Topic:Enzymes
Enzymes are biological catalysts that facilitate biochemical reactions in horses by lowering the activation energy required for these processes. They are involved in various physiological functions, including digestion, metabolism, and cellular repair. Common enzymes in equine biology include amylase, lipase, and lactate dehydrogenase, each playing a specific role in the breakdown of nutrients and energy production. The activity and concentration of these enzymes can vary in response to different physiological and pathological conditions, serving as potential indicators in veterinary diagnostics. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the function, regulation, and clinical implications of enzymes in equine health.
[O,O-dialkyl-S-bromomethylthiophosphates–inhibitors of mammalian choline- and carboxyl esterases: structure-activity relationship]. The interaction kinetics of potential pesticides, O,O-dialkyl S-bromomethylthiophosphates (RO)2P(O) SCH2Br (R = Et, i-Pr, n-Pr, n-Bu, or n-Am) with acetylcholinesterase, butyryl cholinesterase, and carboxyl esterase from warm-blooded animals was studied. All the compounds irreversibly inhibit these esterases, with k1 (M-1 min-1) being 1.8 x 10(4) - 1.9 x 10(6) for acetylcholinesterase, 2.0 x 10(6) - 4.1 x 10(7) for the more sensitive butyryl cholinesterase, and 2.3 x 10(7) - 2.3 x 10(8) and higher for the most sensitive carboxyl esterase. By using the Hansch and Kubinyi technique of multiple r...
Aryl acylamidase activity exhibited by butyrylcholinesterase is higher in chick than in horse, but much lower than in fetal calf serum. Several side activities have been attributed to butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), including aryl acylamidase (AAA) activity, which is an amidase-like activity with unknown physiological function splitting the artificial substrate o-nitroacetanilide. For avians, extensive developmental data have pointed to neurogenetic functions of BChE, however, a possible AAA activity of BChE has not been studied. In this study, we first compare the relative levels of AAA exhibited by BChE in whole sera from chick, fetal calves (FCS) and horse. Remarkably, FCS exhibits a 400-fold higher ratio of AAA/BChE than hor...
Muscle characteristics and plasma lactate and ammonia response after racing in Standardbred trotters: relation to performance. Blood samples from the jugular vein and muscle biopsies (gluteus medius) in 25 Standardbred trotters were obtained 5-10 min after racing. The biopsies were analysed for fibre type composition and enzymatic profile and blood samples for plasma lactate and ammonia concentrations. Muscle characteristics, plasma lactate and ammonia concentrations after racing were compared with each horse's individual performance index (IPI). The IPI is calculated annually from the individual horse's racing performance (% placing 1, 2 or 3, total annual earnings, average earning per start, and best racing record),...
Endotoxin induction of nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 in equine alveolar macrophages. To determine the amount of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) enzymes induced in vitro in equine alveolar macrophages in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Sample Population-Alveolar macrophages obtained from 12 horses. Methods: Alveolar macrophages were collected by bronchoalveolar lavage from 12 horses and incubated for 6 hours with LPS (0.001 to 10 microg/ml) or vehicle. Total RNA was extracted and purified. After first-strand cDNA synthesis, mRNA induction was measured, using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique for COX-2, iNOS, and glyceraldehyde...
Metabolic effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibition during exercise in the horse. The effect of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition during exercise on lactate production was investigated in five Thoroughbred horses. A standard exercise test (SET), consisting of three canters (approximately 55 per cent VO2max), with walking and trotting between each canter, was performed twice (control and test, in random order) by each horse. Nphi-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 20 mg kg-1), a competitive inhibitor of NOS, induced a significant increase (P < 0.05) in plasma lactate [5.7 (2.9) vs 11.8 (3.8) mmol L-1], which continued to increase despite administration of L-argin...
Identification of a new aspartic proteinase expressed by the outer chorionic cell layer of the equine placenta. The pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are placental antigens that were initially characterized as pregnancy markers in the maternal circulation of domestic ruminant species. They are members of the aspartic proteinase gene family, having greatest sequence identity with pepsinogens. However, some are not capable of functioning as enzymes. The PAGs are associated with a large gene family within the Artiodactyla order (cattle, camels, pigs). So far, no members of this family have been characterized in species outside this order. This report describes the cloning and initial characterizati...
Influence of site and age on biochemical characteristics of the collagen network of equine articular cartilage. To determine variations in biochemical characteristics of equine articular cartilage in relation to age and the degree of predisposition for osteochondral disease at a specific site. Methods: Articular cartilage specimens from 53 horses 4 to 30 years old. Methods: Healthy specimens were obtained from 2 locations on the proximal articular surface of the first phalanx that had different disease prevalences (site 1 at the mediodorsal margin and site 2 at the center of the medial cavity). Water, total collagen, and hydroxylysine contents and enzymatic (hydroxylysylpyridinoline [HP]) and nonenzymat...
Presence and comparison of angiotensin converting enzyme in commercial cell culture sera. This study was conducted to determine the presence of the angiotensin converting enzyme in commercial sera used in cell culture medium. The aim of the research was to bring the presence of proteinases (angiotensin converting enzyme) to cell culture users' knowledge and to give some data for solving problems about the development of peptides as useful drugs. The enzymes, purified from foetal bovine, adult bovine, foetal equine, adult equine, and human sera, showed molecular weights of about 170 kDa. Captopril and lisinopril inhibited enzyme activities at nanomolar concentrations. The enzymes we...
Studies on equine lipid metabolism. 2. Lipolytic activities of plasma and tissue lipases in large horses and ponies. The enzymatic fundamentals of lipid metabolism of equine have not been thoroughly investigated at this point in time. It is still unclear why ponies in contrast to horses may become hyperlipaemic when coming negative energy balance. In this study, the activities of the triglyceride-cleaving key enzymes of ponies are large bred horses were investigated in order to obtain insight into the aetiology of the syndrome. The objective of the study was to measure the activities of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and hepatic triglyceride lipase (HTGL) in ponies and horses in ex ...
A 105- to 94-kilodalton protein in the epididymal fluids of domestic mammals is angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE); evidence that sperm are the source of this ACE. SDS-PAGE analysis of luminal fluid from the ram testis and epididymis revealed a protein of about 105 kDa in the fluid in the caput epididymal region. The molecular mass of this fluid protein shifted from 105 kDa to 94 kDa in the distal caput epididymidis and remained at 94 kDa in the lower regions of the epididymis. The possible sperm origin of this protein was suggested by the decrease in intensity of a 105-kDa compound on the sperm plasma membrane extract and by its total disappearance from the fluid of animals with impaired sperm production caused by scrotal heating. The 94-kDa protein was...
Occurrence of prostasome-like membrane vesicles in equine seminal plasma. Equine seminal plasma was shown to contain membrane vesicles that are similar to the well characterized prostasomes in human seminal plasma. Determination of nucleoside and nucleotide concentrations of these particles have shown that ATP, ADP and adenosine are the main components of the nucleotidic pool. 5' nucleotidase, endopeptidase and dipeptidyl peptidase i.v. activities have been found on the surface of the particles. The interaction between these prostasome-like vesicles and spermatozoa was demonstrated by electron micrograph scans which revealed the steps of a fusion-like process leadin...
Glutathione-independent prostaglandin D2 synthase in ram and stallion epididymal fluids: origin and regulation. Microsequencing after two-dimensional electrophoresis revealed a major protein, glutathione-independent prostaglandin D2 synthase (PGDS) in the anterior epididymal region fluid of the ram and stallion. In this epididymal region, PGDS was a polymorphic compound with a molecular mass around 30 kDa and a range of pI from 4 to 7. PGDS represented 15% and 8% of the total luminal proteins present in this region in the ram and stallion, respectively. The secretion of the protein as judged by in vitro biosynthesis, and the presence of its mRNA as studied by Northern blot analysis, were limited to the ...
Batimastat (BB-94) inhibits matrix metalloproteinases of equine laminitis. A method for culturing explants of lamellar hoof was developed to investigate the process of lamellar separation that occurs in laminitis. Explants, consisting of hoof wall, dermal and epidermal lamellae and the adjacent sub-lamellar connective tissue remained intact when cultured in tissue culture medium for 2 days. However, when cultured in the presence of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activator aminophenylmercuric acetate (APMA), the lamellae separated when tension was applied by pulling the hoof wall in an opposite direction to the connective tissue. The separation occurred between th...
Sarcoplasmic reticulum responses to repeated sprints are affected by conditioning of horses. Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) responses to repeated sprints and to physical conditioning were studied in 10 Quarter Horses. Exercise tests (four repeated sprints on a treadmill) were conducted before and after 12 wk of sprint conditioning. Muscle samples from the middle gluteal muscle were taken before and after each exercise test, and SR vesicles were isolated. Calcium uptake was determined spectrophotometrically using antipyrylazo III, and Ca2+-ATPase activity was determined using an enzyme-linked optical assay. Conditioning increased calcium uptake rate and Ca2+-ATPase activity by 14 and 38%,...
Matrix metalloproteinase activity in equine synovial fluid: influence of age, osteoarthritis, and osteochondrosis. To investigate the influence of age, osteoarthritis (OA), and osteochondrosis (OC) on the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in the synovial fluid (SF) of equine joints. Methods: SF was collected from normal and osteoarthritic metacarpophalangeal joints (normal: 14 adult, 28 juvenile; OA: 22 adult). And from normal and osteochondrotic tarsocrural joints (5 months: 11 normal, 8 OC; 11 months: 7 normal, 6 OC). Subsequently, overall MMP activity was measured. Results: The level of active MMPs was almost twofold higher in SF from juvenile horses (age up to 11 months) than in SF from mature an...
Purification of two equine pepsinogens by use of high-performance liquid chromatography. To purify and characterize pepsinogens in equine gastric mucosa. Methods: Stomachs collected from 2 healthy horses at necropsy. Methods: After collection, stomachs were placed immediately in ice before storage at -48 C. After slow thawing, the mucosa was scraped off while the tissue was immersed in 0.1M potassium phosphate (pH 7.4) at 4 C, then was homogenized. The filtered extract was subjected to anion-exchange chromatography. Fractions that were found to contain pepsin or pepsinogen were further chromatographed. Individual fractions were tested for pepsinogen or pepsin content by monitoring...
Metmyoglobin/azide: the effect of heme-linked ionizations on the rate of complex formation. The kinetics of formation and dissociation of the horse metmyoglobin/azide complex has been investigated between pH 3.5 and 11.5. The ionic strength dependence of the reaction has been determined at integral pH values between 5 and 10. Hydrazoic acid, HN3, binds to metmyoglobin with a rate constant of (3.8 +/- 1.0) x 10(5) M-1 s-1. Protonation of a group with an apparent pKa of 4.0 +/- 0.3 increases the rate of HN3 binding 6.5-fold to (2.5 +/- 0.8) x 10(6) M-1 s-1. The ionizable group is attributed to the distal histidine, His-64. The azide anion, N-3, binds to metmyoglobin with a rate constan...
Immunolocalization of cathepsin B in equine dyschondroplastic articular cartilage. A polyclonal antiserum raised in sheep against human cathepsin B was tested for specificity and cross-reactivity with the horse homologue by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting, prior to being used for immunolocalization of the enzyme in equine articular cartilage. In Western blots, the antiserum recognized the 30 kDa single chain and 25 kDa heavy chain of the mature enzyme in purified bovine cathepsin B, and corresponding bands at 32 and 27 kDa in equine chondrocyte and fibroblast lysates. This antiserum was then used to compare the expression and distribution of cathepsin B in normal and dyschondr...
Equine neutrophil myeloperoxidase in plasma: design of a radio-immunoassay and first results in septic pathologies. The strangulated intestinal pathologies of horses are accompanied by a local activation of the neutrophils, that can be revealed by measuring the tissular enzymatic activity of the granulocytic enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO). To estimate the possible spreading of this neutrophil activation to the systemic circulation, we designed a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for equine neutrophil myeloperoxidase (MPO) (EC 1.11.1.7) using a specific rabbit antiserum. MPO was labeled with 1 mCi 125I by a technique of self-labeling in the presence of 10(-4) M hydrogen peroxide. The RIA was performed by incubation of 10...
Conformationally restricted carbamate inhibitors of horse serum butyrylcholinesterase. Conformationally restricted carbamate inhibitors, exo-2-norbornyl-N-butylcarbamate (1), endo-2-norbornyl-N-butylcarbamate (2), l-adamantyl-N-butylcarbamate (3), and 2-adamantyl-N-butylcarbamate (4) as active site-directed irreversible inhibitors of horse serum butyrylcholinesterase are investigated for values of the dissociation constant (KI), the carbamylation constant (k2), and the bimolecular rate constant (ki). Compound 1 is the most potent inhibitor of the enzyme and the values of KI and ki are 20 nM and 1.1 x 10(5) M-1sec-1, respectively.
Production of gelatinases and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases by equine ovarian stromal cells In vitro. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) play very important roles in extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling in ovarian follicle growth 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. Therefore, equine ovarian stromal cells (EOSC) are probably involved in ECM remodeling during follicle growth. This study examined whether cultured EOSC synthesize gelatinases and TIMPs, molecules essential for ECM remodeling in other systems. Results showed...
The 2.03 signal as an indicator of dinitrosyl-iron complexes with thiol-containing ligands. The parameters of EPR signal from dinitrosyl-iron complexes (DNIC) with bovine serum albumin (BSA), horse hemoglobin (Hb), and apometallothionein (apo-Mt) of horse kidney incorporating one (BSA, Hb) or two thiol-containing ligands (apo-Mt) were compared. The EPR signal from DNIC-BSA was characterized by the rhombic symmetry of g tensor at room temperature of signal recording (ambient temperature) or at 77K in the solution frozen in the presence of glycerol. In freezing of the solution in the absence of glycerin, under the exposure of DNIC-BSA to negatively charged sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) ...
Localisation of gelatinase activity in epidermal hoof lamellae by in situ zymography. In situ gelatin zymography is a technique, which utilises a gelatin-based emulsion overlay to detect and, more importantly, localise the gelatinase activity in underlying tissue. Gelatinase A [matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2)] and gelatinase B [matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9)] are present in equine hoof homogenates and supernatants from cultured hoof explants by SDS-PAGE gelatin zymography, and it has been assumed that the enzymes are derived solely from matrix and epithelia and not from other sources such as leucocytes. Using in situ zymography, gelatinases are shown to be localised with...
The effect of drugs commonly used in the treatment of equine articular disorders on the activity of equine matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9. Loss of articular cartilage, which is the most important pathological lesion occurring in osteoarthritis, has been shown to be enzymatically mediated. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of enzymes which have been implicated in this degradation of articular cartilage matrix. The use of pharmacological agents to inhibit this catabolic process in the joint is a potential route for therapeutic intervention. The gelatinase MMPs, MMPs-2 and 9, were purified by affinity chromatography from equine cell cultures. The ability of phenylbutazone, flunixin, betamethasone, dexamethasone, methy...
Iron loading into ferritin by an intracellular ferroxidase. An intracellular, membrane-bound enzyme exhibiting both p-phenylenediamine oxidase activity and ferrous iron oxidase activity was isolated with the plasma membrane fraction of horse heart and studied for its ability to load iron into ferritin. The ferroxidase activity of the tissue oxidase was stimulated approximately twofold by horse spleen apoferritin, and the iron was loaded into ferritin. The loading of iron into ferritin by the tissue oxidase was inhibited by anti-horse serum ceruloplasmin antibody. The stoichiometry of iron oxidation and oxygen consumption during iron loading into ferrit...
Pressure and temperature dependence of enantioselective excited-state quenching of chiral Tb(III) and Eu(III) tris(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate) chelates by various C-type ferricytochromes. For mitochondrial ferricytochrome c from horse, cow and tuna and for bacterial cytochrome c-550 from Paracoccus versutus, the pressure and temperature dependence of their quenching of racemic Tb(DPA)3(3-) and Eu(DPA)3(3-) (DPA = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate) luminescence in aqueous solution is investigated. Of these energy transfer reactions the activation volumes (delta V#) and energies (Ea) are determined for the ranges P = 0-3 kbar and T = 15-40 degrees C. For the lambda enantiomers of Tb(DPA)3(3-) and Eu(DPA)3(3-), delta V# and Ea are almost the same for all proteins: 0.4 < or = delta V# < o...
Equilibrium and kinetics of the folding of equine lysozyme studied by circular dichroism spectroscopy. The equilibrium unfolding and the kinetics of unfolding and refolding of equine lysozyme, a Ca2+-binding protein, were studied by means of circular dichroism spectra in the far and near-ultraviolet regions. The transition curves of the guanidine hydrochloride-induced unfolding measured at 230 nm and 292.5 nm, and for the apo and holo forms of the protein have shown that the unfolding is well represented by a three-state mechanism in which the molten globule state is populated as a stable intermediate. The molten globule state of this protein is more stable and more native-like than that of alp...
Equine TIMP-1 and TIMP-2: identification, activity and cellular sources. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are the main enzymes involved in connective tissue turnover. Regulation of MMPs is achieved by controlling production, activation of the pro-enzymes together with the presence of inhibitors, such as, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPS). The presence of TIMPs in equine synovial fluid was assessed by the ability of the fluid to inhibit equine MMP-9 activity using a gelatin degradation ELISA. The cellular source of the TIMPs was determined using culture supernatants of resident articular cells (chondrocytes and synovial fibroblasts) and invading inflam...
[Differentiation of domestic horse and Przewalskis horse using various DNA sequences]. The electrophoretic mobility of seven erythrocyte enzymes and spectra of fragments amplified by RAPD-PCR with primers UBC-85 and UBC-126 were comparatively analyzed in domestic horse and Przewalski's horse. All tested genetic markers were classified into two groups differing in their involvement in differentiation of the two closely related horse species. Markers from different groups differed neither in their type (a polymorphic protein or an amplification product) nor in their biochemical role (for enzymes).
[Population genetic parameters of aboriginal Yakut horses as related to modern breeds of the domestic horse Equus caballus L]. This study was the first to analyze the polymorphic characteristics of a wide range of biochemical markers in aboriginal Yakut horses. A total of 124 alleles, including 48 alleles of seven blood-group loci and 76 alleles of ten loci for enzymes and other proteins, were studied. For these polymorphic systems, a computer analysis of the genetic distances between 85 horse breeds of different origin from all parts of the world was performed. The low level of hereditary variation in the Yakut horses confirmed that this breed is old and has long been an isolated population. Phylogenetic analysis dem...