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.
Hillidge CJ.The serum activities of creatine kinase (CPK), aldolase (ALD) and alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBD) were determined in a group of Welsh Mountain ponies before and after a 30 minute period of neuroleptanalgesia induced by i.v. injection of Immobilon and terminated by i.v. injection of Revivon. There were slight but significant increases in the serum activities of CPK and HBD following neuroleptanalgesia, but no change in the serum activity of ALD. It is suggested that this form of neuroleptanalgesia may be associated, in ponies, with a degree of reversible myocardial hypoxic change, pos...
Tax WJ, Veerkamp JH.1. Activities of ADA and PNP were measured in erythrocytes and lymphocytes of man, horse and cattle. 2. In bovine hemolysates both enzyme activities are low when compared with activities in human hemolysates. In horse hemolysates both enzyme activities are virtually absent. 3. Enzyme activities are consistently lower (about 50%) in intact lymphocytes than in sonicated lymphocytes. This finding suggests that the uptake of nucleosides is rate-limiting for both enzymes in intact lymphocytes. 4. The activity of ADA in horse lymphocytes is comparable to that in lymphocytes of patients with severe c...
Osheroff N, Feinberg BA, Margoliash E, Morrison M.Iodination of horse cytochrome c with the lactoperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide-iodide system results initially in the formation of the monoiodotyrosyl 74 derivative. This singly modified protein was obtained in pure form by ion exchange chromatography and preparative column electrophoresis. It shows an intact 695 nm absorption band, the midpoint potential of the native protein, a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum which indicates an undisturbed heme crevice structure, a normal reaction with antibodies directed against native horse cytochrome c, and circular dichroic spectra in which the only cha...
Main AR, McKnelly SC, Burgess-Miller SK.A butyrylcholinesterase of mol.wt. approx. 83000 was observed in pooled rabbit serum. The enzyme was named monomeric butyrylcholinesterase to distinguish it from the larger oligomeric butyrylcholinesterase of horse and human serum whose subunits are the same size as the monomeric enzyme. The active-site concentration of monomeric butyrylcholinesterase in the pooled serum was 0.18mum, which is five times the concentration of butyrylcholinesterase in pooled horse serum. This was surprising, since the horse serum is regarded as a rich source of butyrylcholinesterase, whereas rabbit serum is not g...
Jirgensons B, de Haas GH.Conformation of porcine, bovine, and equine pancreatic phospholipases A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) and their zymogens was studied by the circular dichroism (CD) probe in the far and near ultraviolet spectral zones.
All these phospholipases and their zymogens displayed CD curves suggesting the presence of moderate amounts of α-helical conformation. However, on the basis of known primary structure and recent X-ray structural analysis of prophospholipase A2 crystals (Drenth, J., Enzing, C.M., Kalk, K.H. and Vessies, J.C.A. (1976) Nature 264, 373–377), it has to be concluded that the positive CD band cen...
Franken P, Schotman JH.The activities and concentrations of a number of erythrocytic enzymes and intermediate products of erythrocyte metabolism were determined in twenty-one normal standard-bred horses which were studied clinically and biochemically. These studies showed that equine anaerobic glycolysis is characterized by a biochemical pattern similar to that observed in human PK deficiency. The greater sensitivity of equine haemoglobin to oxidants is attributable either to low stability of GSH, which may be due either to the low activity of GR or that of 6PGD as observed in the studies. In addition, the saturatio...
Dixon PM, McPherson EA, Muir A.A trotter mare with a history of poor performance was found to have methaemoglobinaemia and haemolytic anaemia associated with decreased erythrocyte glutathione reductase and glutathione levels. The mare's dam, which also had a history of poor performance, was subsequently found to be similarly affected.
Barstow LE, Young RS, Yakali E, Sharp JJ, O'Brien JC, Berman PW, Harbury HA.Horse heart cytochrome c can be split with cyanogen bromide into a heme peptide (residues 1-65) and a nonheme peptide (residues 66-104). In a process involving (i) complex formation between the two fragments and (ii) restoration of the severed peptide linkage, a fully active cytochrome c preparation can be re-formed. Use has been made of this process to couple the heme peptide to peptide 66-104 synthesized by the Merrifield solid-phase procedure. The semisynthetic product formed in this manner is indistinguishable from reconstituted cytochrome c prepared with nonsynthetic peptide 66-104.
Blackmore DJ, Palmer A.Examination of tissues obtained from thoroughbred horses showed that the 'intestinal' phosphatase activity could be differentiated from other phosphatases by analysis at a pH of 9-5 and inhibition with 15 mM L-phenylalanine. A simple method for the measurement of 'intestinal' phosphatase in heparinised plasma or serum is described. Application of the technique to serum or plasma from normal and diseased horses indicates that the increase in the activity of 'intestinal' phosphatase is associated with cases showing clinical, biochemical and haematological evidence of intestinal damage.
Parkes RD, Blackmore DJ.Equine placental extracts show phosphatase activity with a pH optimum between 4.5 and 6. The enzyme shows heat stability to 45 degrees C and electrophoresis on cellulose acetate demonstrates the presence of two bands of activity. Histochemistry confirms the presence of phosphatase activity in the placental villi. Assay of plasma samples from pregnant mares showed no increase in phosphatase activity through pregnancy under conditions of test.
Peterman BF, Morton RA.The apparent equilibrium constant and rate of oxidation was investigated for the reaction of cytochrome c with iron hexacyanide. It was found that if horse heart ferricytochrome c was exposed to ferricyanide (to oxidize traces of reduced protein) the cytochrome subsequently, even after extensive dialysis, had an apparent equilibrium constant different from that of electrodialyzed protein. The effect of ferricyanide ion apparently cannot be removed by ordinary dialysis. The ionic strength dependence of the apparent equilibrium constant and bimolecular oxidation rate constant was measured in the...
Guy PS, Snow DH.1. Percutaneous needle biopsies were obtained from six limb muscles in six horses before and during a training programme of 10 or 15 weeks designed to involve both aerobic and anaerobic work. In a subsequent detraining period, biopsies were also taken after 5 and 10 weeks. 2. Samples were analysed biochemically for enzyme activity of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine phosphokinase (CPK), aldolase (ALD), citrate synthase (CS), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and for glycogen content. Fibre typing was carried out histochemically before and 10 weeks after c...
Seybert DW, Moffat K, Gibson QH, Chang CK.Horse globin has been recombined with 2,4-dimethyldeuteroheme and 2,4-dibromodeuteroheme to yield the corresponding reconstituted hemoglobins, and the ligand binding reactions of these reconstituted hemoglobins have been examined in detail. Both hemoglobins exhibit relatively high n values, but 2,4-dimethyldeuterohemoglobin displays a consistently higher oxygen affinity than native hemoglobin, whereas the oxygen affinity of 2,4-dibromodeuterohemoglobin is consistently lower than that of native hemoglobin. The rate constants l’, and 1’4 for the binding of the first and fourth molecules of C...
Fernley RT.1. Angiotensin I converting enzyme from horse plasma has been extensively purified and shown to be homogeneous by disc-gel electrophoresis. 2. The metal ion involved in the catalytic reaction of the enzyme has been identified for the first time as zinc by atomic absorption spectrometry. 3. A number of other physicochemical properties of the enzyme are described and compared with results obtained by other investigators. The molecular weight was determined by gel filtration to be 113 000 daltons. The pH maximum was found to be 7-4. The chloride activation of the enzyme appears to act by facilita...
Silvestri R.A macromethod and a semimicromethod were developed to measure erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase activity in cattle, sheep, goats, horses, dogs, and swine, and to measure plasma cholinesterase activity in horses, dogs, and swine. Comparison of the 2 methods with erythrocytes of sheep, cattle, goats, and horses indicated both methods gave similar results. They can be done in a shorter time and are more sensitive than Michel's method. Normal deltapH values per minutes, with standard deviations for blood cholinesterase activity of animals of different ages, sexes, breeds, and species, were: 0.76 +/...
Anderson MG, Aitken MM.Adrenaline was given intramuscularly to resting horses. It increased heart rate, sweating, blood levels of lactic dehydrogenase, aldolase, creatine kinase, glucose, lactate, free fatty acids and glycerol. Responses to isoprenaline, to noradenaline and to adrenaline after pretreatment with propranolol indicated that beta receptors were involved in stimulation of tachycardia, sweating, lipolysis and muscle glycogenolysis, and alpha receptors in stimulation of liver glycogenolysis and leakage of intracellular enzymes. The time course and relative magnitude of the effects on different enzymes was ...
Rico AG, Braun JP, Benard P, El Hassan AA, Cazieux A.In the horse, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) was found to be mainly located in the kidneys, liver and pancreas. As renal lesions are followed by a urinary escape of enzyme, it can be assumed that if there are raised serum enzyme levels then the source will be chiefly from the liver and pancreas. In the blood, GGT can be measured either in plasma or serum. Its mean level in 58 horses was 12 U/L. This level was not affected by moderate dilution or slight haemolysis and its activity was only slightly decreased by storage at--30 degrees C. The relative hepatic specificity of this enzyme and its ...
Castles JJ, Gershwin ME, Saito W, Ardans A, Osburn B.Previous studies of human congenital immunodeficiency states and in vitro observations of lymphocyte response to mitogens have implicated two purine salvage pathway enzymes, andenosine deaminase (ADA) and nucleoside phosphorylase (NP), as critical in the normal maturation and/or function of the immune system. Based on this information, ADA and NP activities were examined in a variety of congenital and acquired animal models of dysimmunity. The animals studied herein included: congenitally athymic (nude) mice; congenitally asplenic mice; congenitally athymic-asplenic mice; motheaten mice; New Z...
Evenberg A, Meyer H, Verheij HM, de Haas GH.Two phospholipases A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) with different isoelectric points have been isolated from horse pancreas in high yield (880 mg/kg tissue). From pancreatic juice the more acidic species was isolated as the sole phospholipase A2. Upon tryptic activation the zymogens release a hepta- and pentapeptide, respectively from the N-terminal part of the protein giving rise to the formation of one single enzyme with a specific activity higher than that of pancreatic phospholipases A2 from other mammalian species. Horse phospholipase A2 differs from the porcine and bovine enzymes with respect to amino a...
Evenberg A, Meyer H, Gaastra W, Verheij HM, De Haas GH.The complete amino acid sequence of phosphlipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4) from horse pancreas was determined. The protein controls of a single polypeptide chain of 125 amino acids and has a molecular weight of 13,927. The chain is crosslinked by seven disulfide bridges. The sequence was determined by automated Edman degradation of the intact protein and several of the large peptide fragments. Smaller peptides were analyzed by manual Edman degradation. Fragmentation of the peptide chain was accomplished by enzymatic digestion with trypsin, chymotrypsin, and thermolysin. The final overlap was found by di...
Kang CH, Ferguson-Miller S, Margoliash E.1. The steady state kinetics for the oxidation of ferrocytochrome c by yeast cytochrome c peroxidase are biphasic under most conditions. The same biphasic kinetics were observed for yeast iso-1, yeast iso-2, horse, tuna, and cicada cytochromes c. On changing ionic strength, buffer anions, and pH, the apparent Km values for the initial phase (Km1) varied relatively little while the corresponding apparent maximal velocities varied over a much larger range. 2. The highest apparent Vmax1 for horse cytochrome c is attained at relatively low pH (congruent to 6.0) and low ionic strength (congruent to...
Sakura JD, Rupley JA.Reaction of horse methemoglobin with O-methylisourea at pH 10.2 results in 95% conversion of lysine residues to homoarginine. Analysis of the chymotryptic peptides showed that no single ϵ-amino group was unreactive. Guanidination decreases the dependence of the sedimentation coefficient on hydrogen ion concentration in the range of pH 8 to 11 and did not affect the dependence on protein concentration at pH 7. These results support the conclusion that the lysine side chains involved in subunit contacts have sufficient freedom to accommodate the small changes in bulk and geometry associated wit...
Allen GP, O'Callaghan DJ, Randall CC.Infection of cells with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) or type 3 (EHV-3) resulted in the induction of a DNA polymerase activity distinguishable from host cell DNA polymerases by its high salt requirement for maximal activity. By column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, DNA-cellulose, phosphocellulose, and hydroxyapatite, the EHV-1-induced polymerase was purified 500-fold with 1–2% recovery of total activity from the nuclei of infected hamster livers. The final enzyme preparation was homogeneous as judged by electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Calculations based ...
Goranov Kh.The alkaline phosphatase enzyme, isolated by Morton's method from leukocytes of sheep, goats, and pigs gave after agarose elctrophoresis two isoenzyme fractions moving to the positive pole at the sites of the alpha 1- and alpha 2-globulins of the blood serum. In bovine leukocytes, besides these two fractions there was a third one that moved more slowly in the zone of the beta-globulins. In horses the alkaline phosphatase of leukocytes produced a wide band within the zones of the beta-globulins and the albumins. It was established that the proportion between the individual isoenzyme fractions o...
Mennella MR, Jones MR.The activity of 5'-nucleotidase (EC 1.3.5), cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (EC 2.1.4.17), non-specific phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.1) and ribonuclease (EC 1.7.7.16)has been investigated in the seminal plasma of whole semen and in the secretions of the seminal vesicle, prostate and epididymis of the bull, boar, ram, stallion, jackass, rabbit and man. Bull seminal plasma showed the highest activity for 5'-nucleotidase, cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase and ribonuclease; in contrast, stallion and jackass semen were very poor in these enzymes. Ram, rabbit and boar seminal plasma showed inte...
Reilly PJ, Suann CJ, Duffield AM.Dextromoramide (Palfium) was given by intravenous injection to a Thoroughbred horse at a dosage of 20 mg and urine was collected 2, 4, 6 and 8 h after drug administration. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the urine followed by solvent extraction gave a residue which was back-extracted into 0.1 M sulphuric acid. After basification to pH 9 and solvent extraction, the resulting residue was submitted to gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis. Both electron-impact and ammonia chemical-ionization mass spectra were recorded and, based on the observed fragmentation patterns, the principal metabolites ...
Rao UR, Chapman MR, Singh RN, Mehta K, Klei TR.Transglutaminases (E.C. 2.3.3.13) are a family of Ca(2+)-dependent enzymes that stabilize protein structure by catalyzing the formation of isopeptide bonds. A novel form of transglutaminase has been identified and characterized that seem to play an important role in growth, development, and molting in adult and larval stages of filarial nematodes. The aim of this study was to identify the ubiquitous nature of this enzyme in other nematodes and to measure its significance to larval growth, molting, and development. For this purpose, equine Strongylus spp. were used. Activity of this enzyme was ...
Kochanowska IE, Kuropatwa M, Szewczuk A.It was noted that human and horse sera as well as human heart and skeletal muscle homogenates or extracts distinctly decrease immunoassays of purified myoglobins. The assays of homogenate and extract myoglobins could be many times increased by precipitation certain proteins with concentrated ammonium sulfate or sodium chloride. Also in homogenates and extracts incubated for several days increased assays of myoglobins were noted. The obtained results indicate that both myoglobins occur in complex with other tissue component(s).
Vasconcelos AB, Santos AM, Oliveira JS, Lagares Mde A, Santoro MM.The aims of the study were: 1/ to isolate and identify equine seminal plasma proteinase inhibitors, 2/ to evaluate their inhibitory potential, and 3/ to test a correlation between protein concentration in seminal plasma supernatant (obtained after precipitation with 36% ammonium sulfate) and stallion sexual maturity. Seminal plasma proteins obtained from six stallions were chromatographed in a Superose 12 (FPLC system) column followed by C(18) HPLC reverse-phase. Inhibition of trypsin amidase activity was evaluated in the collected fractions. Active proteins with a molecular mass of 6.3-7.0 KD...
Dabernat HJ, Tainturier D, Delmas C, Ferney J, Lareng MB.The cultural, biochemical, antigenic and antibiotic susceptibility characteristics of 17 strains of Haemophilus equigenitalis, the causative organism of contagious equine metritis (CEM), were studied. Biochemical characteristics were investigated using both conventional method and the API ZYM system of enzyme detection. The biochemical profile of the H. equigenitalis strains was unique and differed from the other bacterial species studied under the same experimental conditions (H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae, B. abortus and B. melitensis, P. multocida, A. calcoaceticus). The required X an...
Kharakhonycheva NV, Likhtenshteĭn GI, Shkileva EA, Adamenkova MD.The possible use of EPR spectroscopy (spin labelling) for the study of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase with a silochrome adsorbent is discussed. The rotatory diffusion of nitroxyl labels chemically linked to the enzyme was studied with reference to the time of the enzyme incubation with the adsorbent and the degree of its accumulation on the adsorbent surface. The mobility of nitroxyl radicals attached to the protein globules was shown to increase with time. It was concluded that the conformation of the enzyme molecules changes during their interaction with the adsorbent.
López ML, de Souza W, Bustos-Obregón E.The structure, relative density, and distribution of anionic sites on the surface of epididymal and ejaculated spermatozoa were studied using polycationic ferritin (CF), colloidal iron hydroxide (CIH), various enzymatic treatments, methylation, and de-acetylation. Macro-molecules containing sugar residues, probably sialic acid, are part of the sperm membrane and show a characteristic distribution and density that is dependent of the sperm region and of its origin. Unlike the spermatozoa of other eutheria examined, the exposure of the stallion spermatozoa to neuraminidase treatment did not prod...
Schmid A, Schmid H.In this paper, the metabolism of xenobiotics in the horse, including differences to other species, is discussed. The most important metabolic reactions of phase I (oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis of substrates), as well as of phase II (conjugation of substrates with glucuronic acid, sulphuric acid, acetic acid, alkyl groups, amino acids, amino acid derivatives, glutathione etc.), are discussed and enzymes involved in the metabolic reactions are considered.
Camici G, Manao G, Cappugi G, Ramponi G.We have predicted the secondary structure of horse muscle acylphosphatase by the statistical method of Chou and Fasman. In addition, we have studied the circular dichroism spectra of the enzyme, obtaining values for comparison to the predicted results. Discrepancies were found for the alpha-helix content estimated by the two methods.
Skolek-Winnisch R, Lipp W, Stöckl W, Bamberg E.The localization of beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase activity in 6 different segments of the epididymis was investigated in 8 stallions using biochemical and histochemical methods. The highest enzyme activity was found in segment D while the other segments displayed a much weaker reaction There was no or only low enzyme activity present in the epididymal fluid of the proximal 3 segments, whereas it was high in the distal 3 segments. The biological function of beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase in the epididymis is discussed briefly.
Bull TE, Lindman B, Einarsson R, Zeppezauer M.The binding of Au(CN)2- and Pt(CN)4-2- ions to the coenzyme binding site of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase (alcohol : NAD+ oxidoreductase EC 1.1.1.1) has been studied by 35C1 nuclear magnetic relaxation. Longitudinal relaxation rates were analyzed in terms of a simple model and binding constants for Au(CN)2-, Pt(CN)4-2- and C1- were estimated. From a comparison between transverse and longitudinal relaxation rates the correlation time and the quadrupole coupling constant of bound chloride ion were obtained. The quadrupole coupling constant estimated from a simple electrostatic model for chlo...
Roberts MC, Kidder DE, Hill FW.Two enzymes having lactase activity are present in the equine small intestine. The first, the digestive enzyme, neutral beta-galactosidase, declines in activity from birth to three years, disappearing completely between 3 and 4 years of age. The other, the soluble lysosomal enzyme, acid beta-galactosidase, having affinity for lactose and a synthetic beta-galactoside, shows a decrease in activity in the first three months of life and thereafter varies little in activity and represents the lactase enzyme in the adult horse. This pattern may parallel the development of lactase activity in many ot...