Equine health encompasses the study and management of diseases, disorders, and overall well-being of horses. It involves understanding various physiological systems, preventive care, and treatment strategies to maintain optimal health in equine populations. Common areas of focus include nutrition, infectious diseases, orthopedic conditions, and reproductive health. Research in equine health aims to advance knowledge on diagnostic methods, therapeutic interventions, and management practices that improve horse welfare and performance. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse aspects of equine health, offering insights into current findings and advancements in the field.
Gibson C, de Ruijter-Villani M, Stout TAE.In many species, the insulin-like growth factors (IGF1 and IGF2), their receptors and IGF binding proteins play important roles in preparing the endometrium for implantation, and regulating conceptus growth and development. To determine whether the IGF system may contribute to conceptus-maternal interaction during equine pre-implantation development, we evaluated mRNA expression for IGF system components in conceptuses, and endometrium recovered from pregnant and cycling mares, on days 7, 14, 21 and 28 after ovulation. We also investigated expression of IGF1, IGF2 and their receptors 6 and 11 ...
Melo-Neto GB, Mattos LS, Alonso JM, Rosa GS, Silva JRB, Lima WF, Mendes AF, Machado VMV, Alves ALG, Watanabe MJ, Rodrigues CA, Hussni CA.No abstract available
Magouras I, Schoster A, Fouché N, Gerber V, Groschup MH, Ziegler U, Fricker R, Griot C, Vögtlin A.Reports on acute tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infections with signs of neurologic disease in horses are limited. Objective: To describe the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory findings of suspected acute TBEV infections in 6 horses. Methods: Six horses originating from TBEV endemic regions of Switzerland were presented to equine hospitals with acute onset of neurologic disease between 2011 and 2019. Methods: Retrospective case series. Horses with acute onset of signs of neurologic disease that were subjected to clinical and microbiological examinations to rule out infectious dise...
Fourie I, Snyman J, Williams J, Ismail A, Jansen van Vuren P, Venter M.Although Old World alphaviruses, Middelburg- (MIDV) and Sindbis virus (SINV), have previously been detected in horses and wildlife with neurologic disease in South Africa, the pathogenesis and clinical presentation of MIDV and SINV infections in animals are not well documented. Clinical samples from horses across South Africa with acute or fatal neurologic and febrile infections submitted between 2014-2018 were investigated. In total, 69/1084 (6.36%) and 11/1084 (1.01%) horses tested positive for MIDV and SINV, respectively, by real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR. Main signs/outcomes for ...
Cahalan SD, Perkins JD, Boehm I, Jones RA, Gillingwater TH, Piercy RJ.Morphological study of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), a specialised peripheral synapse formed between a lower motor neuron and skeletal muscle fibre, has significantly contributed to the understanding of synaptic biology and neuromuscular disease pathogenesis. Rodent NMJs are readily accessible, and research into conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) has relied heavily on experimental work in these small mammals. However, given that nerve length dependency is an important feature of many peripheral neurop...
Goethals J, Nikolayev D, Thielens A, Vermeeren G, Verloock L, Deruyck M, Martens L, Joseph W.This paper describes the exploration of the combined antenna-channel model for a horse hoof. An antenna of 25 mm × 40 mm is designed in the ISM 868 MHz band. During the characterization and design of the antenna, the dynamic and harsh environment of the horse hoof is taken into account throughout every step of the procedure because it is impossible to de-embed the antenna from its environment. The antenna and channel model are verified extensively by measurements in phantom and ex vivo. The antenna is verified to be robust against changes in the morphology of the horse's hoof up to 50%. The d...
Valberg SJ, Iglewski H, Henry ML, Schultz AE, McKenzie EC.Selective breeding and discipline specific training has led to equine breeds adept at various athletic disciplines. Breed-specific skeletal muscle adaptations have been studied in many breeds but not Warmbloods (WB). We evaluated gluteal muscle contractile muscle fiber types and citrate synthase activity (CS), a marker for mitochondrial volume density, in WB trained for dressage (second level-Grand Prix) contrasted with Quarter Horses (QH). Gluteus medius muscle biopsies from 14 unfit/18 fit dressage-trained WB and 20 unfit/16 fit reining/working cow QH were analyzed fluorometrically and fiber...
Kydd J, Nielsen M, Waller A.Julia Kydd, Martin Nielsen and Andrew Waller highlight some of the key presentations given at last year's 11th International Equine Infectious Diseases Conference, which was held virtually.
Seitz-Cherner E, Bauck AG, Denagamage T, Freeman DE.To compare single-layer anastomoses (modified continuous Lembert [mod-CL] and modified-interrupted Lembert [mod-IL]) and a 2-layer simple continuous anastomosis (2 L; seromuscular and mucosal) for jejunojejunal anastomoses in equine cadavers and to compare ex vivo to in vivo time to complete the anastomosis and stoma size with a mod-IL pattern. Methods: Measurements in jejunum from cadaver and anesthetized horses. Methods: Ten live horses and 18 equine cadavers. Methods: Time to complete anastomosis, bursting pressures (BP), leakage sites, and anastomotic index (size ratio of anastomotic lume...
Suresh KP, Patil SS, Nayak A, Dhanze H, Rajamani S, Shivamallu C, Cull CA, Amachawadi RG.Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial disease that mainly affects ruminants, but it may affect equines, canines, and felines. The disease is of utmost significance from an economic standpoint in countries where there is no national brucellosis prevention and eradication policy in operation. A systematic review was done to estimate disease burden, incidences, prevalence, and geographical distribution critical in planning appropriate intervention strategies for the control and prevention of Brucellosis. Research articles that were published during the period 2000-2020 were considered for ...
Mandal S, Denham MM, Spencer SJ, Denham J.Ageing causes a gradual deterioration of bodily functions and telomere degradation. Excessive telomere shortening leads to cellular senescence and decreases tissue vitality. Six proteins, called shelterin, protect telomere integrity and control telomere length through telomerase-dependent mechanisms. Exercise training appears to maintain telomeres in certain somatic cells, although the underlying molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, we examined the influence of a single bout of vigorous exercise training on leukocyte telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and shelterin gene...
Thompson D, Thirumalapura NR, Tewari D.To determine the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi infections in Pennsylvania horses. 271 horses. A survey was conducted with PCR and serology to evaluate anaplasmosis and Lyme disease infections in horses from Pennsylvania that were suspected for tick-borne infection. A phagocytophilum was detected in 19/271 (7.0%) Pennsylvania horses tested by the duplex PCR. B burgdorferi was not detected in any horse blood tested by PCR. Overall, 120/271 (44.3%) horses tested positive for presence of A phagocytophilum antibodies by at least the IDEXX SNAP 4Dx Plus lateral flo...
Fürer F, Fraefel C, Lechmann J.Equid gammaherpesvirus 2 (EHV-2) and 5 (EHV-5) are widely distributed in the equines. Although their pathogenic potential is not yet fully understood, they appear to play a role in disease patterns like equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis. In this study, a multiplex real-time PCR (rtPCR) was designed to detect DNA of the glycoprotein H (EHV-2) and E11 gene (EHV-5). Analytical specificity was determined by testing DNA of other herpesviruses by SYBR Green rtPCR and melting curve analysis, as well as Sanger sequencing of positive field samples. Analytical sensitivity was assessed by stand...
Colombino E, Raspa F, Perotti M, Bergero D, Vervuert I, Valle E, Capucchio MT.The conventional feeding management of horses is still characterized by high starch and low fibre diets, which can negatively affect horse's gastrointestinal health. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of a high-starch (HS) vs. a high-fibre (HF) diet on gut health in horses. A total of 19 Bardigiano horses destined for slaughter and aged 14.3 ± 0.7 months were randomly allotted to two dietary groups: HS (5 fillies and 4 colts,) and HF group (7 fillies and 3 colts). They received the same first-cut meadow hay but different complementary feeds for 72 days: HS group was ...
Dengler F, Sternberg F, Grages M, Kästner SB, Verhaar N.Intestinal ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) is a frequent complication of equine colic. Several mechanisms may be involved in adaptation of the intestinal epithelium to IRI and might infer therapeutic potential, including hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1α, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), and induction of autophagy. However, the mechanisms supporting adaptation and thus cellular survival are not completely understood yet. We investigated the activation of specific adaptation mechanisms in both no and low flow ischemia and reperfusion si...
Garg M, Sharma D, Kumar R.1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (AMIMCl) acts as a potential green solvent for proteins. The present work provides a possible pathway by which the structural, kinetic, thermodynamic, and folding properties of horse cytochrome c (cyt c) are affected in green aqueous-AMIMCl systems. Analysis of the effect of AMIMCl on thermodynamic stability, refolding/unfolding kinetics, and motional dynamics of cyt c provided important information, (i) AMIMCl decreases the thermodynamic stability of reduced cyt c and also strengthens the guanidinium chloride (GdmCl)-mediated decrease in thermodynamic stab...
Legg K, Cochrane D, Gee E, Macdermid P, Rogers C.Physiological parameters and muscle activity of jockeys may affect their fall and injury risk, performance, and career longevity, as well as the performance and welfare of the horses they ride. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the physiological demands, body displacement, and electromyographic (EMG) activity of twelve jockeys riding 52 trials and 16 professional races. The jockeys were instrumented with heart rate (HR) monitors, accelerometers, and integrated EMG clothing (recording eight muscle groups: quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal, erector spinae/lower back, abdominal external obliq...
Kornicka-Garbowska K, Groborz S, Lynda B, Galuppo L, Marycz K.Synovitis (SI) is one of the most common and serious orthopedic diseases in horses of different age, breed and sex, which contributes to the development of osteoarthritis. The burden of SI includes economic loss and represents a real challenge for current veterinary health care. At the molecular level, fibroblasts-like synoviocytes (FLS) are recognized as major cell populations involved in SI pathogenesis. In the course of SI, FLSs are losing their protective and pro-regenerative cytological features, become highly proliferative and initiate various stress signaling pathways. Fibroblast-like s...
Lanz S, Howard J, Gerber V, Peters LM.Little is known about the clinical usefulness in horses of the 1,2-o-dilauryl-rac-glycero-3-glutaric acid-(6'-methylresorufin) ester (DGGR) lipase assay, a biomarker used in other species for the detection of pancreatitis. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of increased DGGR-lipase activity in horses with signs of colic and investigate its association with, and validity to diagnose, underlying gastrointestinal diseases, treatment method (medical or surgical), and outcome (survival or non-survival). Clinical data from 192 horses presented for colic to a teaching h...
Kau S, Motter KS, Moser VJ, Kunz JR, Pellachin M, Hartl B.Incisor malocclusions are common in horses. As yet, an evidence-based understanding of incisor occlusal surface angle dynamics and normocclusal range is missing. Orthodontic measuring devices could help unravel this information objectively but imply measurement validation. We evaluated intra- and interexaminer variability of repeated sagittal and transversal incisor occlusal surface angle measures using a commercial orthodontic gauge device (). Five examiners (two experienced, three inexperienced) measured six cadaver heads on 2 consecutive days in a blinded block-randomization design, resulti...
Perdomo-González DI, García de Paredes RLA, Valera M, Bartolomé E, Gómez MD.The studbook of Pura Raza Menorquina horses only permits the use of black-coated animals with a small quantity of white marks as breeding stock. Its breeding program uses linear morpho-functional traits as selection criteria. Our aim was to estimate the genetic parameters of linear morpho-functional traits, and reveal relationship of quality of black coat color (QB) and percentage of white marks (WM) with the other morphological and functional linear traits in this breed. A total of 46 linear traits were scored by four appraisers using seven classes, with a total of 772 records from 333 animal...
Merkies K, Sudarenko Y, Hodder AJ.Communication within a species is essential for access to resources, alerting to dangers, group facilitation and social bonding; human facial expressions are considered to be an important factor in one’s ability to communicate with others. Evidence has shown that dogs and horses are able to distinguish positive and negative facial expressions by observing photographs of humans, however there is currently no research on how facial expressions from a live human are perceived by horses. This study investigated how ponies distinguish facial expressions presented by live actors. Trained actors (n...
Anstey SI, Jenkins C, Jelocnik M.Chlamydia psittaci is a recognised cause of late-term equine foetal loss and poses a zoonotic risk in Australia. However, a management strategy is lacking to protect at-risk humans handling infected aborted material and pregnant mares. This study proposes a protocol for approaching C. psittaci foetal loss after investigating four foetal losses that occurred on a horse stud in the Hunter Valley, Australia in 2021. Swabs from the foetal loss cases (n = 4), close contact mares (n = 59), and foals of the close contact mares (n = 33) were collected and tested for C. psittaci using both isothe...
Bao W, Yu J, He Y, Liu M, Yang X.The intestinal flora has a variety of physiological functions involved in the regulation of host metabolism, immunity and endocrinology, and plays an important role in maintaining the health of the host. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the intestinal bacterial diversity and their gene functions in three equine species of the genus Shetland Pony (SP), Mongolian Wild Ass (MA), and Plain Zebra (PZ) in captivity in two wildlife parks in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The results showed that only the SP intestinal bacterial abundance index (Chao1) w...
Nielsen SS, Alvarez J, Bicout DJ, Calistri P, Canali E, Drewe JA, Garin-Bastuji B, Gonzales Rojas JL, Gortázar Schmidt C, Michel V....In the framework of its Farm to Fork Strategy, the Commission is undertaking a comprehensive evaluation of animal welfare legislation. This opinion deals with the protection of horses and donkeys during transport. While the opinion focuses primarily on road transport of horses, there are specific sections dealing with the transport of horses on roll-on-roll-off ferries, horses transported by air and the transport of donkeys. In addition, the opinion covers welfare concerns in relation to a specific scenario identified by the European Commission related to the transport of horses on long journe...
Materniak-Kornas M, Rożek W, Rola J, Osiński Z, Löchelt M, Kuźmak J.Equine foamy virus (EFVeca) is a foamy virus of non-primate origin and among the least-studied members of this retroviral subfamily. By sequence comparison, EFVeca shows the highest similarity to bovine foamy virus. In contrast to simian, bovine or feline foamy viruses, knowledge about the epidemiology of EFVeca is still limited. Since preliminary studies suggested EFVeca infections among horses in Poland, we aimed to expand the diagnostics of EFVeca infections by developing specific diagnostic tools and apply them to investigate its prevalence. An ELISA test based on recombinant EFVeca Gag pr...
Hall NP, Heaton KT, Farnsworth KD, Ragle CA.This report evaluates the use of 4.5- and 5.5-mm cannulated drill bits for articular cartilage removal from the proximal interphalangeal joints of equine cadaver limbs. Limbs from 8 equine cadavers, all with normal proximal interphalangeal joints. Proximal interphalangeal joints of 32 limbs from 8 equine cadavers were drilled using either 4.5- or 5.5-mm cannulated drill bits. Pastern joints were then disarticulated, and intra-articular drilling was evaluated by visual inspection. Post-drilling evaluation revealed complete intra-articular drilling occurred in all 32 joints. Canulated 4.5- and 5...
Bullone M, Beauchamp G, Godbout M, Martin JG, Lavoie JP.Endobronchial ultrasonography (EBUS) revealed differences in the thickness of the layer representing subepithelial tissues (L2) between human asthmatics and controls, but whether this measurement correlates with airway smooth muscle (ASM) remodeling in asthma is unknown. In this study, we sought to determine the ability of EBUS to predict histological ASM remodeling in normal and equine asthmatic airways. We studied 109 isolated bronchi from the lungs of 13 horses. They underwent EBUS examination using a 30 MHz radial probe before being processed for histology. ASM remodeling parameters were e...
van der Rijt R, van den Boom R, Jongema Y, van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.The aims of this study were to determine (1) which species of Culicoides is most commonly attracted to horses, (2) whether horses suffering insect hypersensitivity attract more Culicoides spp. than unaffected horses, and (3) the times when Culicoides spp. are most active. Horses affected by insect hypersensitivity and unaffected horses were placed inside mosquito netting tents for 30 min at different times of the day. All Culicoides spp. trapped inside the tents were collected and identified. C. obsoletus was the most common species found, followed by C. pulicaris. Healthy horses attracted sli...
Nieto JE, Snyder JR, Beldomenico P, Aleman M, Kerr JW, Spier SJ.Gastric endoscopy was performed at the end of a 50 or 80 km endurance ride. Gastric ulceration was evident in 67% of the horses with ulcers on the squamous region of the stomach found in 57% of the horses and active bleeding of the glandular mucosa in 27%. Three horses (10%) had lesions only on the glandular mucosa. Values of albumin, creatinine and glucose were higher in horses without gastric lesions. We conclude that horses from endurance competitions have a high prevalence of gastric ulceration that is similar to that observed in performance horses. However the severity of ulceration is le...
Hernandez J, Hawkins DL, Scollay MC.To identify race-start characteristics associated with catastrophic musculoskeletal (MS) injury in Thoroughbred racehorses at 2 racetracks in Florida during 1995 through 1998. Methods: Matched case-control study. Methods: 97 Thoroughbreds (case horses) that incurred a catastrophic MS injury during racing and 388 Thoroughbreds (control horses) randomly selected from noninjured participants and matched on the basis of racetrack and year. Methods: Incidence of MS injury was calculated for all race meets at 2 racetracks in Florida from 1995 through 1998. Race-start characteristics were compared am...
Lovati AB, Corradetti B, Cremonesi F, Bizzaro D, Consiglio AL.Adult bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are a potential cell source for tendon repair in direct cell therapy and tissue engineering investigations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tenogenic induction of undifferentiated BM-MSCs under indirect co-culture technique with trimmed native tendon tissue. Since the horse represents a preferred species to study tendon regenerative strategies, this work was conducted on equine BM-MSCs. Methods: Equine BM-MSCs were co-cultured in a transwell system with tendon tissue fragments. The BM-MSC tenogenic differentiation was evaluated b...
Nebbia C, Dacasto M, Rossetto Giaccherino A, Giuliano Albo A, Carletti M.The apoprotein expression and the catalytic activities of cytochrome P450s involved in the biotransformation of xenobiotics were investigated in horse liver microsomes and compared with those of food producing (cattle, pigs, broiler chicks, and rabbits) and laboratory species (rats). Western blot analysis revealed the presence of proteins immunorelated to rat CYP 1A, CYP 2B, CYP 2E, and CYP 3A subfamilies in hepatic microsomes from horses and from any other examined species. With the exception of the N-demethylation of N-nitrosodimethylamine in broiler chicks, all the recorded interspecies dif...
van Biervliet J, Scrivani PV, Divers TJ, Erb HN, de Lahunta A, Nixon A.Different criteria have been described based on height reduction of the total myelographic contrast column and components of it as tests for compression of the spinal cord due to cervical stenotic myelopathy (CSM). Fifty percent height reduction of the dorsal myelographic column (DMC), <2 mm empiric height of the DMC and a 40% reduction of the ratio of stenosis calculated based on the height reduction of the entire dural diameter (DD) have been described as decision criteria for considering the test result positive. The reasons for selecting these decision criteria or their accuracies have ...
Young LE, Rogers K, Wood JL.Cardiac morphology in human athletes is known to differ, depending on the sports-specific endurance component of their events, whereas anecdotes abound about superlative athletes with large hearts. As the heart determines stroke volume and maximum O(2) uptake in mammals, we undertook a study to test the hypothesis that the morphology of the equine heart would differ between trained horses, depending on race type, and that left ventricular size would be greatest in elite performers. Echocardiography was performed in 482 race-fit Thoroughbreds engaged in either flat (1,000-2,500 m) or jump racin...
Regan DP, Aarnio MC, Davis WS, Carmichael KP, Vandenplas ML, Lauderdale JD, Moore PA.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a spontaneous disease that is the most common cause of blindness in horses, affecting up to 15% of the horse population. Th17 cells are a major cell population driving the pathogenesis in several mouse models of autoimmune inflammation, including experimental autoimmune uveitis. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role a Th17 cell-mediated response plays in the pathogenesis of ERU. Methods: Banked, Davidson's-fixed equine globes histopathologically diagnosed with ERU (n = 7) were compared immunohistochemically with healthy control globes (n = 7). I...
Jouany JP, Medina B, Bertin G, Julliand V.Four cecum and right ventral colon-fistulated horses were assigned in a 4 x 4 Latin square design and fed a high-fiber (HF) or a high-starch (HS) diet with or without 10 g of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC; CBS 493.94) containing 4.5 x 10(9) cfu/g. The HF and HS diets consisted of pelleted feeds and long wheat straw (18.0 and 3.5 g of DM.kg(-1) of BW.d(-1), respectively) given in 2 equal meals to provide an NDF:starch ratio of 3.5 and 1.0, respectively. After a 21-d adaptation period intestinal contents were collected 4 h after the morning meal on d 23 and 25 to determine bacterial and SC concen...
Peek SF, Semrad SD, Perkins GA.Previous reports of clostridial myonecrosis have either focused on individual case reports or have been small retrospective studies reporting very high mortality rates. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the outcome of cases of clostridial myonecrosis submitted to 2 referral equine hospitals in the United States over a 15 year period. Methods: A retrospective study of case material selected on the basis of positive Clostridium spp. culture or the identification of Clostridium spp. by specific fluorescent antibody testing from soft tissue wounds was performed at Cornell and ...
Gilger BC.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a common disease in horses in the USA. There have been many advances in the treatment of ERU; however, frequent misdiagnosis of ERU occurs in cases of primary corneal or uveal disease. It is critical to remember that primary uveitis (i.e. one bout of inflammation) is a different disease to ERU, which is an immune mediated recurrent uveitis. Standard symptomatic anti-inflammatory therapy is effective to control most cases of ERU; however, some horses require advanced therapy, such as placement of drug delivery devices or removal of the vitreous, when they fail ...
Swinburne JE, Bogle H, Klukowska-Rötzler J, Drögemüller M, Leeb T, Temperton E, Dolf G, Gerber V.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), or heaves, is a naturally occurring asthma-like disease that is related to sensitisation and exposure to mouldy hay and has a familial basis with a complex mode of inheritance. A genome-wide scanning approach using two half-sibling families was taken in order to locate the chromosome regions that contribute to the inherited component of this condition in these families. Initially, a panel of 250 microsatellite markers, which were chosen as a well-spaced, polymorphic selection covering the 31 equine autosomes, was used to genotype the two half-sibling familie...
Leon IM, Lawhon SD, Norman KN, Threadgill DS, Ohta N, Vinasco J, Scott HM.Although Salmonella enterica can produce life-threatening colitis in horses, certain serotypes are more commonly associated with clinical disease. Our aim was to evaluate the proportional morbidity attributed to different serotypes, as well as the phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Salmonella isolates from patients at an equine referral hospital in the southern United States. A total of 255 Salmonella isolates was obtained from clinical samples of patients admitted to the hospital between 2007 and 2015. Phenotypic resistance to 14 antibiotics surveilled by the U.S. Nati...
Lorenzo JM, Fuciños C, Purriños L, Franco D.The effects of sex, slaughtered age (9 vs. 12 months) and livestock production system (freedom extensive system vs. semi extensive system) of "Galician Mountain" foals breed on the fatty acid composition were studied. The sex and slaughtered age of the animals had no statistical significance in the intramuscular fatty acids. Furthermore, the livestock production system showed differences in the fatty acid profiles from the Longissimus dorsi. The feeding system showed significant differences in PUFA content (P<0.001) higher in freedom extensive production system that semi extensive system, wher...
Plapp BV, Savarimuthu BR, Ferraro DJ, Rubach JK, Brown EN, Ramaswamy S.During catalysis by liver alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), a water bound to the catalytic zinc is replaced by the oxygen of the substrates. The mechanism might involve a pentacoordinated zinc or a double-displacement reaction with participation by a nearby glutamate residue, as suggested by studies of human ADH3, yeast ADH1, and some other tetrameric ADHs. Zinc coordination and participation of water in the enzyme mechanism were investigated by X-ray crystallography. The apoenzyme and its complex with adenosine 5'-diphosphoribose have an open protein conformation with the catalytic zinc in one pos...
Gather T, Walter S, Todt D, Pfaender S, Brown RJP, Postel A, Becher P, Moritz A, Hansmann F, Baumgaertner W, Feige K, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JV.Non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV), a recently discovered hepatotropic virus infecting horses, is phylogenetically the closest known homologue of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The main route for acquiring HCV infection in childhood is vertical transmission. However, nothing is known about the natural mode of transmission for NPHV. To investigate the possibility of vertically transmitted NPHV infection in horses, 20 Thoroughbred broodmares and their foals were monitored during foaling season 2015 until 6 months post-partum. Prepartal serum was taken from the mares, and during foaling umbilical cord bloo...
Schaffartzik A, Marti E, Crameri R, Rhyner C.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an IgE-mediated seasonal dermatitis of the horses associated with bites of Simulium (black fly) and Culicoides (midge) species. Although cross-reactivity between Simulium and Culicoides salivary gland extracts has been demonstrated, the molecular nature of the allergens responsible for the observed cross-reactivity remains to be elucidated. In this report we demonstrate for the first time in veterinary medicine that a homologous allergen, present in the salivary glands of both insects, shows extended IgE cross-reactivity in vitro and in vivo. The cDNA sequ...
Caffi V, Espinosa G, Gajardo G, Morales N, Durán MC, Uberti B, Morán G, Plaza A, Henríquez C.Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are increasingly explored for the treatment of degenerative and inflammatory diseases in human and veterinary medicine. One of the key characteristics of MSCs is that they modulate inflammation mainly through the secretion of soluble mediators. However, despite widespread clinical use, knowledge regarding the effector mechanisms of equine MSCs, and consequently their effectiveness in the treatment of diseases, is still unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine the mechanisms underlying inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation by equine bone mar...
Mauel S, Steinbach F, Ludwig H.Dendritic cells (DC) are the initiators of immune responses and are present in most tissues in vivo. To generate myeloid DC from monocytes (MoDC) in vitro the necessary cytokines are granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). Using degenerated primers delineated from other species and rapid amplification of cDNA ends reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RACE RT-PCR), the cDNA of equine (eq.) GM-CSF was cloned and found to have a point deletion at the 3'-end of eq.GM-CSF, resulting in a 24-nucleotide extended open reading frame not described ...
Edwards JE, Schennink A, Burden F, Long S, van Doorn DA, Pellikaan WF, Dijkstra J, Saccenti E, Smidt H.Compared to horses and ponies, donkeys have increased degradation of dietary fiber. The longer total mean retention time of feed in the donkey gut has been proposed to be the basis of this, because of the increased time available for feed to be acted upon by enzymes and the gut microbiota. However, differences in terms of microbial concentrations and/or community composition in the hindgut may also underpin the increased degradation of fiber in donkeys. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess if differences existed between the fecal microbiota of pony, donkey and hybrids derived from them (...
Hinrichs K.This paper reviews current equine assisted reproduction techniques. Embryo transfer is the most common equine ART, but is still limited by the inability to superovulate mares effectively. Immature oocytes may be recovered by transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration of immature follicles, or from ovaries postmortem, and can be effectively matured in vitro. Notably, the in vivo-matured oocyte may be easily recovered from the stimulated preovulatory follicle. Standard IVF is still not repeatable in the horse; however, embryos and foals can be produced by surgical transfer of mature oocytes to th...
Gothe LMR, Ganzenberg S, Ziegler U, Obiegala A, Lohmann KL, Sieg M, Vahlenkamp TW, Groschup MH, Hörügel U, Pfeffer M.Since 2018, autochthonous West Nile virus (WNV) infections have been regularly reported in eastern-central Germany. While clinically apparent infections in humans and horses are not frequent, seroprevalence studies in horses may allow the tracing of WNV and related flaviviruses transmission, such as tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and Usutu virus (USUV), and consequently help to estimate the risk of human infections. Hence, the aim of our study was to follow the seropositive ratio against these three viruses in horses in Saxony, Saxony Anhalt, and Brandenburg and to describe their geograp...
Imagawa H, Tanaka T, Sekiguchi K, Fukunaga Y, Anzai T, Minamoto N, Kamada M.Electropherotypes (ET), serotypes, and subgroups of equine rotaviruses isolated from foals in Japan were determined. The ETs of 136 isolates from 1981 through to 1991 were divided into six groups: ET-A-ET-F. The ET-A, -B, -C, -D, -E, and -F were present in 3, 1, 121, 9, 1, and 1 strains, respectively. Representative viruses of ET-A, -B, -C, and -D were identified as serotype G3. Viruses of ET-E and -F were identified as serotypes G 10 and G 5, respectively. The four representative viruses of serotype G 3 did not belong to either subgroup I or II. The two viruses of serotypes G 5 and G 10 belon...
Sparks HD, Sigaeva T, Tarraf S, Mandla S, Pope H, Hee O, Di Martino ES, Biernaskie J, Radisic M, Scott WM.The equine distal limb wound healing model, characterized by delayed re-epithelialization and a fibroproliferative response to wounding similar to that observed in humans, is a valuable tool for the study of biomaterials poised for translation into both the veterinary and human medical markets. In the current study, we developed a novel method of biaxial biomechanical testing to assess the functional outcomes of healed wounds in a modified equine model and discovered significant functional and structural differences in both unwounded and injured skin at different locations on the distal limb t...
Rieger M, Kochleus C, Teschner D, Rascher D, Barton AK, Geerlof A, Kremmer E, Schmid M, Hartmann A, Gehlen H.In human medicine, procalcitonin (PCT) is a very common and well-established biomarker for sepsis. Even though sepsis is also a leading cause of death in foals and adult horses, up to now, no data about the role of equine PCT in septic horses has been available. Based on monoclonal antibodies targeted against human PCT, we report here the development of a sandwich ELISA for the quantification of equine PCT in equine plasma samples. The ELISA was characterized for intra- and interassay variance and a working range from 25 to 1,000 ng mL(-1) was defined as within this range; both intra- and in...
Slocombe JO, de Gannes RV, Lake MC.The aims of studies in 2002 and 2003 on three farms with 76 foals naturally infected with Parascaris equorum were to (i) identify if the nematode was resistant to ivermectin and moxidectin, and (ii) confirm the effectiveness of fenbendazole and pyrantel pamoate for the parasite. Twelve clinical trials, each with a Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test, were conducted on two Thoroughbred and one Standardbred farms in southwestern Ontario, Canada. In each trial, Parascaris eggs/g feces were estimated for each foal pre- and post-treatment using the Cornell-Wisconsin double flotation and Cornell-McMaster...
