activated by either a single freeze-thaw cycle (Fr) or adding calcium and autologous serum containing thrombin (Ca). PDGF-BB and TGF-β1 concentrations in Fr, Ca, nonactiv...
Reesink HL, Nixon AJ, Su J, Liu S, Sutton RM, Mann S, Watts AE, Peterson RP.Galectins are potent regulators of cell adhesion, growth and apoptosis in diverse cell types, including chondrocytes and synovial fibroblasts. Elevations in synovial fluid galectin-3 have been observed in rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and experimental inflammatory arthritis in animal models, whereas galectin-1 is thought to be protective. Less is known about galectins-1 and-3 in osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, the purpose of this study was: (1) to determine whether galectin-1 and-3 synovial fluid concentrations and synovial membrane and cartilage histochemical staining we...
Henríquez C, Perez B, Morales N, Sarmiento J, Carrasco C, Morán G, Folch H.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is an equine immune-mediated disease with a high incidence worldwide. The aim of this work was to contribute to the understanding of RAO pathogenesis by studying T cells bearing regulatory markers in peripheral blood (PB) and in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) recovered from the same group of susceptible horses before and after exposure to moldy hay, which has been shown to induce RAO signology in our horse herd. With this purpose, mononuclear cells were obtained from the BALF and PB from horses before and after antigenic challenge and were stained with f...