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.
Batt RM, Burgess D, Edwards GB, van de Waal S, Sørensen SH, Hart CA.To examine the postnatal development of equine small intestine, biopsy specimens of jejunal mucosa from 8 ponies, between 6 and 28 weeks old, were subjected to analytical subcellular fractionation and assay of organelle marker enzymes. Fractionation revealed a reduction in the particulate brush border component of beta-galactosidase (lactase) activity between 6 and 28 weeks, and a corresponding increase in soluble activity, although the reduction in mean specific activity was not significant. There also was a decrease in the proportion of brush border to soluble aminopeptidase N activity, a re...
Thomas PG, Ignotz GG, Ball BA, Miller PG, Brinsko SP, Currie B.Oviduct epithelial cells (OEC) increasingly are used to support embryonic development and to study gamete interactions with the female reproductive tract in vitro. This series of experiments was designed to characterize monolayers derived from oviduct epithelium. Epithelial cells harvested from the isthmus and ampulla of the oviducts of five estrous mares were cultured with or without the basal lamina extract, Matrigel. Within each group OEC were cultured in the presence of either estradiol-17 beta or a carrier control. All groups were subcultured three times. Epithelial cell morphology and fu...
Lowden S, Heath T.Lymphoid tissues in the ileum of young horses form raised plaques that are macroscopically visible from the mucosal surface. These are termed "ileal lymphoid patches". These patches are variable in size, shape and position within the ileal wall, occasionally lying along the site of mesenteric attachment. Within lymphoid patches, follicles exist in three different morphological forms: follicle/dome structures, proprial follicles, and lymphoglandular complexes (LGCs). In follicle/dome structures, the majority of the follicle lies in the submucosa and merges with a dome in the lamina propria thro...
Dillon AM, Heath MF.The effects of the protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors tyrphostins B42 and B46 on equine platelet function and protein tyrosine phosphorylation (PTP) were assessed. Tyrphostins B42 and B46 (both at 100 microM concentration) produced significant inhibition of thrombin-stimulated equine platelet aggregation. The effect of tyrphostin B46 was also time-dependent. The same concentration of these inhibitors produced very little or no inhibition of platelet-activating factor (PAF)-induced aggregation. The effects of tyrphostins B42 and B46 on thrombin- and PAF-stimulated PTP were generally similar, al...
Wagner B, Radbruch A, Richards C, Leibold W.In order to define equine immunoglobulins (Igs) and to produce monoclonal reference Igs we fused equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells with X63-Ag8.653 non Ig producing murine myeloma cells. A total of 29 equine Ig producing equi-murine heterohybridomas were obtained, of which ten expressed equine Ig for more than 3 months. One of these heterohybridoma lines produced monoclonal IgM, an equine isotype which has not been available in monoclonal form before. Four lines secreted equine IgG of two distinct Ig heavy chain types as assessed by the molecular weight (MW), while the remaining five l...
Foygel K, Spector S, Chatterjee S, Kahn PC.Volume changes among the unfolded (U), native (N), and molten globule (MG) conformations of horse heart ferricytochrome c have been measured. U to N (pH 2 to pH 7) was determined in the absence of added salt to be -136 +/- 5 mL/mol protein. U to MG (pH 2, no added salt to pH 2, 0.5 M KCl) yielded + 100 +/- 6 mL/mol. MG to N was broken into two steps, N to NClx at pH 7 by addition of buffered KCl to buffered protein lacking added salt (NClx = N interacting with an unknown number, X, of chloride ions), and MG to NClx by jumping MG at pH 2 in 0.5 M KCl to pH7 at the same salt concentration. The d...
Frayne J, Stokes CR.The use of tetanus toxoid as a recall antigen to investigate equine immune responses would be, in theory, a useful and cost-effective model in vitro. However, by using various regimens for culturing peripheral blood mononuclear cells from horses previously immunised with toxoid no proliferative response to the antigen was obtained in vitro, whereas lymph node mononuclear cells from the same animals proliferated significantly in response to it. The lack of response by the peripheral blood mononuclear cells was not due to the presence of a suppressive factor but to a lack of recognition of the a...
Clark CK, Lester GD, Vetro T, Rice B.Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed at weekly intervals in 10 Thoroughbred horses in race training (group 1) and in 4 rested horses (group 2) for 10 weeks. Lavages were continued on a weekly basis in 4 group 1 horses for an additional 9 weeks (group 3). Cytological analysis of samples included leukocyte counts, erythrocyte counts, differential leukocyte counts, and haemosiderophage score. The mean leukocyte concentration was significantly lower in group 1 (92.1 +/- 4.6 cells/microL) when compared with group 2 (133.5 +/- 8.2 cells/microL), P = 0.037. The differential leukocyte data were ...
Ceccarelli P, Pedini V, Gargiulo AM.The presence and distribution of serotonin-containing cells in the gastroenteric tract of horses have been investigated. The enterochromaffin (EC) cells have been identified using immunostaining procedures at both light and electron microscopic level. The EC cells were very numerous in the pyloric gland region, were only few in the duodenum but were absolutely lacking from the more distal portions of the intestine.
Gargiulo AM, Pedini V, Ceccarelli P, Lorvik S.In the present work, gustatory glands (von Ebner's glands) of the horse tongue were examined by means of five peroxidase-conjugated lectins (PNA, DBA, SBA, UEA I, WGA), with and without prior sialidase digestion, in order to investigate the presence and distribution of carbohydrate residues in secretory cells and duct cells. The most intense staining of secretory cells was observed with PNA after pre-treatment with neuraminidase. This indicates that the terminal trisaccharide sequence sialic acid- (alpha 2-->3, 6) galactosyl (beta 1-->3) N-acetylgalactosamine is the most frequent oligosa...
Klonisch T, Ryan PL, Yamashiro S, Porter DG.To determine the site of relaxin gene expression in equine placentae, a set of degenerate oligonucleotide primers was made according to the published amino acid sequence of the A- and B-chain of equine relaxin (eRXN). Total cellular RNA (tcRNA) from equine placentae at about 120 and 300 days of pregnancy was subjected to reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with use of these primers. A single amplification product of approximately 430 bp was detected in each case by agarose gel electrophoresis. The PCR product was ligated into Bluescript plasmid and sequenced to confirm the...
Clemmons AJ, Thompson DL, Johnson L.Gross observation of testicular parenchyma of 1.5- to 2-yr-old horses reveals both light and dark regions. If this gross, differential shading reflects quantitative differences in the development of spermatogenesis and interstitial cell populations, the horse may prove to be a useful model for study of the paracrine relationships associated with initiation of spermatogenesis. The objective of this study was to characterize seminiferous tubules and interstitium of testes with gross, differential shading. Testes with both light and dark regions of parenchyma were obtained from horses 1.5-2 yr ol...
Almadhidi J, Seralini GE, Fresnel J, Silberzahn P, Gaillard JL.Estrogens are the major steroids produced by equine gonads. To identify the cells responsible for estrogen synthesis, an antiserum against purified equine testicular cytochrome P450 aromatase was produced in rabbits. The reactivity and specificity of the antiserum were assessed by ELISA, immunoblot analysis, and immunoneutralization studies. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated that in the male gonad, cytochrome P450 aromatase (P450arom) was localized in the interstitial tissue, whereas, under the experimental conditions used, the Sertoli and germ cells did not show any specific staining...
Littlewood JD, Whitwell KE, Day MJ.Résumé- Les commémoratifs, les symptômes, l'histologie et la réponse au traitement d'un cheval de 15 ans atteint de lymphome cutané sont décrits. La jument présente de multiples nodules cutanés depuis 11 ans. Un diagnostic de lymphome cutané est poséà l'examen histologique de biopsies réalisées 2 fois à 4 ans d'intervalle. Des marquages immunihistochimiques identifient ces cellules comme appartenant à la lignée T. Ceci est la première description du marquage immunophénotypique d'un lymphome cutané chez le cheval. La jument a été traitée par des glucorticoïdes intralési...
Dabareiner RM, Snyder JR, White NA, Pascoe JR, Harmon FA, Gardner I, Woliner MJ, Pinney D, Sullins KE.Microvascular permeability of the jejunum of clinically normal equids and microvascular permeability associated with 60 minutes of ischemia (25% baseline blood flow) and subsequent reperfusion were investigated. Eight adult horses were randomly allotted to 2 equal groups: normal and ischemic/reperfusion injury. Lymphatic flow rates, mesenteric blood flow, and lymph and plasma protein concentrations were determined at 15-minute intervals throughout the study. Microvascular permeability was determined by estimates of the osmotic reflection coefficient, which was determined when the ratio of lymp...
Del Campo MR, Donoso X, Parrish JJ, Ginther OJ.Equine oocytes (n = 537) were collected from slaughterhouse ovaries (n = 118 mares) by scraping the internal follicular wall. Preculture record was made of the appearance of oocyte investments (no cumulus, corona radiata only, compact cumulus, expanded cumulus), appearance of cytoplasm (homogeneous, condensed heterogeneous/fragmented), and nuclear maturation stages (germinal vesicle, germinal-vesicle breakdown, metaphase I, metaphase II, degenerated). There was no difference between follicles > 30 mm and follicles < or = 30 mm in the preculture frequency distribution among the 5 nuclear stages...
Moore BR, Krakowka S, Robertson JT, Cummins JM.Cytologic examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), including phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes, was performed on 32 Standardbreds with poor race performance and endoscopic examination findings characteristic of inflammatory airway disease (IAD). Nucleated cell counts in BALF from IAD-affected horses were higher than those in control horses; the cytologic profile of BALF in affected horses included mixed inflammation, characterized by mild neutrophilia, lymphocytosis, and monocytosis. Eosinophil and mast cell counts were not higher in the IAD-affected group, compared with those in t...
Moore RM, Muir WW, Granger DN.Restoration of blood flow after a period of intestinal ischemia is necessary to maintain cell function and viability; however, the reintroduction of oxygen can initiate a cascade of events that exacerbates tissue injury. Intestinal I-R injury is manifested as increased microvascular and mucosal permeability, and mucosal necrosis. Reperfusion injury begins with the accumulation of hypoxanthine from ATP metabolism and the conversion of XDH to XO during ischemia. Upon reperfusion, the XO catalyzes the conversion of hypoxanthine to superoxide radicals in the presence of oxygen. Superoxide radicals...
Zhao Y, Holden VR, Smith RH, O'Callaghan DJ.The UL3 protein of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) KyA strain is a homolog of the ICP27 alpha regulatory protein of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and the ORF 4 protein of varicella-zoster virus. To characterize the regulatory function of the UL3 gene product, a UL3 gene expression vector (pSVUL3) and a vector expressing a truncated version of the UL3 gene (pSVUL3P) were generated. These effector plasmids, in combination with an EHV-1 immediate-early (IE) gene expression vector (pSVIE) and chimeric EHV-1 promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter constructs, were used in trans...
Hartmann J, Lindau M.Exocytosis begins with formation of a small fusion pore which then expands allowing rapid release of granular contents. We studied the influence of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) on the conductance of the initial pore and on the dynamics of subsequent expansion in horse eosinophils using the patch clamp technique. The mean initial conductance is approximately 200 pS independent of [Ca2+]i. This value is close to that previously found in beige mouse mast cells. The pore subsequently expands by 18 nS/s at [Ca2+]i < 10 nM, by 40 nS/s at [Ca2+]i = 1.5 microM and by 90 nS/s at [Ca2+]i = 10 micr...
Yang D, Nagayama K.The NMR relaxation technique was used to investigate the permeation of molecules into the cavity of ferritin. Spin-lattice relaxation times in the rotating frame of various probe molecules were measured for solutions of recombinant horse L-apoferritin without iron and horse spleen apoferritin with very small amounts of ferric ions. The results show that molecules larger than the size of the ferritin channels can pass through the channels into the ferritin interior, and that the maximum size of molecules for the permeation is smaller than maltotriose.
Miyamoto A, Kanda J, Nishio A.Transmural nerve stimulation (TNS) induced relaxations in porcine and bovine basilar arteries which were abolished by tetrodotoxin (TTX) and by L-nitro-arginine (LNAG). However, TNS induced contractions in equine basilar artery which were abolished by TTX and by guanethidine, but not by LNAG. These results suggest that the TNS-induced contractions of equine basilar arteries may be mediated by norepinephrine release.
Platt D, Bayliss MT.The effect of human recombinant insulin-like growth factor 1 (rhIGF-1) on proteoglycan (PG) metabolism of full thickness equine articular cartilage explants was investigated. PG synthesis was stimulated at all ages, but higher concentrations of rhIGF-1 were required for maximal stimulation of adult cartilage. There were no changes in the hydrodynamic size, electrophoretic heterogeneity or composition of proteoglycans isolated from rhIGF-1-stimulated cartilage. rhIGF-1 reduced the rate of turnover of both newly synthesized and endogenous proteoglycans in all ages of cartilage investigated. The ...
Flowers CC, Flowers SP, Jennings SR, O'Callaghan DJ.Previous studies (C. C. Flowers and D. J. O'Callaghan, 1992, Virology 190, 307-315) employed peptide-specific antibodies to identify the product of the glycoprotein D (gD) gene of equine herpesvirus 1 strain Kentucky A (KyA). gD polypeptides of 55 and 58 kDa were detected in EHV-1-infected L-M cells, and the 58-kDa protein was observed in the membrane fraction of EHV-1 virions. In this report, the kinetics of synthesis and processing of gD polypeptides are described. One-hour pulse-labeling of EHV-1-infected L-M cells revealed that gD proteins are first detected at 6 hr after infection and tha...
Southgate CD, Green MR.Lentivirus Tat proteins comprise a novel class of RNA-binding transcriptional activators that are essential for viral replication. In this study, we performed a series of protein fusion experiments to delineate the minimal protein domains and promoter elements required for Tat action. We show that a 15-amino-acid region of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) Tat protein, when fused to the GAL4 or LexA DNA binding domain, can activate transcription in appropriate promoter contexts. In the natural human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat, activation by Tat is dependent on multi...
Ellis JA, Bogdan JR, Kanara EW, Morley PS, Haines DM.The ability of monovalent and bivalent equine herpesvirus (EHV) vaccines to stimulate cellular and antibody responses to EHV-1 and EHV-4 was compared in healthy horses. Comparison of data from lymphocyte blastogenesis tests in which live viruses were used as antigens and that were conducted prior to vaccination and after 2 vaccinations revealed that horses given modified-live EHV-1 had significant increases in proliferative responses to EHV-1 (P = 0.03) and EHV-4 (P = 0.04). Responses to EHV-1 and EHV-4 in horses given the inactivated-virus bivalent vaccine were less; however, significant diff...
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...
Sams AE, Minor RR, Wootton JA, Mohammed H, Nixon AJ.Chondrocyte-laden collagen scaffolds were evaluated in extensive cartilage defects in an equine model. Arthroscopic techniques were used to implant a chondrocyte-collagen culture product in 15-mm defects in the lateral trochlear ridge of the femoropatellar joint of 12 horses. Ungrafted control defects were formed in the opposite joint. Groups of six horses were terminated at 4 and 8 months after implantation and the repair sites, adjacent cartilage, and remote cartilage within each femoropatellar joint examined biochemically. Eight months following surgery the relative proportions of type II c...
Force L, Jortner BS, Scarrat K.Suchwann cells from a variety of nerves in two adult horses and one adult pony contained perinuclear intracytoplasmic inclusion complexes consisting of lipid droplets, variably electron-dense rounded to elongated bodies and rod-shaped multilamellar structures. The latter were characteristic of pi granules of Reich. There were no significant axonal or myelin alterations associated with these inclusions. It was concluded that the inclusions are a component of normal equine Schwann cells.
Heilen LB, Roßgardt J, Dern-Wieloch J, Vogelsberg J, Staszyk C.The lifelong eruption places a great demand on the dental pulp and periodontal ligament (PDL) of horse teeth. Cells within the pulp and PDL seem to play a key role during this remodeling. Unassigned: In this study, we isolated and cultivated MSCs (medicinal signaling cells) from dental pulp, PDL and retrobulbar fat of four horses. Subsequently, we analyzed them by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry to determine and compare their characteristics. In addition, we localized these cells within the tissue structure via immunohistochemistry of histological sections. For these analyses, several ...
Kaup FJ, Deegen E.Gastrointestinal disorders and colic are common problems of
horses. In spite of its clinical importance, only a few reports
deal with the normal morphology of the equine intestinal barrier
(Roberts and Hill 1974). Furthermore, the intestinal epithelium
of horses presents some characteristics which are uncommon in
other species, e.g. the presence of conspicuous Paneth cells
(Meyer et al. 1970) or granular epithelial cells. Paneth cells
occur in the small intestinal crypts and sporadically in the caecum, while granular cells occur along the lining of the small
and large intestine in hors...
Wilson DV, Stick JA.The role of platelet-activating factor in mediating the cardiovascular and peripheral cellular responses to large-colon ischemia and reperfusion, was explored in anesthetized ponies. A specific platelet-activating factor (PAF) antagonist (WEB 2086) was administered to a group of 6 ponies, and another 6 ponies (controls) were given an equivalent volume of saline solution, prior to 1 hour of large-colon torsion. After correction of the torsion, ponies were monitored during the reperfusion period. Significant (P < 0.05) hypotension and metabolic acidosis developed in all ponies after correction o...
Minato E, Kobayashi A, Aoshima K, Fukushi H, Kimura T.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), which causes encephalomyelitis in horses, shows endotheliotropism in the central nervous system of horses, and generally does not infect neurons. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying the resistance of neuron to EHV-1, due to the lack of convenient cell culture systems. In this study, we examined EHV-1 infection in immortalized Rn33B rat neuronal cells, which differentiate into neurons when cultured under nonpermissive conditions. Because murine cell lines are resistant to EHV-1 infections due to the lack of functional entry receptors for EHV-1, ...
Zeng J, Rao KR, Brew K, Fenna R.Crystals of the calcium-containing lysozyme from horse milk have been grown by precipitation with sodium phosphate. The crystals are orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with cell dimensions a = 53.2, b = 57.1, and c = 38.2 A and contain a single molecule in the asymmetric unit. The crystals are suitable for high resolution x-ray structural analysis.
Song L, Ryan PL, Porter DG, Coomber BL.Relaxin participates in extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling in many reproductive organs, including the ovary, by regulating proteolytic enzyme activity. Accumulated evidence indicates this action of relaxin is involved in ovarian follicle development and ovulation. Equine follicles are embedded in cortex that is at the center of the ovary and they must expand/emigrate to the fossa, the only site in the ovary for ovulation. Due to the tremendous expansion of the follicle in this species, we hypothesized that ovarian stromal remodeling would be extensive. Therefore, cultured equine ovarian str...
Judson DG, Dixon JB.Tritiated thymidine uptake in response to Concanavalin A was recorded as stimulated counts per minute (SCPM) in equine whole blood cultured with an optimum concentration of 3 X 10(4) mononuclear cells/culture. A significant negative correlation was found between log10 SCPM and granulocyte level in culture, in a group of 27 adult horses (r = -0.745, P less than 0.001). Addition of isolated autologous granulocytes to such cultures resulted in a reduction of log10 SCPM of a magnitude similar to that predicted by the gradient of the log10 SCPM/granulocyte level regression line in the group of adul...