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.
Saito S, Yokoyama K, Tamagawa T, Ishiwata I.We succeeded in the derivation and maintenance of pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells from equine and bovine blastocysts. These cells expressed markers that are characteristics of mouse ES cells, namely, alkaline phosphatase, stage-specific embryonic antigen 1, STAT 3 and Oct 4. We confirmed the pluripotential ability of these cells, which were able to undergo somatic differentiation in vitro to neural progenitors and to endothelial or hematopoietic lineages. We were able to use bovine ES cells as a source of nuclei for nuclear transfer and we generated cloned cattle with a higher frequency ...
Arkill KP, Winlove CP.Articular cartilage extracellular matrix imposes a significant transport barrier to albumin, the principal carrier of fatty acids. It has not been previously established whether it also influences the transport of fatty acids important for chondrocyte metabolism. Albumin was labelled with rhodamine-maleimide and bound to NBD-labelled lauric acid. Plugs of fresh equine metacarpal-phalangeal cartilage and subchondral bone were incubated with the complex at 4 degrees C for 2-160 h. The fluorophore distribution was quantified using quantitative microscopy in histological sections. The fluorescence...
López ML, Olea N, Retamal CA.Freeze-fracture replicas of stallion spermatozoa, collected from the proximal caput, corpus and cauda epididymides regions, were analyzed by electron microscopy to explore the distribution and density of intramembrane particles (IMP). Conspicuous differences in density and arrangement of the IMP were observed in the different topographical domains of mature and immature spermatozoa. A reduction of IMP, especially remarkable in the post-acrosomal domain, was observed in mature epididymal spermatozoa when compared with samples collected from ductuli efferentes. Some structural species-specific d...
Duk M, Lisowska E.Rare polyagglutinable NOR erythrocytes contain unusual globoside extention products terminating with a Galalpha1-4GalNAcbeta1-3Gal- unit. This trisaccharide epitope is recognized by recently characterized antibodies naturally occurring in most human sera (Duk et al., Glycobiology, 15, 109, 2005). These antibodies represent two major types of fine specificity. All these antibodies are most strongly inhibited by Galalpha1-4GalNAcbeta1-3Gal (NOR-tri), and weakly by Galalpha1-4Gal. However, the type 1 antibodies are strongly inhibited by Galalpha1-4Galbeta1-3Gal-R and weakly by Galalpha1-4GalNAc, ...
Nygaard TK, Liu M, McClure MJ, Lei B.Heme is a preferred iron source of bacterial pathogens. Streptococcus equi subspecies equi is a bacterial pathogen that causes strangles in horses. Whether S. equi has a heme acquisition transporter is unknown. Results: An S. equi genome database was blasted with the heme binding proteins Shp and HtsA of Streptococcus pyogenes, and found that S. equi has the homologue of Shp (designated SeShp) and HtsA (designated SeHtsA). Tag-free recombinant SeShp and SeHtsA and 6xHis-tagged SeHtsA (SeHtsAHis) were prepared and characterized. Purified holoSeShp and holoSeHtsA bind Fe(II)-protoporphyrin IX (h...
Staszyk C, Gasse H.Fibroblasts and cementoblasts in the periodontal ligament (PDL) of equine cheek teeth were harvested, and monocultures were obtained by means of a "selective detachment" procedure. Cells were characterized by morphological criteria and by immunostaining for vimentin, FVIII, pan-cytokeratin, smooth muscle actin, and pro-collagen. Cementogenic potential of the cells was determined by immunostaining for osteopontin and by histochemical detection of alkaline phosphatase. Equine periodontal fibroblasts (EPF) were spindle-shaped and polygonal. Equine dental cementoblasts (EDC) grew in cobblestone-li...
Scocco P, Pedini V.Sialic acids modulate the metabolite transport across membranes and may be involved in protection against pathogenic agents. The presence of sialoderivatives in the equine mandibular gland requires further study. Objective: To biochemically visualise in situ the presence of sialoderivatives, by means of mild and strong periodate oxidation and alcoholic saponification, combined with lectin histochemistry and sialidase digestion in order to hypothesise roles for detached sialoderivatives. Methods: Mandibular glands were removed from 8 mature horses of both sexes and subjected to histochemical pr...
Li X, Zhou SG, Imreh MP, Ahrlund-Richter L, Allen WR.Inner cell mass (ICM) cells were isolated immunosurgically from day 7-8 horse blastocysts and, after proliferation in vitro for 15-28 passages, three lines of cells were confirmed to be embryonic stem (ES) cells by their continued expression of alkaline phosphatase activity and their ability to bind antisera specific for the recognized stem cell markers, SSEA-1, TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81, and the key embryonic gene Oct-4. When maintained under feeder cell-free conditions in vitro, the three lines of cells differentiated into cells of ectodermal, endodermal, and mesodermal lineages. However, they did ...
Argüelles D, Carmona JU, Pastor J, Iborra A, Viñals L, Martínez P, Bach E, Prades M.The aim of this study was to evaluate single and double centrifugation tube methods for concentrating equine platelets. Whole blood samples were collected from clinically normal horses and processed by use of single and double centrifugation tube methods to obtain four platelet concentrates (PCs): PC-A, PC-B, PC-C, and PC-D, which were analyzed using a flow cytometry hematology system for hemogram and additional platelet parameters (mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, mean platelet component concentration, mean platelet component distribution width). Concentrations of transformi...
Bilińska B, Wiszniewska B, Kosiniak-Kamysz K, Kotula-Balak M, Gancarczyk M, Hejmej A, Sadowska J, Marchlewicz M, Kolasa A, Wenda-Rózewicka L.The purpose of this article was to summarize our results on the role of androgens and estrogens in human, rodent and equine testes and epididymides, in both, physiological and patological conditions, obtained in the space of the Solicited Project (084/PO6/2002) financially supported by the State Committee for Scientific Research during the last three years. Testosterone produced by Leydig cells of the testes is clearly the major androgen in the circulation of men and adult males of most mammalian species. However, androgen metabolites make up a significant fraction of total circulating steroid...
Haupt JL, Donnelly BP, Nixon AJ.To evaluate the effects of recombinant human platelet-derived growth factor-BB (rhPDGF-BB) on the metabolic function and morphologic features of equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) in explant culture. Animals-6 euthanized horses (2 to 5 years old). Methods: Forelimb SDFT explants were cultured for 6 days as untreated control specimens or treated with rhPDGF-BB (1, 10, 50, or 100 ng/mL of medium). Treatment effects on explant gene expression were evaluated via real-time PCR analysis of collagen type I, collagen type III, PDGF-A, and PDGF-B mRNA. Explants were assayed for total colla...
Edwards RB, Lu Y, Uthamanthil RK, Bogdanske JJ, Muir P, Athanasiou KA, Markel MD.The purpose of this study was to develop a long-term model of cartilage injury that could be used to compare the effects of radiofrequency energy (RFE) and mechanical debridement as a treatment. Methods: Partial thickness fibrillation of patellar cartilage was created in 16 mature ponies. Three months after the initial surgery all injured patellae were randomly selected to receive one of the four treatments (n = 8/treatment): (1) control, (2) mechanical debridement with a motorized shaver, (3) TAC-CII RFE probe, and (4) CoVac 50 RFE probe. The ponies were euthanized 22 months after treatment. ...
Blanco A, Moyano R, Vivo J, Flores-Acuña R, Molina A, Blanco C, Monterde JG.Purkinje cerebellar cells were studied in three Arabian horses aged between 6 and 8 months with clinical disorders in their movements, tremors and ataxia; the occurrence of apoptosis in this cell population was investigated by the (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) method. Both optical and electron microscopical images showed a scant number of Purkinje cells, most of them with morphological features of apoptosis such as condensation of the nucleus and cytoplasm as well as segregation and fragmentation of the nucleus into apoptotic bodies. The TUNEL te...
Segura D, Monreal L, Pérez-Pujol S, Alonso A, Díaz-Ricart M, Brugués R, Ordinas A, Escolar G.The aim of this study was to investigate whether etamsylate produces equine platelet activation. In vitro and in vivo studies were designed in which seven and eight adult healthy horses were included, respectively. In the in vitro study, citrated blood was incubated with different concentrations of etamsylate, and P-selectin expression and annexin V binding were determined by flow cytometry. In the in vivo study, blood was collected before and 1 and 2h after IV administration of etamsylate, and P-selectin expression was evaluated. In the in vitro study, a significant increase in P-selectin exp...
Warhonowicz M, Staszyk C, Rohn K, Gasse H.The hypsodont equine cheek tooth erupts continuously throughout life. Tooth eruption is inevitably associated with a remodeling of the periodontium. One major process of remodeling in the PDL is cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to detect cell proliferation at different sites of the equine PDL in order to examine the dynamics of the periodontal cell population. Methods: Specimens from nine warm-blood horses were taken-- containing the PDL interposed between the cementum and the alveolar bone--at three designated levels: subgingival, middle, and apical. Cell proliferation was detect...
Niedermaier G, Wollanke B, Hoffmann R, Matiasek K, Gerhards H.Neither the ultrastructure of the vitreous body from horses without ocular diseases, nor the pathomorphological changes in the vitreous body associated with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) have been described. However, the vitreous body plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ERU. Ten vitreous body samples obtained from 5 horses without ocular disease, and 38 vitreous body samples from horses with ERU (collected during vitrectomy) were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The vitreous body samples of horses without ocular diseases were characterized by a loose network of unbranc...
Serena A, Joiner KS, Schumacher J.Hemangiopericytoma (HP) is a well-recognized neoplasm arising from vascular pericytes that has been reported only in the dog and man. In this study, we describe a 14-year-old female Arabian horse that was presented for surgical excision of a 2-cm-diameter expansile subcuticular mass in the right lower eyelid. Histologically, the mass consisted of loosely arranged interlacing streams and storiform bundles of spindle cells that often formed distinct whorls around a central capillary and bundles of collagen (Antoni A-like pattern). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed strong diffuse cytoplasmic ...
Brandon CI, Vandenplas M, Dookwah H, Murray TF.The aim of this study was to establish a heterologous expression system for the equine adenosine A(3) receptor (eA(3)-R) in an effort to ascertain its pharmacologic profile. Initially, radioligand binding assays identified clones expressing the eA(3)-R in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK) based on the specific binding of [(125)I]AB-MECA. Subsequently, adenylate cyclase assays were utilized to demonstrate functional coupling of the eA(3)-R to the G-protein/adenylate cyclase system. Equilibrium competition binding assays were then performed using selective and non-selective A(3) agonists and an...
Sledge DG, Miller DL, Styer EL, Hydrick HA, Baldwin CA.Granulomatous dermatitis in horses has been linked to many etiologies, including various parasites, fungi, and bacteria. Idiopathic forms of granulomatous inflammation-producing diseases, some of which are localized to the skin, also have been reported in horses. Herein we describe a case of recurrent equine granulomatous skin disease characterized by intranuclear viral inclusions within macrophages and giant cells. The histologic changes were primarily noted in the deep dermis and included multifocal to coalescing areas of necrosis marked by histiocytic cell infiltration and presence of giant...
Sayasith K, Bouchard N, Doré M, Sirois J.The progressive rise in gonadotropins prior to ovulation triggers a marked increase in intrafollicular levels of prostaglandin F(2alpha)(PGF(2alpha)), which is known to interact with PGF(2alpha) receptor (FP). Little is known about the regulation of FP during ovulation. This study was undertaken to characterize the equine FP and its gonadotropin-dependent regulation in preovulatory follicles prior to ovulation. The full-length equine FP encodes a 366-amino acid protein that is 82-93% homologous to other species. Using semi-quantitative RT-PCR/Southern blot, we showed that FP mRNA expression wa...
Ishihara A, Zachos TA, Bartlett JS, Bertone AL.To evaluate host cell permissiveness and cytotoxic effects of recombinant and modified adenoviral vectors in equine chondrocytes, synovial cells, and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMD-MSCs). Methods: Articular cartilage, synovium, and bone marrow from 15 adult horses. Methods: Equine chondrocytes, synovial cells, and BMD-MSCs and human carcinoma (HeLa) cells were cultured and infected with an E-1-deficient adenovirus vector encoding the beta-galactosidase gene or the green fluorescent protein gene (Ad-GFP) and with a modified E-1-deficient vector with the arg-gly-asp capsid pepti...
Aguilar J, Fraser HM, Wilson H, Clutton E, Shaw DJ, Watson ED.The temporal relationship between endothelial cell death, vascular regression and the death of hormone-producing cells in the mare has not been established. To determine the dynamics of cell proliferation and death throughout the luteal phase, corpora lutea were studied at the early, mid- and late luteal phase, and after treatment with cloprostenol in the mid-luteal phase to induce premature luteolysis. Changes in cell proliferation and apoptosis were investigated utilising specific markers (phosphorylated histone-3 and activated caspase-3 respectively). Histone-3 positive cells were most abun...
Bonnefoy A, Romijn RA, Vandervoort PA, VAN Rompaey I, Vermylen J, Hoylaerts MF.Binding of von Willebrand factor (VWF) to platelet GPIbalpha and to collagen is attributed to VWF A1 and A3 domains, respectively. Objective: Using VWF, VWF lacking A1 (DeltaA1-VWF) or A3 (DeltaA3-VWF) and VWF with defective A3 (H1786A-VWF), in combination with recombinant A1 (residues 1262-1492) or A3 (residues 1671-1878), fused to glutathione-S-transferase (GST-A1 and GST-A3), we have re-investigated the role of A1 in platelet recruitment to surfaces of collagen. Results: In flow, measurable binding of DeltaA3-VWF occurred to horse tendon, but also to human type III collagen. GST-A1 and GST-...
Wang Y, Du X.The miscibility and stability of the binary monolayers of zwitterionic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cationic dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DOMA) at the air-water interface and the interaction of ferritin with the immobilized monolayers have been studied in detail using surface pressure-area isotherms and surface plasmon resonance technique, respectively. The surface pressure-area isotherms indicated that the binary monolayers of DPPC and DOMA at the air-water interface were miscible and more stable than the monolayers of the two individual components. The surface plasmon re...
Semevolos SA, Nixon AJ, Fortier LA, Strassheim ML, Haupt J.The purpose of this study was to determine changes in the expression of regulatory molecules in normal equine articular cartilage throughout development up to 18 months of age. The hypothesis was that expression of these regulatory molecules would decrease from birth to postpubescence. Cartilage was harvested from normal femoropatellar or scapulohumeral joints from 34 fresh horse cadavers. Horses were placed in four age groups [prenatal (n = 5); prepubertal, 0-6 months (n = 11); pubertal, 7-14 months (n = 13); and postpubertal, 15-18 months (n = 5)]. Indian hedgehog (Ihh), Gli1, Gli3, Patched1...
Kasperowicz B, Rotkiewicz T, Otrocka-Domagała I.The purpose of the study was a pathomorphological and immunohistochemical analysis of tumour cells and connective tissue in equine sarcoids. Investigations were performed using histopathological, ultrastructural, immunohistochemical (PCNA, p53, cytokeratin, vimentin) and histochemical (Ag-NORs) methods. The study was conducted on 50 sarcoids originating from 36 horses and classified as occult, verrucous, fibroblastic and a mixed type of sarcoid based on their clinical appearance. Most of the tumours were located on the girth (30%), neck (24%), head (12%), and legs (12%). The average age of the...
Koerner J, Nesic D, Romero JD, Brehm W, Mainil-Varlet P, Grogan SP.Fibroblast-like cells isolated from peripheral blood of human, canine, guinea pig, and rat have been demonstrated to possess the capacity to differentiate into several mesenchymal lineages. The aim of this work was to investigate the possibility of isolating pluripotent precursor cells from equine peripheral blood and compare them with equine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were used as a control for cell multipotency assessment. Venous blood (n = 33) and bone marrow (n = 5) were obtained from adult horses. Mononuclear cells were obtained by Fico...
Wyse CA, Nixon C, McLaughlin M, Dowell FJ, Philbey AW.The aim of this study was to characterise the expression of haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in healthy lung tissue from horses and to measure its activity. Samples of lung tissue were collected from six horses euthanased for reasons other than respiratory disease. HO-1 expression and activity were detected in type II alveolar epithelial cells, macrophages and neutrophils in all the samples examined. The activity was dependent on the presence of NADPH and inhibited quantitatively by the addition of increasing concentrations of a competitive inhibitor of HO-1, tin mesoporphyrin IX.
Rodríguez-Roldán V, García-Heredia JM, Navarro JA, Hervás M, De la Cerda B, Molina-Heredia FP, De la Rosa MA.Two synthetic genes coding for human and Arabidopsis cytochrome c, respectively, have been designed and constructed, and the recombinant proteins have been over-expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Thus a comparative analysis of the two heme proteins, including horse cytochrome c as a reference, has been performed. In addition to their physico-chemical properties, the redox behavior of the three proteins has been analyzed by following the kinetics of both their reduction by flavin semiquinones (lumiflavin, riboflavin, and FMN) and oxidation by cytochrome c oxidase. The resulting data indicate ...
Waelchli RO, MacPhee DJ, Kidder GM, Betteridge KJ.The unusual hypotonicity of equine blastocyst fluid has prompted us to investigate the role of sodium- and potassium-dependent adenosine triphosphatase (Na+,K+-ATPase) in the process of fluid accumulation in the horse conceptus. Nine mares were used for the experiments. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was conducted on two sets of five conceptuses recovered between 12 and 28 days (+/- 1 day) after ovulation. Messenger RNAs encoding the alpha1 and beta1 subunit isoforms of Na+,K+-ATPase were detected in all embryonic tissues examined. Western blot analysis showed that alpha1 and ...
Choi SJ, Anderson GB, Roser JF.In vitro production of free estrogens and estrogen conjugates by intact Day 12.5, 13.5 and 14.5 equine embryos was measured at 2-h intervals over a 24-h culture period. Production of free estrogens was higher for Day 14.5 than Day 12.5 embryos. Differences in production of conjugated estrogens were not significant, but a trend toward increased production with increased age of embryo was apparent. No trend toward increased free and conjugated estrogen production per cell was observed with age. Embryo diameter and number of cells increased with age but varied considerably within groups. The amou...
Orino K, Miura T, Muto S, Watanabe K.Canine and equine ferritin H and L subunit cDNA clones were obtained using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and TA cloning from various tissues. Canine liver and spleen ferritin H subunit cDNA clones contained an open reading frame for the same 182-amino acid protein as that reported in canine brain ferritin H subunit cDNA although there were substitutions in the 3'-noncoding regions. Ferritin L subunit cDNA clones from canine liver, spleen, and kidney showed identical coding sequences encoding the 174-amino acid protein except for a single nucleotide substitution in ki...
Montero C, Riquelme G, Del Campo M, Lagos N.The Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease characterized by a progressive deterioration of the articular cartilage producing a strong inflammatory activity and chronic pain in patients. Horses also show osteoarthritis. Since the activation and progression of the disease are similar to that of human we developed a study model in horses. In this study, we test the effect of Neosaxitoxin, a phycotoxin from Paralytic Shellfish Poison, in the remediation of osteoarthritis equine clinical symptoms such as pain (showed in lameness) and inflammation quantifying the amounts of pro-inflammatory markers lik...
Hamada M, Oyamada T, Yoshikawa H, Yoshikawa T, Itakura C.The histopathological development of equine cutaneous papillomas was studied in 78 warts naturally occurring in 50 one to 3-year-old Thoroughbred or Arab horses and in 54 warts experimentally induced in three 2-year-old Thoroughbreds. Lesions in the natural cases were categorized into three phases, growth, development and regression. Main lesions of the growing phase were marked hyperplasia of the basal cells and mild to moderate acanthosis, hyper- and parakeratosis with a few intranuclear inclusion bodies (IIB) which were positive with anti-bovine papillomavirus serum. In the developing phase...
Crump AL, Davis W, Antczak DF.A cell surface molecule of equine T lymphocytes was identified and characterized using a mouse monoclonal antibody, HT23A. The molecule was detected on all T cells but not on other cells in peripheral blood, with the possible exception of a small subpopulation (about 5%) of B cells, as assessed by indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. HT23A labelled T cell areas of horse lymph nodes and spleen when used in an indirect immunoperoxidase assay on frozen sections. Macrophages and neutrophils were not labelled by the antibody nor were frozen sections of horse liver, kidney, or brain. HT23...
Hussein H, Boyaka P, Dulin J, Russell D, Smanik L, Azab M, Bertone AL.Selective inhibition of Cathepsin K (CatK) has a promising therapeutic potential for diseases associated with bone loss and osseous inflammation, such as osteoarthritis, periodontitis, and osteoporosis. In horses, stress-related bone injuries are common and accompanied by bone pain and inflammation resulting in excessive bone resorption and periostitis. VEL-0230 is a highly selective inhibitor of CatK that significantly decreased bone resorption and increased bone formation biomarkers. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the presence of CatK in equine bone and a simultaneous influence on...
The measurement of cell proliferation and cell viability using 5'bromo-2'deoxy-uridine (BrdU) labelling has been described in several cell types and species. The aim of this study was to adapt this technique to equine embryos and to compare the index of DNA replication (S-phase) between equine and caprine embryos. Seventeen equine embryos were recovered at day 6.5 post-ovulation and 20 caprine embryos were recovered at day 7 after the onset of estrus. Equine embryos were incubated during 1h at 39 degrees C in PBS containing 1mM of BrdU. Embryos were then treated in 0.05% trypsin during 15 min ...
Christmann U, Hite RD, Witonsky SG, Elvinger F, Werre SR, Thatcher CD, Tan RH, Buechner-Maxwell VA.Surfactant alterations are described in horses after exercise, anesthesia, and prolonged transport, in horses with recurrent airway obstruction, and in neonatal foals. The effect of horse age or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) sample characteristics on surfactant is unknown. Objective: To evaluate surfactant phospholipid composition and function in healthy horses, and to investigate the influence of age and BALF sample characteristics on surfactant. Methods: Seventeen healthy horses 6-25 years of age maintained on pasture year-round. Methods: BALF was collected by standard procedures and w...
Gupta S, Vohra S, Sethi K, Gupta S, Bera BC, Kumar S, Kumar R.High cytotoxicity and increasing resistance reports of existing chemotherapeutic agents against T. evansi have raised the demand for novel, potent, and high therapeutic index molecules for the treatment of surra in animals. In this regard, repurposing approach of drug discovery has provided an opportunity to explore the therapeutic potential of existing drugs against new organism. With this objective, the macrocyclic lactone representative, ivermectin, has been investigated for the efficacy against T. evansi in the axenic culture medium. To elucidate the potential target of ivermectin in T. ev...
Arrighi S, Romanello MG, Domeneghini C.The epithelium that lines the ductuli efferentes in the horse, donkey and mule has been examined by electron microscopy. The epithelium consists of columnar ciliated and non-ciliated cells. Lymphocytes and macrophages are also present, together with cells that are rich in lipofuscin. These 'lipofuscin-rich' cells are a peculiar feature of the excurrent ducts of Equidae and are characterized by a large number of highly heterogeneous residual bodies. The general morphology of the epithelium and, in particular, of the non-ciliated cells implies that the epithelium is involved in the absorption an...
McD￮ LA, Anderson GI, Wright GM, Ryan DA.Bone cell cultures were evaluated to determine if osteogenic cell populations at different skeletal sites in the horse are heterogeneous. Osteogenic cells were isolated from cortical and cancellous bone in vitro by an explant culture method. Subcultured cells were induced to differentiate into bone-forming osteoblasts. The osteoblast phenotype was confirmed by immunohistochemical testing for osteocalcin and substantiated by positive staining of cells for alkaline phosphatase and the matrix materials collagen and glycosaminoglycans. Bone nodules were stained by the von Kossa method and counted....
Meyers SA, Overstreet JW, Liu IK, Drobnis EZ.Mammalian sperm that have completed capacitation are capable of undergoing the acrosome reaction in response to a number of biological and chemical stimuli. In the present report, we have investigated the ability of progesterone to stimulate acrosome reactions of stallion sperm capacitated in vitro. Motile sperm were selected by a two-layer Percoll gradient centrifugation and were incubated in TALP medium modified by the 1:1 (v/v) addition of TEST-yolk medium for 5 hours at 39 degrees C, under 5% CO2 in humidified air. Sperm incubated in vitro in TALP-TEST medium had a higher percentage of acr...
Golke A, Cymerys J, Słońska A, Dzieciatkowski T, Chmielewska A, Tucholska A, Bańbura MW.Real-time cell electronic sensing (RT-CES) based on impedance measurements is an emerging technology for analyzing the status of cells in vitro. It allows label-free, real time monitoring of the biological status of cells. The present study was designed to assess dynamic data on the cell processes during equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection of ED (equine dermal) cells and primary murine neuronal cell culture. We have demonstrated that the xCELLigence system with dynamic monitoring can be used as a rapid diagnostic tool both to analyze cellular behavior and to investigate the effect of v...
Lindsay DS, Mitchell SM, Yang J, Dubey JP, Gogal RM, Witonsky SG.Horses are considered accidental hosts for Sarcocystis neurona and they often develop severe neurological disease when infected with this parasite. Schizont stages develop in the central nervous system (CNS) and cause the neurological lesions associated with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. The present study was done to examine the ability of S. neurona merozoites to penetrate and develop in equine peripheral blood leukocytes. These infected host cells might serve as a possible transport mechanism into the CNS. S. neurona merozoites penetrated equine leukocytes within 5 min of co-culture. I...
Petrov R, MacDonald MH, Tesch AM, Van Hoogmoed LM.To determine rate and degree of cooling for the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) during a standard cryotherapy application in horses and evaluate in vitro effects of cooling on survival of tendon cells. Methods: 6 limbs of 5 adult horses and cultured cells obtained from SDFT of 3 adult horses during necropsy. Methods: In vivo data were acquired by use of a thermocouple temperature probe inserted into the SDFT of a forelimb of each standing sedated horse. After baseline temperatures were recorded, a commercial compression splint with circulating coolant was placed on each selected limb,...
Armstrong S, Lees P.To examine effects of carprofen (enantiomers and a racemic mixture) on the metabolism of equine chondrocytes. Methods: Cartilage from clinically normal horses. Methods: Effects of carprofen on proteoglycan neosynthesis, glycosaminoglycan (GAG) release and prostaglandin (PG) E2 production by unstimulated chondrocyte monolayers and cartilage explants were examined, as were similar variables in monolayers and explants exposed to carprofen and recombinant human interleukin 1beta (IL-1). Carprofen (enantiomers and racemic mixture) was used alone or along with IL-1 on monolayers and explant cultures...
Carnevale EM, Metcalf ES.Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is used to produce equine embryos invitro. The speed of embryo development invitro is roughly equivalent to what has been described for embryos produced invivo. Morphological evaluations of ICSI-produced embryos are complicated by the presence of debris and the dark nature of equine embryo cytoplasm. Morulas and early blastocysts produced invitro appear similar to those produced invivo. However, with expansion of the blastocyst, distinct differences are observed compared with uterine embryos. In culture, embryos do not undergo full expansion and thinning...
Montes LF, Abulafia J, Wilborn WH, Hyde BM, Montes CM.Histopathologic studies of vitiligo have been rather limited in number, thus the microscopic features of this common disorder are not very well known. Methods: Skin specimens from 20 human vitiligo patients and skin specimens from five equine vitiligo patients were studied by light and transmission electron microscopy. Conclusions: Absence of melanocytes, increased number of Langerhans' cells, epidermal vacuolization, thickening of the basement membrane, T-cell inflammatory infiltrate, and neural alterations were noted in the vitiligo lesions. These results may explain the development of depig...
Murray MJ, Mahaffey EA.Specimens of grossly normal gastric stratified squamous epithelial mucosa adjacent to the margo plicatus on the right side and along the greater curvature were obtained from 7 foetuses, 10 term foals and 12 foals 2-35 days old. Gastric squamous epithelium from the foetuses changed markedly during gestation. At 150-270 days, the epithelium was 8-10 cells thick, with a single layer of basal cells. Epithelial cells were polyhedral and had abundant clear or slightly stained cytoplasm. In the 300-day foetus the basal layer was thicker, epithelial cells were polyhedral, and there was a flattened 1 c...
Yang Q, Lopez MJ.The equine hoof capsule, composed of modified epidermis and dermis, is vital for protecting the third phalanx from forces of locomotion. There are descriptions of laminitis, defined as inflammation of sensitive hoof tissues but recognized as pathologic changes with or without inflammatory mediators, in the earliest records of domesticated horses. Laminitis can range from mild to serious, and signs can be acute, chronic, or transition from acute, severe inflammation to permanently abnormal tissue. Damage within the intricate dermal and epidermal connections of the primary and secondary lamellae...
Airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) are pivotal characteristics of equine asthma. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may have a central role in modulating airway inflammation and dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to match the inflammatory and contractile profile in LPS-challenged equine isolated bronchi to identify molecular targets potentially suitable to counteract AHR in asthmatic horses. Equine isolated bronchi were incubated overnight with LPS (0.1-100 ng/ml). The contractile response to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and the levels of cytokines, chemokines...
Dunowska M, Meers J, Johnson RD, Wilks CR.Representational difference analysis (RDA) was used to compare gene expression in equine mononuclear cells either infected with equine herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) or adsorbed with inactivated EHV-2. Seven clones identified in non-infected cells after three rounds of selective subtraction and enrichment for differentially expressed genes contained sequences homologous to equine monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1). This suggested that EHV-2 may down-regulate MCP-1 transcription in infected cells. These findings correlate well with similar findings described for human cytomegalovirus and support...
Dunkel B, Rickards KJ, Werling D, Page CP, Cunningham FM.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in mature horses is characterized by reversible airway obstruction and neutrophilic inflammation; there is also functional activation of circulating platelets and neutrophils. This study was undertaken to determine if changes in activation marker expression and heterotypic aggregate formation can be used as an indicator of this increased functional responsiveness. In vitro conditions for flow cytometric measurement of CD13, CD41/61 and CD62P expression on activated cells and heterotypic aggregate formation were established. Values were then compared before an...
Takehana K, Masty J, Yamaguchi M, Kobayashi A, Yamada O, Kuroda M, Park YS, Iwasa K, Abe M.Ultrastructure, lysozyme and glycoconjugate activity in duodenal Paneth cells were observed concurrently in the horse. Paneth cells were seen to uniformly line the base of the equine intestinal glands. The round secretory granules have centrally located electron densities with peripherally located electron lucent halos. Histochemically, the peripheral halo layer was positively stained for carbohydrates by the periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver protein-physical development (PA-TCH-SP-PD) method and the entire granules reacted positively to the WGA. The central core area reacted with anti-l...
Mobasheri A, Critchlow K, Clegg PD, Carter SD, Canessa CM.Equine laminitis is a multifactorial connective tissue disorder with major implications for the welfare of horses. There are few published studies on phenotypic markers for identification of equine laminar keratinocytes using immunohistochemical techniques. Objective: To establish whether the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) and the GLUT1 and GLUT4 facilitative glucose transporters may be used as phenotypic markers for identification of equine laminar keratinocytes using immunohistochemical techniques to monitor changes in the keratinocyte population in laminitis. Methods: Histology and immuno...
González-Fernández L, Morrell JM, Peña FJ, Macías-García B.The present study aimed to elucidate the effects that osmotic shock exerts on equine spermatozoa. To achieve this goal, a retrospective study of the cellular volume of 40 equine ejaculates subjected to osmolarities ranging from 75 to 900 mOsm in Biggers-Whitten-Whittingham (BWW) media was performed using a Multisizer3 Coulter Counter®. The 300 mOsm BWW solution was used as control. The sperm volume ranged between 37.93±0.6 (mean±Standard Error of the Mean (SEM)) in 75 mOsm BWW to 21.61±0.27 (mean±SEM) for 900 mOsm BWW. Thus the spermatozoa behaved as linear osmometers when adjusted to the...
Yilma T, McGuire TC, Perryman LE.Equine dermal cells induced with poly I:C + DEAE-dextran produced low levels of interferon tentatively classified as equine interferon beta (EqIFN-beta). In contrast, dermal cells initially primed with EqIFN-beta and then superinduced with poly I:C + DEAE-dextran in the presence of cycloheximide and actinomycin D produced greater than 100-fold EqIFN-beta. Equine blood mononuclear cells induced with Newcastle disease virus and phytohemagglutinin produced high levels of interferons tentatively classified as equine interferon alpha (EqIFN-alpha) and equine interferon gamma (EqIFN-gamma), respecti...
Pickles K, Pirie RS, Rhind S, Dixon PM, McGorum BC.The aim of this study was to investigate whether initial equine bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) aliquots were more representative of bronchial cytology that bronchiolar and alveolar cytology. Cell viability and total nucleated (TCC), differential (DCC) and absolute cell counts of cytocentrifuged preparations of 3 sequentially collected BALF aliquots (Aliquots 1-3) were compared with those of pooled BALF (Aliquot 4) to assess whether all aliquots were representative of the lavaged lung segment. BALF samples (n = 21) were collected from control horses (n = 5) or heaves-affected horses (n = 5...
