Equine diseases encompass a wide range of health conditions that can affect horses, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and genetic conditions. These diseases can impact the overall health, performance, and well-being of horses. Common equine diseases include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, laminitis, and equine metabolic syndrome. Diagnosis and management of these diseases often require a combination of clinical evaluation, laboratory testing, and appropriate treatment strategies. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options for various equine diseases, providing valuable insights for veterinarians and researchers in the field.
Muko R, Sunouchi T, Urayama S, Toishi Y, Kusano K, Sato H, Muranaka M, Shin T, Oikawa MA, Ojima Y, Ali M, Nomura Y, Matsuda H, Tanaka A.Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) is abundant plasma protein with various effects on angiogenesis, coagulation, and immune responses. Previously, we identified the base and amino acid sequences of equine HRG (eHRG) and revealed that eHRG regulates neutrophil functions. In this study, we first conducted a large-scale gene analysis with DNA samples extracted from 1700 Thoroughbred horses and identified unique insertion/deletion polymorphisms in the histidine-rich region (HRR) of eHRG. Here we report two types of polymorphisms (deletion type 1 [D1] and deletion type 2 [D2]) containing either a 45...
Bone reportsJanuary 5, 2023
Volume 18 101653 doi: 10.1016/j.bonr.2023.101653
Grissom SK, Semevolos SA, Duesterdieck-Zellmer K.The objective of this study is to better understand the pathogenesis of early equine osteochondrosis (OC) by identifying differences in gene and protein expression of extracellular matrix components and regulators in normal and diseased cartilage and bone, focusing on the osteochondral junction and cells surrounding the cartilage canals. We expected to find an upregulation of matrix metalloproteinases and a decrease in extracellular matrix constituent expression along the osteochondral junction and cells surrounding the cartilage canals in OC samples. Paraffin-embedded osteochondral samples (6...
Kolding SA, Sørensen JN, Kramer J, McCracken MJ, Reed SK, Keegan KG.Some horses increase in forelimb lameness, measured as vertical head height asymmetry, or differences in maximums and minimums of head heights (HDmax, HDmin), after a palmar digital nerve (PDN) block. The prevalence of this finding, or what it means clinically, has not been reported in peer-reviewed literature. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of increasing head height asymmetry after a PDN block and determine if this is associated with cause of forelimb lameness. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Head height asymmetry, normalised to expected vertical head displacement, from in...
Uhrin A, Pazour J, Křivohlávek M.A saddle-horn injury of the pelvis can be considered a separate category of injuries. They occur during horse riding, when a horse rider hits the horn of the saddle and suffers from anteroposterior compression of the pelvic ring. The hits can cause symphyseolysis or even sacroiliac joint injury, and thus also pelvic ring instability. So far, just a few articles have been published dealing with horse saddle-related injuries. Our report describes a rare case of abnormal haemorrhage in vascular anastomosis called corona mortis. The discussion part is then about appropriate treatment of such injur...
Gysens L, Depuydt E, Patruno M, Haspeslagh M, Spaas JH, Martens A.Sarcoids are the most common equine skin tumours Although they do not metastasize, they can be locally aggressive and cause significant clinical symptoms in affected horses. Despite being common, very little is known about the host immune response and the biological mechanisms underlying persistence and recurrence of equine sarcoids. The latter reflects the need for further research in this field. This in-vitro study used sarcoid explants from horses with naturally occurring sarcoids (n = 12) to evaluate the induction of a humoral immune response directed against equine sarcoid-derived bovin...
Bannai H, Kambayashi Y, Nemoto M, Ohta M, Tsujimura K.The immune response and protective efficacy of a modified equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) vaccine administered by two different routes were tested in horses. Horses that received intramuscular (IM) priming and an intranasal (IN) booster with a 28-day interval (IM-IN group [n = 6]), IN priming and IM booster (IN-IM group [n = 5]), or no vaccination (control group [n = 6]) were challenged with EHV-1 strain 10-I-224 28 days after the second vaccination. Both vaccinated groups had significantly higher serum virus-neutralizing titers than the control group, with increased levels of ser...
Song Y, Day CM, Afinjuomo F, Tan JE, Page SW, Garg S.While the global market for veterinary products has been expanding rapidly, there is still a lack of specialist knowledge of equine pharmaceutics. In many cases, the basic structure of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and integumentary system of the horse shares similarities with those of humans. Generally, the dosage form developed for humans can be repurposed to deliver equine medications; however, due to physiological variation, the therapeutic outcomes can be unpredictable. This is an area that requires more research, as there is a clear deficiency in literature precedence on drug delivery...
Johnson SA, Frisbie DD, Griffenhagen GM, King MR.Blood flow restriction (BFR) has become a key rehabilitative tool for human orthopaedic conditions. With modernised technology and evolution of clinical application, patient-specific delivery of occlusion percentages is now considered the standard of care in human patients due to improved therapeutic outcomes and minimised safety risks. Safety validation and limb occlusion pressure (LOP) data for horses, however, are lacking. Objective: (1) To determine if BFR exposure resulted in forelimb biomechanical gait dysfunction as safety validation and (2) to investigate inter-horse and inter-limb LOP...
Suvá M, Arnold VH, Wiedenmann EA, Jordan R, Galvagno E, Martínez M, Vichera GD.Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is an asexual reproductive technique where cloned offspring contain the same genetic material as the original donor. Although this technique preserves the sex of the original animal, the birth of sex-reversed offspring has been reported in some species. Here, we report for the first time the birth of a female foal generated by SCNT of a male nuclear donor. After a single SCNT procedure, 16 blastocysts were obtained and transferred to eight recipient mares, resulting in the birth of two clones: one male and one female. Both animals had identical genetic prof...
Balena V, Pradhan SS, Bera BC, Anand T, Sansanwal R, Khetmalis R, Madhwal A, Bernela M, Supriya K, Pavulraj S, Tripathi BN, Virmani N.Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) infection causes significant health problems in equines. The EHV-1 infection leads to abortion storm in mares, respiratory disease and myeloencephalopathy. Despite the wide use of vaccines, the outbreaks of EHV-1 infections keep occurring globally, suggesting the need for the development of improved vaccines. Gene deletion attenuated mutant viruses could be a good candidate for the development of modified live vaccines. Here, we report the generation of mutant EHV-1 by deleting virulence (glycoprotein E & internal repeat 6; IR6) and immune evasive (pUL43 &a...
Shilton CA, Kahler A, Roach JM, Raudsepp T, de Mestre AM.Embryonic and foetal loss remain one of the greatest challenges in equine reproductive health with 5-10% of established day 15 pregnancies and a further 5-10% of day 70 pregnancies failing to produce a viable foal. The underlying reason for these losses is variable but ultimately most cases will be attributed to pathologies of the environment of the developing embryo and later foetus, or a defect intrinsic to the embryo itself that leads to lethality at any stage of gestation right up to birth. Historically, much research has focused on the maternal endometrium, endocrine and immune responses ...
He H, Palm-Vlasak LS, Chen C, Banks SA, Biedrzycki AH.This study aims to quantitatively characterize the passive kinematics of the healthy, soft tissue-intact equine stifle to establish an objective foundation for providing insights into the etiology of stifle disorders and developing a possible surgical treatment for stifle degenerative disease. Methods: 5 whole-horse specimens. Methods: Reflective markers with intracortical bone pins and a motion capture system were used to investigate the stifle joint kinematics. Kinematics of 5 whole-horse specimens euthanized within 2 hours were calculated for internal/external rotation, adduction/abduction,...
Manfredi JM, Jacob S, Norton E.Endocrine disorders are associated with joint pain and tendon injury in humans, but the effects in the horse are only starting to be understood. Similar patterns of clinical signs and injury appear to affect horses and humans for both orthopedic and endocrine disorders, supporting the use of a one-health approach to tackle these issues. In this Currents in One Health, we will discuss common equine endocrinopathies, current testing recommendations, dietary management, genetic predispositions, and endocrine disorders' effects on performance. Our aim is to use a one-health lens to describe curren...
Poradowski D, Chrószcz A.The study consisted of the immunohistochemical analysis of fundic and pyloric mucosa in the equine stomach between the 4th and 11th month of gestation. The accessible material was classified into three age groups using the CRL method. The adult reference group was used to define potential differences between foetal and adult populations of gastric APUD cells. The samples were preserved, prepared, and stained according to the standard protocols. The immunohistochemical reaction was assessed using the semi-quantitative IRS method. The results were documented and statistically analysed. The most ...
Pratt-Phillips S, Munjizun A, Janicki K.Obesity is a critical problem in the equine industry, with ponies being at particularly high risk of developing obesity-related conditions such as metabolic syndrome and laminitis. The purpose of this study was to estimate the level of adiposity in an elite level of competitive show ponies, and to determine if adiposity was related to performance based on their model score (judged on conformation and appearance). Two researchers visually evaluated the body condition score (BCS) and cresty neck score (CNS) of 377 ponies at a national hunter competition. Thirty five percent of the ponies in the ...
Shen Y, Ulaangerel T, Ren H, Davshilt T, Yi M, Li X, Xing J, Du M, Bai D, Dugarjav M, Bou G.The follicular fluid and oviduct fluid play major roles in oocyte maturation, sperm activation, and fertilization. To better understand the physiological environments for equine oocyte maturation and fertilization, here we conducted the proteome analysis and comparison on follicular fluids and oviduct fluids from the ovulatory side and the anovulatory side. The results showed that there is no significant difference between two side oviduct fluids, but a total of 71 differential abundance proteins (DAPs) were identified between two side follicular fluids, of which 9 are up-regulated and 62 are ...
Adams VJ, LeBlanc N, Penell J.Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been used to evaluate the effect of various interventions on the equine microbiome. The aim of this randomised blinded clinical trial was to determine if a prebiotic nutritional supplement would result in a change from baseline in the faecal microbiome composition of racing Thoroughbred horses in training being fed a high concentrate/grain-based diet to be more similar to that found in forage fed/pasture grazed horses. Thirty-two horses on one training yard were randomised to either receive the supplement or not. Faecal samples were collected at baseline, 6...
de Laat MA, Warnken T, Delarocque J, Reiche DB, Grob AJ, Feige K, Carslake HB, Durham AE, Sillence MN, Thane KE, Frank N, Brojer J, Lindase S....A glycemic challenge test is used for the diagnosis of insulin dysregulation (ID) in horses and ponies. Different forms of the test exist where the administrative route and dose of glucose vary, which makes interpretation of results challenging. Objective: To evaluate the palatability of, and blood glucose and insulin responses to, carbohydrate pellets fed as an oral glucose test (OGT), and to establish the diagnostic threshold for ID when using the pellets. Methods: University and privately-owned horses and ponies (n = 157) comprised of 31 breeds and both sexes. Methods: Multicenter cohort ...
Tou K, Cawley A, Bowen C, Bishop DP, Fu S.The current approach to equine anti-doping is focused on the targeted detection of prohibited substances. However, as new substances are rapidly being developed, the need for complimentary methods for monitoring is crucial to ensure the integrity of the racing industry is upheld. Lipidomics is a growing field involved in the characterisation of lipids, their function and metabolism in a biological system. Different lipids have various biological effects throughout the equine system including platelet aggregation and inflammation. A certain class of lipids that are being reviewed are the eicosa...
Fedorka CE, Ali HE, Troedsson MHT.Galectins are a family of proteins that bind to glycans, acting in a cytokine-like manner throughout the body. In the majority of mammalians, galectins have been found to be involved in pregnancy maintenance, but few studies have evaluated this in the horse. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the expression of various galectins in pregnant and nonpregnant mares. Next-generation RNA sequencing was performed on the chorioallantois and endometrium of healthy pregnant mares at 120, 180, 300, and 330 days of gestation (n = 4/stage), as well as 45-day chorioallantois (n = 4), post...
Ryden A, Fernström LL, Svonni E, Riihimäki M.Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (S. equi) is transmitted via contact with infected horses or fomites such as equipment or surfaces of the stable environment. Effective cleaning and sanitation is essential to minimize risk of fomite-associated infections. This study assessed the effectiveness of cleaning and sanitation of experimentally S. equi contaminated materials and equipment found in stables. Wood, concrete, plastic, leather halters, leather gloves and polyester webbing halters were inoculated with a 24-hour culture S. equi laboratory strain. In addition, selected materials were inoculated...
Niwa H, Higuchi T, Fujii S, Kinoshita Y, Uchida-Fujii E, Sueyoshi M, Nukada T, Ueno T.Equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) is an equine infectious disease that can lead to severe weight loss and hyperplasia of the intestinal mucosa due to infection with Lawsonia intracellularis. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of EPE in a major Thoroughbred breeding area: Hidaka district, Hokkaido, Japan. Of the 252 symptomatic horses that we tested, 192 EPE cases (76.2%), including 8 fatal cases, were confirmed from April 2015 to March 2020 by etiological and/or serological investigation. Most of the EPE cases were observed in foals (88.5%), with fewer cases in yearlings (7.3%)...
Edwards VL, Loux S, Embertson R.Juvenile Thoroughbreds can be expensive to raise and train to race. Part of the economic return in these juveniles are the weanling, yearling and 2-year-old in training sales at which major surgeries must be declared. Objective: To determine if surgically corrected large colon displacements were associated with a reduction of sales price and racing performance. We hypothesised that the surgery would be associated with a reduced sales price but would not be associated with a reduction in race earnings or starts. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: The medical, sales and racing records...
Poulsen L, Henriksson FV, Dahl M, Honoré ML, Olsen SN, Leifsson PS, Staerk-Østergaard J, Jacobsen S, Pihl TH.Horses with non-strangulating intestinal infarction (NSII) are often misdiagnosed with idiopathic peritonitis or acute colitis. Early diagnosis is essential to ensure early surgical intervention and improve survival. Clinical and laboratory data from horses admitted to the University of Copenhagen Large Animal Teaching Hospital with NSII, idiopathic peritonitis or acute colitis between 2009 and 2018 were used for univariate comparisons and a multivariable logistic regression model for prediction of NSII. Two hundred and thirty-one horses were included. A multivariable model for the prediction ...
Liu L, Zhang Y, Ma H, Cao H, Liu W.Horse Milk has important quantitative characteristics and high economic value. However, the DNA methylation regulators involved in horse milk traits have not been clarified. To explore the important role of genome-wide DNA methylation in regulating equine milk yield, this study systematically investigated the genome-wide DNA methylation profiles of Kazakh horse blood by comparing a high-production group (HP, average daily milk yield of 7.5 kg) and low-production group (LP, average daily milk yield of 3.2 kg) using deep whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. First, both groups showed similar prop...
Rodrigues VD, de Freitas MG, Milan B, Reckziegel GH, Borges DGL, Nakatani MTM, Tutija JF, Borges FA.The equine pinworm could become an increasingly common problem, as there are reports of failure in the control of this parasite. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of ivermectin (IVM) and IVM combined with pyrantel pamoate (PYR). Thirteen parasitological positive equines were treated with oral IVM (200 µg/kg) and therapeutic efficacy, clinical recovery and the egg reappearance period (ERP) were evaluated. In cases for which ERP was shorter than the pre-patent period (PPP), a second treatment was performed with IVM (200 µg/kg) + PYR (6.6 mg/kg), followed by the same evaluatio...
Alghamdi AS, Fedorka CE, Scoggin KE, Esteller-Vico A, Beatty K, Davolli G, Ball BA, Troedsson MHT.Sperm-neutrophil binding is an important facet of breeding and significantly impacts fertility. While a specific seminal plasma protein has been found to reduce this binding and improve fertility (CRISP-3), additional molecule(s) appear to promote binding between defective sperm and neutrophils. Recent work has suggested one of these proteins is lactoferrin (LF), an 80 kDa iron-binding protein found throughout the body, but the purity of the protein was not confirmed. It is unknown if LF binds to sperm selectively based on viability, and if receptors for LF are located on equine sperm. To eval...
Laukkanen T, Karma L, Virtala AM, Mykkänen A, Pehkonen J, Rossi H, Tuomola K, Raekallio M.Equine dental diseases are often underdiagnosed and their signs inadequately reported. Many horse owners have difficulties in recognizing pain-related behavioral signs and in associating them with dental pain. Our objective was to determine what type and degree of dental findings may cause behavioral signs associated with dental pain. In this cross-sectional study, dental examination was performed on 183 adult horses and cheek tooth findings were scored. Owners filled in an internet-based questionnaire including 35 questions concerning eating behavior, bit behavior, and general behavior of the...
Kumar S, Gupta AK, Pal Y, Dwivedi SK.The therapeutic efficacy of imidocarb, artesunate, arteether, buparvaquone and arteether+buparvaquone combination was evaluated against Babesia equi of Indian origin in splenectomised donkeys with experimentally induced acute infection. Efficacies of these drugs were tested by administering each drug or drug combination to groups of donkeys (having three donkeys each group). One group of donkey was kept as untreated control for comparing the results. Parasitaemia, haematology (WBC, RBC, PCV, granulocytes and haemoglobin), biochemical parameters (SAST, SALT, alkaline phosphatase, albumin/globul...
Teifke JP, Kidney BA, Löhr CV, Yager JA.We examined 12 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded feline skin tumours which had the histopathological features of fibropapillomas for the presence of papillomavirus (PV) DNA using touchdown polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing and nonradioactive in situ hybridization. Nine of the tumours contained a 102-bp PCR product demonstrated using consensus PV primers that amplify a portion of the L1 gene. The nucleotide sequences are closely related, but not identical to that of ovine PV type 2, rabbit oral PV and reindeer PV. The deduced amino acid sequences had strong homologies with the majo...
Jörg A, Pasquier JM, Klebanoff SJ.Eosinophil peroxidase (donor: hydrogen-peroxidase oxidoreductase, EC 1.11.1.7) was isolated in a highly purified form (415/280 nm ratio, 1.05) from horse peripheral blood eosinophil. Eosinophil peroxidase was extracted from intact eosinophils (98-100% purity) or isolated eosinophil granules with 0.05 M acetate buffer (pH 4.7)/0.18 M NaCl and purified by chromatography on Sephadex G-200 and carboxymethylcellulose. Final elution was with 0.05 M acetate buffer (pH 4.7)/ 1 M NaCl. Horse eosinophil peroxidase is a strongly basic protein with bacterial properties when combined with H2O2 and iodide, ...
Bentley E, Miller PE, Diehl KA.The recent development of a 20-MHz, high-frequency ultrasound probe has allowed tissue to be visualized at resolutions of 20 to 80 microm, which is similar to a low-power histologic view. This high degree of resolution, however, limits tissue penetration to 5 to 10 mm, which is ideal for examination of the anterior segment of the eye. The detail provided by high-resolution ultrasound readily permits the clinician to distinguish between various anterior segment entities that may appear similar but are treated quite differently, such as anterior uveal tumors, iridociliary cysts, and iris bombé....
Schuurman SO, Kersten W, Weijs WA.Horses spend much of their life standing, and they are believed to be able to keep their limbs straight without muscular effort. We tested the hypothesis that the stifle (knee) and hock (tarsal) joints could be stabilized merely with the help of a passive lock mechanism whereby the patella is secured behind a hook, formed by the medial femoral trochlea. In anaesthetized animals and isolated limbs the stifle and hock flex readily under compression. In isolated limbs this collapse was prevented by a small force applied to the patella, mimicking the action of the vastus medialis muscle. In vivo, ...
Nixon AJ, Lust G, Vernier-Singer M.Equine articular chondrocytes were isolated from explant cartilage cultures by digestion in a 0.075% collagenase solution for 15 to 19 hours. Cartilage from late-term fetal and neonatal foals resulted in mean chondrocyte yield of 51.99 x 10(6) cells/g of cartilage (wet weight), compared with a yield of 17.83 x 10(6) cells/g for foals 3 to 12 months old. Propagation of chondrocytes in monolayer and 3-dimensional culture was accomplished, using Ham's F-12 as the basal medium, with supplements of fetal bovine serum (10%), ascorbic acid, alpha-ketoglutarate, and L-glutamine. The medium was buffere...
Liebscher G, Vanchangiri K, Mueller T, Feige K, Cavalleri JM, Paschke R.Betulinic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene, and its derivatives are promising compounds for cancer treatment in humans. Melanoma is not only a problem for humans but also for grey horses as they have a high potential of developing melanoma lesions coupled to the mutation causing their phenotype. Current chemotherapeutic treatment carries the risk of adverse health effects for the horse owner or the treating veterinarian by exposure to antineoplastic compounds. Most treatments have low prospects for systemic tumor regression. Thus, a new therapy is needed. In this in vitro study, Betulinic acid a...
O'Brien C, Marr N, Thorpe C.The forelimb superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is an energy-storing tendon that is highly susceptible to injury during activities such as galloping and jumping, such that it is one of the most commonly reported causes of lameness in the performance horse. This review outlines the biomechanical and biothermal effects of strain on the SDFT and how these contribute to the accumulation of microdamage. The effect of age-related alterations on strain response and subsequent injury risk is also considered. Given that tendon is a slowly healing and poorly regenerative tissue, prompt detection o...
Lee EM, Kim AY, Lee EJ, Park JK, Park SI, Cho SG, Kim HK, Kim SY, Jeong KS.Horse health has become a major concern with the expansion of horse-related industries and sports; the importance of healthy muscles for horse performance and daily activities is undisputed. Here we generated equine-induced pluripotent stem cells (E-iPSCs) by reprogramming equine adipose-derived stem cells (E-ADSCs) into iPSCs using a polycistronic lentiviral vector encoding four transcription factors (i.e., Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) and then examined their pluripotent characteristics. Subsequently, established E-iPSCs were transplanted into muscle-injured Rag/ mdx mice. The histopathology ...
Scholz HC, Joseph M, Tomaso H, Al Dahouk S, Witte A, Kinne J, Hagen RM, Wernery R, Wernery U, Neubauer H.A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting the flagellin P (fliP)-I S407A genomic region of Burkholderia mallei was developed for the specific detection of this organism in pure cultures and clinical samples from a recent outbreak of equine glanders. Primers deduced from the known fliP-IS407A sequence of B. mallei American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 23344(T) allowed the specific amplification of a 989-bp fragment from each of the 20 B. mallei strains investigated, whereas other closely related organisms tested negative. The detection limit of the assay was 10 fg for purified DNA of ...
Long KJ, Bonagura JD, Darke PG.Eighteen echocardiographic images useful for diagnostic imaging, M-mode echocardiography, and Doppler echocardiography of the equine heart were standardised by relating the position of the axial beam to various intracardiac landmarks. The transducer orientation required for each image was recorded in 14 adult horses by describing the degree of sector rotation and the orientation of the axial beam relative to the thorax. Repeatable images could be obtained within narrow limits of angulation and rotation for 14 of the 18 standardised images evaluated. Twenty-seven National Hunt horses were subse...
Stringer AP, Christley RM, Bell CE, Gebreab F, Tefera G, Reed K, Trawford A, Pinchbeck GL.Working horses, donkeys and mules suffer from numerous diseases and clinical problems. However, there is little information on what owners perceive as important health concerns in their working animals. Objective: To identify and prioritise with owners the diseases and other health concerns in working equids in central Ethiopia using participatory methodologies. Methods: Participatory situation analysis (PSA). Methods: The study was conducted with carthorse- and donkey-owners in 16 sites in central Ethiopia. Multiple participatory methodologies were utilised, including ranking, matrices and fo...
Raabe MR, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) has been shown to infect cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. These primary cells are intrinsically difficult to obtain, to purify and to culture in vitro for extended periods of time. As a result, most in vitro studies concerning this lentivirus make use of primary equine fibroblasts or transformed canine or feline cell lines. We describe methods that yield reproducibly pure cultures of equine blood monocytes from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The in vitro differentiation of these cells into mature equine macrophage was verified using various cytoc...
van de Water SG, van Gennip RG, Potgieter CA, Wright IM, van Rijn PA.African horse sickness virus (AHSV) is a virus species in the genus Orbivirus of the family Reoviridae. There are nine serotypes of AHSV showing different levels of cross neutralization. AHSV is transmitted by species of Culicoides biting midges and causes African horse sickness (AHS) in equids, with a mortality rate of up to 95% in naive horses. AHS has become a serious threat for countries outside Africa, since endemic Culicoides species in moderate climates appear to be competent vectors for the related bluetongue virus (BTV). To control AHS, live-attenuated vaccines (LAVs) are used in Afri...
Hestand MS, Kalbfleisch TS, Coleman SJ, Zeng Z, Liu J, Orlando L, MacLeod JN.Current gene annotation of the horse genome is largely derived from in silico predictions and cross-species alignments. Only a small number of genes are annotated based on equine EST and mRNA sequences. To expand the number of equine genes annotated from equine experimental evidence, we sequenced mRNA from a pool of forty-three different tissues. From these, we derived the structures of 68,594 transcripts. In addition, we identified 301,829 positions with SNPs or small indels within these transcripts relative to EquCab2. Interestingly, 780 variants extend the open reading frame of the transcri...
Diouf ND, Etter E, Lo MM, Lo M, Akakpo AJ.Since first being detected in Nigeria in January 2007, African horse sickness virus serotype 2 (AHSV-2) has spread throughout the northern hemisphere, and was first reported in Senegal. A retrospective study was conducted from December 2009 to April 2010 using data collected in the field combined with information available at the Direction of Veterinary Services. The epidemic started in the Dakar region with two outbreaks in March and June 2007, respectively, and spread in several parts of the country between July and November 2007. During this period, 232 outbreaks and 1137 horse deaths were ...
Starke SD, Oosterlinck M.Visual equine lameness assessment is often unreliable, yet the full understanding of this issue is missing. Here, we investigate visual lameness assessment using near-realistic, three-dimensional horse animations presenting with 0-60 per cent movement asymmetry. Animations were scored at an equine veterinary seminar by attendees with various expertise levels. Results showed that years of experience and exposure to a low, medium or high case load had no significant effect on correct assessment of lame (P>0.149) or sound horses (P≥0.412), with the exception of a significant effect of case l...
Witkowski L, Cywinska A, Paschalis-Trela K, Crisman M, Kita J.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) has various etiologies, with Leptospira infection and genetic predisposition being the leading risk factors. Regardless of etiology, expression of ocular proteins associated with maintenance of the blood-ocular barrier is impaired in ERU. The recurring-remitting cycle of ERU repeatedly disrupts the blood-ocular barrier, allowing the previously immune-privileged ocular environment to become the site of a progressive local autoimmune pathology that ultimately results in tissue destruction and vision loss. The immune-mediated process involves humoral and cellular me...
Williams A, Smith JR, Allaway D, Harris P, Liddell S, Mobasheri A.Arthritic diseases are characterized by the degradation of collagenous and noncollagenous extracellular matrix (ECM) components in articular cartilage. The increased expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is partly responsible for cartilage degradation. This study used proteomics to identify inflammatory proteins and catabolic enzymes released in a serum-free explant model of articular cartilage stimulated with the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 1β (IL-1β). Western blotting was used to quantify the release of selected proteins in the presence or absence of the cyc...
Lees P, Higgins AJ.Weak organic acids possessing anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic properties--commonly known as aspirin-like drugs--have been used in equine medicine for almost 100 years. These non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may be classified chemically into two groups; the enolic acids such as phenylbutazone and carboxylic acids like flunixin, meclofenamate and naproxen. All NSAIDs have similar and possibly identical modes of action accounting for both their therapeutic and their toxic effects. They block some part of the cyclo-oxygenase enzyme pathway and thereby suppress the synthe...
Derksen FJ, Brown CM, Sonea I, Darien BJ, Robinson NE.Comparisons were made between transtracheal aspirate (TTA) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cytology obtained from 50 horses with chronic lung disease and from 10 control horses. There was no significant correlation between the TTA cytology and the BAL cytology, suggesting that the cell population in the trachea is not representative of the cell population in the lower airways. In control horses the range of differential cell counts obtained from TTA fluid was remarkably large, whereas the variability in cell populations observed in BAL fluid was smaller. In the principal horses the total and ...
Wong DM, Belgrave RL, Williams KJ, Del Piero F, Alcott CJ, Bolin SR, Marr CM, Nolen-Walston R, Myers RK, Wilkins PA.5 horses were evaluated because of decreased appetite, weight loss, fever, cough, tachypnea, and respiratory distress. Results: Tachycardia, tachypnea, increased respiratory effort, lethargy, fever, poor body condition, and nasal discharge were detected in various combinations on initial physical examination. Evaluation of the lower portion of the respiratory tract via radiography and ultrasonography revealed a severe nodular interstitial pattern. Histologic examination of lung tissue revealed interstitial expansion of alveolar parenchyma with collagen, intraluminal accumulation of neutrophils...
Donnelly KS, Giuliano EA, Sharm A, Mohan RR.To explore the effect of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) (i) on corneal fibroblast differentiation, morphology, and viability; and (ii) on the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 2 and 9 using an in vitro model of equine corneal fibrosis. Methods: Healthy donor corneas were used to generate primary cultures of equine corneal fibroblasts. The fibroblasts were exposed to 5 ng/mL TGFβ1 to induce myofibroblast formation. The cultures were treated with either 5 μm or 10 μm SAHA for 72 h in the presence of TGFβ1. Real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry were used to determi...
Meyer J, Delay J, Bienzle D.Clinical, laboratory and tissue findings from 37 horses with lymphoma were investigated. Horses ranged in age from 0.3 to 20.5 years (median 5.0 years) and included 18 females and 19 males. Weight loss (n = 25) and ventral edema (n = 21) were the most common historical and physical abnormalities. The most common laboratory abnormalities were hyperfibrinogenemia (n = 26), hypoalbuminemia (n = 19), anemia (n = 19), leukemia (n = 14), hyperglobulinemia (n = 13), and thrombocytopenia (n = 13). Thirty-four tumors involved multiple lymphoid tissues and abdominal or thoracic organs, and 3 tumors were...
Beeler-Marfisi J, Clark ME, Wen X, Sears W, Huber L, Ackerley C, Viel L, Bienzle D.To evaluate experimental induction of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) with inhaled fungal spores, lipopolysaccharide, and silica microspheres in horses. Methods: 7 horses with and 3 horses without a history of RAO. Methods: RAO-susceptible horses ranged in age from 17 to approximately 30 years, and control horses ranged in age from 7 to approximately 15 years. Pure mold cultures were derived from repeated culture of hay and identified via gene amplification and sequencing. Pulmonary function testing and bronchoalveolar lavage were performed before and after nebulization with a suspension of...
Jiménez-Aristizabal RF, López C, Álvarez ME, Giraldo C, Prades M, Carmona JU.To compare the temporal release (over three weeks) of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) and transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1) from two platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) preparations from equine blood obtained at either 240g/8min or 416g/10min. Whole blood from 10 horses was used to obtain PRF clots by two different centrifugation protocols. After 1h of rest, PRF clots were deposited in wells with culture medium, which was changed at 6h, 24h and then every 48h to 21days. Cytokines and GFs...
Garrett LA, Brown R, Poxton IR.This study compares quantitatively the microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract of healthy horses with that of horses with equine grass sickness (EGS). Faecal and ileal samples were cultured quantitatively on selective and non-selective media. Confirmed anaerobes were identified to species level. Overall faecal counts gave a ratio of aerobes:anaerobes of approximately 1:1. However, the mean counts in healthy horses of 4.4x10(8) aerobes:3.7x10(8) anaerobes per gram wet weight were different from counts in EGS (means were 10-100-fold higher), with statistically significant differences for the an...
Hines SA, Ramsay JD, Kappmeyer LS, Lau AO, Ojo KK, Van Voorhis WC, Knowles DP, Mealey RH.The apicomplexan hemoparasite Theileria equi is a causative agent of equine piroplasmosis, eradicated from the United States in 1988. However, recent outbreaks have sparked renewed interest in treatment options for infected horses. Imidocarb dipropionate is the current drug of choice, however variation in clinical response to therapy has been observed. Methods: We quantified the in vitro susceptibility of two T. equi isolates and a lab generated variant to both imidocarb dipropionate and a bumped kinase inhibitor compound 1294. We also evaluated the capacity of in vitro imidocarb dipropionate ...
Mellor DJ, Love S, Walker R, Gettinby G, Reid SW.Details of the management, feeding, level of activity and routine health care of horses in Scotland and the five northernmost counties in England were recorded through a stratified random sample of horse owners who had responded to a previous survey. Sixty-eight per cent of the horses were kept where their owners resided, and 32 per cent were kept away from the owner's home. More than 99 per cent were turned out to grazing for at least part of the year and 81 per cent were stabled for at least part of the time, most commonly bedded on straw (50 per cent) or shavings (34 per cent). Hay was fed ...
