Experimental methods in equine research encompass a variety of techniques and procedures used to investigate physiological, behavioral, and health-related aspects of horses. These methods are designed to collect data that can enhance the understanding of equine biology and inform veterinary practices. Common experimental approaches include controlled trials, observational studies, and laboratory-based experiments. Techniques may involve the use of non-invasive imaging, biochemical assays, and physiological monitoring to assess parameters such as metabolic function, locomotion, and disease progression. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the application, development, and evaluation of experimental methods in the study of equine science.
Miskovic Feutz M, Couetil LL, Riley CP, Zhang X, Adamec J, Raskin RE.Lower expression of secretoglobin and transferrin has been found in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of a small number of horses with experimentally induced signs of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) compared to healthy controls. Objective: Secretoglobin and transferrin BALF expression will be similarly decreased in horses with naturally occurring clinical signs of RAO and in horses with experimentally induced clinical signs of RAO as compared to healthy controls and intermediate in horses with inflammatory airway disease (IAD). Methods: Recurrent airway obstruction-affected and contro...
Craig DP, Varnon CA, Pollock KL, Abramson CI.We assessed different measures of temporal control of horse (N=16) responding on fixed interval schedules of reinforcement and a peak procedure. Subjects were trained to insert their heads into a response hoop to break an infrared beam in order to receive horse treats from an automatic feeder. We analyzed cumulative response records, binned response levels, quarter life, latency to first response, breakpoint, and inter-response patterns of the fixed interval trials. To analyze the peak procedure trials, we performed a series of bin analyses. To avoid potential pitfalls associated with aggregat...
Schoster A, Mosing M, Jalali M, Staempfli HR, Weese JS.The intestinal microbiota is important for health and disease. Factors that disturb the equine intestinal microbiota need further investigation. Objective: To determine the effects of transport, fasting and anaesthesia on the faecal microbiota of healthy adult horses using next-generation sequencing. Methods: Experimental trial. Methods: Faecal samples were taken from 8 horses at baseline, after transport, 12 h of fasting and 24, 48 and 72 h after a 6 h anaesthesia. Next generation sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was used to assess the microbial composition of faeces. Alpha...
Williams LB, Koenig JB, Black B, Gibson TW, Sharif S, Koch TG.Improvement has been reported following intra-articular (i.a.) injection of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in several species. These observations have led to the use of i.a. MSCs in equine practice with little understanding of the mechanisms by which perceived improvement occurs. Objective: To evaluate the effect of i.a. allogeneic umbilical cord blood (CB-) derived MSCs using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced synovitis model. We hypothesised that i.a. CB-MSCs would reduce the inflammatory response associated with LPS injection. Methods: Randomised, blinded experimental study. Methods: Feas...
Derochette S, Serteyn D, Mouithys-Mickalad A, Ceusters J, Deby-Dupont G, Neven P, Franck T.Excessive neutrophil stimulation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production are involved in numerous human or horse pathologies. The modulation of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase (NOX) has a great therapeutic potential since this enzyme produces superoxide anion whose most of the other ROS derive. The measurement of NOX activity by cell-free systems is often used to test potential inhibitors of the enzyme. A major drawback of this technique is the possible interferences between inhibitors and the probe, ferricytochrome c, used to measure the activity. We designed the "EquiNox2", a new pharmacol...
Medina-Torres CE, van Eps AW, Nielsen LK, Hodson MP.Lamellar bioenergetic failure is thought to contribute to laminitis pathogenesis but current knowledge of lamellar bioenergetic physiology is limited. Metabolomic analysis (MA) can systematically profile multiple metabolites. Applied to lamellar microdialysis samples (dialysate), lamellar bioenergetic changes during laminitis (the laminitis metabolome) can be characterised. The objectives of this study were to develop a technique for targeted MA of lamellar and skin dialysates in normal horses, and to compare the lamellar and plasma metabolomic profiles of normal horses with those from horses ...
Hunter BG, Parker JE, Wehrman R, Stang B, Cebra CK.To determine synovial concentrations of morphine after intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) with morphine or morphine in combination with gentamicin in clinically healthy, standing sedated horses. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Adult horses (n = 6). Methods: IVRLP was performed using 0.1 mg/kg morphine (M) in standing sedated horses. After a 3-week washout period, IVRLP was performed on the same forelimb with a combination of 0.1 mg/kg morphine and 1 g gentamicin (M/G). Synovial fluid from the middle carpal joint of the perfused limb and jugular blood samples were collected i...
Chalmers HJ, Caswell J, Perkins J, Goodwin D, Viel L, Ducharme NG, Piercy RJ.A unilateral neurectomy model was used to study the relationship between histologic and ultrasonographic tissue characteristics during muscle atrophy over time. Methods: This investigation was an in vivo experimental study in an equine model (n = 28). Mean pixel intensity of ultrasonographic images was measured, a muscle appearance grade was assigned weekly, and muscles were harvested from 4 to 32 weeks. Minimum fiber diameter, fiber density per unit area, percent collagen, percent fat, and fiber type profile were measured from muscle cryosections and correlated with the ultrasonographic param...
Goericke-Pesch S, Hauck S, Failing K, Wehrend A.Membrane vesicles (MVs) in the ejaculate have been identified in various species and are considered to affect membrane fluidity due to their characteristic molecular composition. Addition of MV to human frozen semen has been shown to improve post-thaw motility. Similarly, a beneficial effect has been suggested for frozen equine semen. As post-thaw canine semen quality varies widely between dogs, the aim of our study was to test for the effect of addition of canine MV on post-thaw semen quality in dogs. Semen samples from 10 male dogs were purified from MV and prepared for freezing. In experime...
Jones KE.The thoracolumbar region is clinically important in horses; however, the link between joint mobility and bony joint morphology has not been tested quantitatively. Objective: To establish which aspects of vertebral morphology correlate with ex vivo range of motion in the thoracolumbar region of Equus caballus, and demonstrate methodologies for linking vertebral form and function. Methods: Morphometric study of osteological specimens. Methods: A digital model was created of a disarticulated thoracolumbar region to examine bone-to-bone interactions during in silico bending. Linear measurements a...
Songür M, Şahin E, Demir T, Kalem M, Take Kaplanoğlu G, Altun NŞ.Bone protein extract (BPE) usually requires a carrier or a scaffold for implantation. We aimed to compare the effect of equine-derived BPE, an osteoinductive agent composed of a high amount of type-I collagen and other bone proteins (Colloss-E), with that of human demineralized bone matrix (DBM) for treating cavitary bone defects not requiring scaffold use. Methods: Rabbit distal femoral condyle was used as a stable cavitary bone defect model. Bone defects of 6-mm diameter and 10-12-mm depth were created in the femoral condyles. Rabbits were assigned into the equine-derived BPE (BPE), human-de...
Buzatti A, de Paula Santos C, Fernandes MA, Yoshitani UY, Sprenger LK, dos Santos CD, Molento MB.Horses can harbor a large amount of parasites that may cause serious clinical signs even death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predatory activity of the fungus Duddingtonia flagrans against infective larvae (L3) of gastrointestinal nematodes of horses in fecal culture. The experimental design was completely randomized with three treated groups (G1, G2 and G3) and one control (CG), using eight animals/group. The treated animals received G1: 1.5 × 10(5); G2: 3 × 10(5) and G3: 6 × 10(5) chlamydospores of D. flagrans/kg body weight during 21 days. The fungi preparation was give...
Ross-Jones TN, McIlwraith CW, Kisiday JD, Hess TM, Hansen DK, Black J.Dietary n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) supplementation has previously been shown to modify joint-related inflammation in several species, although information in the horse is lacking. We investigated whether dietary supplementation with n-3 LCPUFA would modify experimentally induced synovitis in horses. Twelve, skeletally mature, non-pregnant mares were randomly assigned to either a control diet (CONT) or an n-3 long-chain fatty acid-enriched treatment diet (N3FA) containing 40 g/day of n-3 LCPUFA for 91 days. Blood samples taken on days 0, 30, 60 and 90, and synovial flu...
Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus causes an acute central nervous system infection in human and animals. Melatonin (MLT), minocycline (MIN) and ascorbic acid (AA) have been shown to have antiviral activities in experimental infections; however, the mechanisms involved are poorly studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of those compounds on the viral titers, NO production and lipid peroxidation in the brain of mice and neuroblastoma cultures infected by VEE virus. Infected mouse (10 LD50) were treated with MLT (500 μg/kg bw), MIN (50mg/kg bw) or AA (50mg...
Bindler D, Koch C, Gendron K, Ferguson SJ, Kaposi AD, Papp M, Bodó G.Mechanical evaluation of a novel screw position used for repair in a type III distal phalanx fracture model and assessment of solar canal penetration (SCP). Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Disarticulated equine hooves (n = 24) and 24 isolated distal phalanges. Methods: Hooves/distal phalanges cut in a sagittal plane were repaired with 1 of 2 different cortical screw placements in lag fashion. In group 1 (conventional screw placement), the screw was inserted halfway between the proximal border of the solar canal (SC) and the subchondral bone surface on a line parallel to the dorsal co...
Nielsen MK, Scare J, Gravatte HS, Bellaw JL, Prado JC, Reinemeyer CR.Strongylus vulgaris is the most pathogenic nematode parasite of horses. Its extensive migration in the mesenteric blood vessels can lead to life-threatening intestinal infarctions. Recent work has shown that this parasite is still identified among managed horse populations. A serum enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed for the detection of migrating larvae of S. vulgaris. Previous work has documented an increase in ELISA values following larvicidal treatment with ivermectin and suggested that the target parasite antigen is primarily produced by the later larval stages. T...
Starke SD, May SA, Pfau T.Hind limb lameness detection in horses relies on the identification of movement asymmetry which can be based on multiple pelvic landmarks. This study explains the poorly understood relationship between hind limb lameness pointers, related to the tubera coxae and sacrum, based on experimental data in context of a simple rigid body model. Vertical displacement of tubera coxae and sacrum was quantified experimentally in 107 horses with varying lameness degrees. A geometrical rigid-body model of pelvis movement during lameness was created in Matlab. Several asymmetry measures were calculated and c...
Naylor RJ, Piercy RJ.To produce a clonal equine myoblast cell line that retains the ability to divide for multiple passages and differentiate into multinucleated myotubes during specific conditions. Methods: Cultured primary equine skeletal muscle-derived cells from a healthy Thoroughbred. Methods: Cell cultures were transfected by electroporation with a plasmid (pNIT) that expresses the temperature-sensitive simian vacuolating virus 40 large T antigen (TAg), which can be controlled by a doxycycline-responsive promoter. Cells that stably integrated the TAg were selected and expanded to passage 25. For each passage...
McArthur CL, Handel IG, Robinson A, Hodgkinson JE, Bronsvoort BM, Burden F, Kaplan RM, Matthews JB.Cyathostomins are the most prevalent parasitic pathogens of equids worldwide. These nematodes have been controlled using broad-spectrum anthelmintics; however, cyathostomin resistance to each anthelmintic class has been reported and populations insensitive to more than one class are relatively commonplace. The faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) is considered the most suitable method for screening anthelmintic sensitivity in horses, but is subject to variation and is relatively time-consuming to perform. Here, we describe a larval migration inhibition test (LMIT) to assess ivermectin (IVM)...
Natenstedt J, Kok AC, Dankelman J, Tuijthof GJ.Articular cartilage has limited regeneration capacities. One of the factors that appear to affect the in vitro cultivation of articular cartilage is mechanical stimulation. So far, no combination of parameters has been identified that offers the best results. The goal is to review the literature in search of the best available set of quantitative mechanical stimuli that lead to optimal in vitro cultivation.The databases Scopus and PubMed were used to survey the literature, and strict in- and exclusion criteria were applied regarding the presence of quantitative data. The review was performed b...
Smyth TT, Carmalt JL, Treen TT, Lanovaz JL.Diseases of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) are well reported in man and some domestic animals other than the horse. The pathophysiology of equine TMJ disease and the effects of disease on the kinematics of mastication are unknown. Objective: To determine whether transient unilateral inflammation of the equine TMJ results in alterations in the masticatory cycle. Methods: An experimental controlled study utilising 6 horses of various ages with normal dentition. Methods: Each horse was equipped with an optical motion tracking (kinematic) system. Horses were observed chewing grass hay over 3 m...
Bruynsteen L, Moons CP, Janssens GP, Harris PA, Vandevelde K, Lefère L, Duchateau L, Hesta M.Due to the high prevalence of obesity in some horses and ponies (especially in the leisure horse sector), effective and safe weight loss strategies are required. The present study evaluated the effect of two different energy restriction rates on physical, morphometric and welfare parameters in 18 obese (body condition score [BCS] 7-9/9) Shetland geldings. The trial was divided into three periods: (1) a 4 week adaptation period, during which the maintenance energy intakes to maintain a stable obese bodyweight were determined (100% MERob); (2) a 16.5-week weight loss period during which the poni...
Kutter AP, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R, Schwarzwald CC, Portier KG, Ringer SK.To evaluate the non-calibrated, minimally invasive cardiac output (CO) monitor FloTrac/Vigileo (FloTrac) against thermodilution (TD) CO in standing horses. Methods: Prospective, experimental trial. Methods: Nine adult horses weighing a median (range) of 535 (470-602) kg. Methods: Catheters were placed in the right atrium, pulmonary artery and carotid artery under local anaesthesia. CO was measured 147 times by TD and FloTrac and indexed to body weight. Changes in CO were achieved with romifidine or xylazine and dobutamine constant rate infusions. Bland-Altman analysis, concordance and polar pl...
Bogaert L, Woodham AW, Da Silva DM, Martens A, Meyer E, Kast WM.Equine sarcoids are highly recurrent bovine papillomavirus (BPV)-induced fibroblastic neoplasms that are the most common skin tumours in horses. In order to facilitate the study of potential equine sarcoid prophylactics or therapeutics, which can be a slow and costly process in equines, a murine model for BPV-1 protein-expressing equine sarcoid-like tumours was developed in mice through stable transfection of BPV-1 E5 and E6 in a murine fibroblast tumour cell line (K-BALB). Like equine sarcoids, these murine tumour cells (BPV-KB) were of fibroblast origin, were tumorigenic and expressed BPV-1 ...
Douglas HF, Southwood LL, Meyer-Ficca ML, Hart SK, Meyer RG.To evaluate the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1) enzyme and its inhibition in horses and explore its potential as a novel therapeutic target for equine intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury by (1) identifying poly (ADP-ribose) (PAR) as an indication of PARP1 activation in equine cells using available immunoblot analytical techniques, (2) inducing PARP1 activation in an in vitro oxidative DNA damage model, (3) and demonstrating the inhibition of PARP1 in equine cells using commercially available PARP1 inhibitors. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Blood samples were collected from sys...
Gracia-Calvo LA, Martín-Cuervo M, Jiménez J, Vieítez V, Argüelles D, Durán ME, Ezquerra J.To develop an experimental standing hand-assisted laparoscopic splenectomy (HALS) technique, report the associated peri-operative complications and document the short-term surgical outcomes. Results: Five healthy 300-470 kg horses that underwent standing HALS. Spleens of different weights (2.25-7.0 kg) were removed using this technique. The main complication during surgery was difficulty sectioning the gastrosplenic ligament. The postoperative complications included adhesions of the colon to the nephrosplenic ligament stump and incisional discharge in two horses. Conclusions: Standing HALS...
Taylor PM, Crosignani N, Lopes C, Rosa AC, Luna SP, Puoli Filho JN.To examine the relationship between probe tip size and force readings of mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MTs) to identify appropriate probes for horses. Methods: Randomized, crossover study. Methods: Eight adult, mixed-breed horses aged 5-10 years, weighing 268-460 kg. Methods: Four probe configurations (PCs) were used in random sequence: 1.0 mm diameter (SHARP); 3.2 mm (BLUNT); spring-mounted 1.0 mm (SPRING), and 3 × 2.5 mm (3PIN). A remote-controlled unit on the horse increased force (1.2 N second(-1)) in a pneumatic actuator on the metacarpus. Mean MT for each PC was calculated from 10 ...
Nieminen HJ, Ylitalo T, Karhula S, Suuronen JP, Kauppinen S, Serimaa R, Hæggström E, Pritzker KP, Valkealahti M, Lehenkari P, Finnilä M....Collagen distribution within articular cartilage (AC) is typically evaluated from histological sections, e.g., using collagen staining and light microscopy (LM). Unfortunately, all techniques based on histological sections are time-consuming, destructive, and without extraordinary effort, limited to two dimensions. This study investigates whether phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and phosphomolybdic acid (PMA), two collagen-specific markers and X-ray absorbers, could (1) produce contrast for AC X-ray imaging or (2) be used to detect collagen distribution within AC. Methods: We labeled equine AC sampl...
Gomes RG, Lisboa LA, Silva CB, Max MC, Marino PC, Oliveira RL, González SM, Barreiros TR, Marinho LS, Seneda MM.The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of ascorbic acid (25, 50, and 100 μg/mL) in supplemented minimum essential medium (MEM+) on the development of equine preantral follicles that were cultured in vitro for 2 or 6 days. The contralateral ovaries (n = 5) from five mares in seasonal anestrus were collected from a local abattoir. Nine ovarian tissue fragments of approximately 5 × 5 × 1 mm were obtained from each animal. One fragment was immediately fixed and subjected to histologic analysis (control group; Day 0), and the other eight were placed in PBS ...
Jonsdottir S, Hamza E, Janda J, Rhyner C, Meinke A, Marti E, Svansson V, Torsteinsdottir S.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by bites of midges (Culicoides spp.). IgE-mediated reactions are often involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. IBH does not occur in Iceland due to the absence of Culicoides, but it occurs with a high frequency in Icelandic horses exported to mainland Europe, where Culicoides are present. We hypothesize that immunization with the Culicoides allergens before export could reduce the incidence of IBH in exported Icelandic horses. The aim of the present study was therefore to compare intradermal and intralymphatic ...
van Doorn DA, Everts H, Wouterse H, Beynen AC.Availability of phytate-bound P as influenced by supplemental phytase was studied in eight horses consuming four diets in a 4 x 4 Latin square design experiment. The treatments were a control (containing a low P level, 18.4 g/d) and three high-P diets. These diets contained P as monocalcium phosphate (MCP; 43.7 g/d), myoinositol hexakisphosphate in the form of wheat and rice bran (MIHP; 41.8 g/d), or MIHP with microbial phytase (MIHPP; 42.5 g/d). The proportions of phytate-bound P were 3, 1, 55, and 56% for the control, MCP, MIHP, and MIHPP, respectively. The MIHPP diet was supplemented with 3...
MacNicol JL, Renwick S, Ganobis CM, Allen-Vercoe E, Weese JS, Pearson W.The microbes that reside within the equine hindgut create a complex and dynamic ecosystem. The equine hindgut microbiota is intimately associated with health and, as such, represents an area which can be beneficially modified. Synbiotics, supplements that combine probiotic micro-organisms with prebiotic ingredients, are a potential means of influencing the hindgut microbiota to promote health and prevent disease. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the influence of an equine probiotic/prebiotic supplement on characteristics of the microbiota and metabolite production in vitro. E...
Agnieszka N, Joanna K, Wojciech W, Adam O.The aim of this study was determine the viability and developmental competence of equine oocytes after IVM and vitrification using the Rapid-I method, as part of an effort to develop an effective equine oocyte vitrification protocol. Equine oocytes were collected by scraping ovarian follicles of slaughtered mares. A total of 1052 ovaries were used in this study, from which 3135 oocytes were obtained. Of the 2853 oocytes retrieved, 2557 underwent in vitro maturation for approximately 36 h. After in vitro culture, 1202 oocytes (47%) had a first polar body. To evaluate the toxicity of the solu...
Cox KS, Nelson BB, Wittenburg L, Gold JR.Regional limb perfusion (RLP) is an effective treatment option for injuries and infections of the distal limb in horses. Using ceftiofur sodium in RLP has been studied due to its superior spectrum of Gram-positive organisms compared to aminoglycosides, but it is not known if this antimicrobial drug adequately penetrates subcutaneous tissue and bone. Objective: To determine the concentration of ceftiofur in plasma, subcutaneous tissue and bone in horses after RLP. Methods: Experimental prospective study. Methods: Six healthy horses were used in this study. Under standing sedation, an Esmarch to...
Scare JA, Steuer AE, Shaffer CL, Slusarewicz P, Mousley A, Nielsen MK.In vitro maintenance of helminth parasites enables a variety of molecular, pharmaceutical and immunological analyses. Currently, the nutritional and environmental in vitro requirements of the equine ascarid parasite, Parascaris spp., have not been determined. Additionally, an objective method for assessing viability of Parascaris spp. intestinal stages does not exist. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the in vitro requirements of intestinal stages of Parascaris spp., and to develop a viability assessment method. A total of 1045 worms were maintained in a total of 212 cultures. Worms o...
Tóth F, Schumacher J, Schramme MC, Hecht S.To evaluate the effects of sequential anesthesia of the individual compartments of the equine stifle joint on lameness induced by intra-articular deposition of interleukin (IL)-1β. Methods: 6 horses. Methods: For each horse, baseline hind limb lameness was first evaluated. A randomly selected compartment of 1 stifle joint was then injected with IL-1β to induce synovitis and lameness; subsequently, the same compartment was anesthetized with 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride, and lameness was reevaluated. Two weeks later, baseline lameness was evaluated, and lameness was similarly induced; thereaft...
Ueno D, Yabuki A, Obi T, Shiraishi M, Nishio A, Miyamoto A.We investigated the effect of bradykinin (BK) on isolated equine basilar arterial rings with and without endothelium. BK induced concentration-dependent contraction of resting arterial rings and no relaxation when the rings were precontracted by prostaglandin F(2alpha). The maximal response and pD(2) value were 161.2 +/- 28.1% (to 60 mm KCl-induced contraction) and 8.24 +/- 0.25 respectively. The cumulative concentration-response curve for BK was not shifted to the right by des-Arg(9)-[Leu(8)]-BK (a B(1)-receptor antagonist), HOE140 (a B(2)-receptor antagonist) or NPC567 (another B(2)-receptor...
Stokes A, Corteyn AH, Murray PK.A group of three horses was experimentally infected with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and showed clinical signs characterised by a biphasic febrile response, leucopenia and cell associated viraemia accompanied by virus shedding from the nasopharynx. A second exposure to the virus 18 days later resulted in the isolation of virus from the nasopharynx of one horse. This and a further group of three EHV-1 seropositive horses were subsequently infected with equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) 147 days after the initial EHV-1 infection and virus was shed from the nasopharynx in the absence of cli...
Fowler AL, Hayes SH, Crum AD, Lawrence LM.Titanium dioxide has been used as a marker for determining diet digestibility indirectly, but some authors have expressed difficulty in measuring TiO2 concentrations in fecal material. We developed an accurate and precise method to determine TiO2 concentrations in equine feces. The method includes dry-ashing samples, digestion with (NH4)2SO4 in concentrated sulfuric acid, followed by the addition of H2O2 to produce a yellow to orange color that can be read spectrophotometrically. Accuracy was tested by spike recovery, and precision was tested by examining the coefficient of variation (CV) betw...
Brinkhof S, Te Moller N, Froeling M, Brommer H, van Weeren R, Ito K, Klomp D.T2* mapping is promising for the evaluation of articular cartilage collagen. In this work, a groove model in a large animal is used as a model for posttraumatic arthritis. We hypothesized that T2* mapping could be employed to differentiate between healthy and (subtly) damaged cartilage. Eight carpal joints were obtained from four adult Shetland ponies that had been included in the groove study. In this model, grooves were surgically created on the proximal articular surface of the intermediate carpal bone (radiocarpal joint) and the radial facet of the third carpal bone (middle carpal joint) b...
Olver CS, Webb TL, Long LJ, Scherman H, Prenni JE.Disease-specific biomarkers hold diagnostic promise in both human and veterinary medicine, but serum biomarkers in low concentrations may be masked by the presence of abundant proteins, mostly albumin and IgG. Methods to deplete albumin and IgG exist, but efficacy of these methods for depleting equine serum of these proteins has not been established. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine if albumin and IgG could be depleted from equine serum using several commercially available kits and procedures. Methods: One-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by densitometry was used to de...
Delling U, Howard RD, Pleasant RS, Lanz OI.To develop a minimally invasive, hand-assisted laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy (HALS-OHE) technique in the mare and to evaluate safety and any associated complications. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Eight, 11-24-year-old mares with anatomically normal urogenital tracts. Methods: The surgical technique was developed in 2 non-survival mares and subsequently evaluated in 6 survival procedures. Food was withheld for 48 hours, then mares were anesthetized and positioned in dorsal recumbency for laparoscopic surgery. A hand access device (Omniport) was placed followed by 4 laparoscopic porta...
Simeonova GP, Krastev SZ, Simeonov RS.The pathogenic mechanism of equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is still poorly defined and many variations between experimental animal models and spontaneous disease exist. Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate if Th17 cell-mediated response plays role in the pathogenesis of the used experimental model in horses and to reveal its pathological findings. Methods: Experimental uveitis was induced in 6 healthy horses. The concentrations of retinal autoantigen CRALBP and IL-17 were measured using ELISA in aqueous humor and vitreous body of the 12 inflamed eyes as well as in 12 control non-...
Cooper C, Sears W, Bienzle D.Availability of recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) has facilitated use to enhance red blood cell production, and therefore aerobic performance, in human and equine athletes. Recombinant human EPO promotes growth and differentiation of equine erythroid precursor cells, but in some horses repeat administration induces immune interference with endogenous EPO resulting in fatal anemia. Although blood reticulocyte parameters acquire unique changes in humans treated with EPO, with manual enumeration methods, horses were not considered to release reticulocytes from the bone marrow into circulatio...
Hopster K, Ambrisko TD, Stahl J, Schramel JP, Kästner SB.Previous studies showed an influence of xylazine on the LiDCO sensor in vitro and in standing horses, but did not prove that this interaction caused error in LiDCO measurements. Therefore, agreement of cardiac output (CO) measurements by LiDCO and bolus-thermodilution (BTD) was determined in horses receiving xylazine infusions. Methods: Prospective, experimental study. Methods: Eight Warmblood horses. Methods: All horses were premedicated with xylazine. Anaesthesia was induced with midazolam and ketamine and was maintained with isoflurane in oxygen. During six hours of anaesthesia CO measureme...
Dern K, Burns TA, Watts MR, van Eps AW, Belknap JK.Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is consistently increased in the digital lamellae in different studies of sepsis-related laminitis (SRL). IL-6 signalling through the gp130 receptor activates similar signalling (i.e. mTORC1-related signalling) previously reported to be activated in models of endocrinopathic laminitis. Objective: To assess the activation state of signalling proteins downstream of IL-6/gp130 receptor complex activation in an experimental model of SRL. Methods: Randomised experimental study. Methods: Lamellar phospho-(P) protein concentrations downstream of the IL-6/gp130 receptors were asse...
One health outlookMay 9, 2022
Volume 4, Issue 1 9 doi: 10.1186/s42522-022-00065-y
Gömer A, Puff C, Reinecke B, Bracht S, Conze M, Baumgärtner W, Steinmann J, Feige K, Cavalleri JMV, Steinmann E, Todt D.The Equine Hepacivirus (EqHV) is an equine-specific and liver-tropic virus belonging to the diverse genus of Hepaciviruses. It was recently found in a large donkey (Equus asinus) cohort with a similar seroprevalence (30%), but lower rate of RNA-positive animals (0.3%) compared to horses. These rare infection events indicate either a lack of adaptation to the new host or a predominantly acute course of infection. Methods: In order to analyze the susceptibility and the course of EqHV infection in donkeys, we inoculated two adult female donkeys and one control horse intravenously with purified Eq...
Kenny LB, Ward D, Robson MG, Williams CA.Many methods exist for estimating species composition, but few studies compare those useful in improved horse pastures. The objective of this study was to examine 4 techniques for estimating desirable forage species composition in 2 cool-season horse pastures based on prevalence estimates, repeatability, bias, and practicality, and to select a method for use in a subsequent grazing study. The techniques included Equine Pasture Evaluation Disc (EPED), Line-Point Intercept with 3 transects of 50 observations each (LPI 3-50), LPI with 5 transects of 30 observations each (LPI 5-30), and Step Point...
Len JA, Jenkins JA, Eilts BE, Paccamonti DL, Lyle SK, Hosgood G.The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of centrifugation on equine sperm total and progressive motility, viability, and acrosomal integrity. We hypothesized that although high centrifugation forces would be detrimental to equine Equus caballus sperm, recovery rates would increase. Ejaculates from six stallions were collected, extended to a concentration of 25x10(6) cells/mL, and subjected for 10min to (1) no centrifugation (NC) or (2) centrifugation at 400xg, (3) 900xg, or (4) 4500xg. Before and after centrifugation (Day 0), and after 24h of cooling (Day 1), sperm motility ...
Brosnahan MM, Damiani A, van de Walle G, Erb H, Perkins GA, Osterrieder N.Available vaccines fail to induce lasting and protective immunity to equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) associated diseases. RNA interference is a novel approach showing promise for therapeutic use in outbreak situations. This study examined the effect of small interfering RNA (siRNA) on clinical signs as well as the presence of live virus and viral DNA in nasal secretions and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in horses experimentally infected with EHV-1. siRNA targeting two EHV-1 genes (glycoprotein B and the origin binding protein) was administered 12h before and 12h after intranasal infe...
Pakkanen SA, Raekallio MR, Mykkänen AK, Salla KM, de Vries A, Vuorilehto L, Scheinin M, Vainio OM.To investigate MK-467 as part of premedication in horses anaesthetized with isoflurane. Methods: Experimental, crossover study with a 14 day wash-out period. Methods: Seven healthy horses. Methods: The horses received either detomidine (20 μg kg(-1) IV) and butorphanol (20 μg kg(-1) IV) alone (DET) or with MK-467 (200 μg kg(-1) IV; DET + MK) as premedication. Anaesthesia was induced with ketamine (2.2 mg kg(-1) ) and midazolam (0.06 mg kg(-1) ) IV and maintained with isoflurane. Heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), end-tidal isoflurane concentration, end-tidal carbon ...
Kearney CM, Korthagen NM, Plomp SGM, Labberté MC, de Grauw JC, van Weeren PR, Brama PAJ.Intra-articular triamcinolone acetonide is a widely used treatment for joint inflammation despite limited scientific evidence of its efficacy. Objective: To investigate if intra-articular triamcinolone acetonide has sustained anti-inflammatory effects using an equine model of repeated joint inflammation. Methods: Randomised controlled experimental study. Methods: For three consecutive cycles 2 weeks apart, inflammation was induced in both middle carpal joints of eight horses by injecting 0.25 ng lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After the first LPS injection only, treatment with 12 mg triamcinolone...
Pippi NL, Lumb WV.An equine model, subjected to three kinds of pain (superficial, deep, and visceral) was used to test effects of analgesic drugs. Two groups of ponies were used. In the first group of six ponies, six drugs (fentanyl, meperidine, methadone, oxymorphone, pentazocine, and xylazine) were given according to a Latin square experimental design, and tests were made at 30-minute intervals for 4 hours. Mean values (control) for the three kinds of pain were obtained before and after the tests and were compared with the mean values (drugs) obtained over 2- and 4-hour intervals (four and eight measurements ...
Kadic DTN, Bonilla AG.To develop and assess a needle arthroscopic technique to diagnose conditions of the tarsocrural joint (TCj) in standing sedated horses. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Six cadaveric hind limbs (phase 1) and six healthy horses (Phase 2). Methods: In phase 1, each TCj was examined with a 1.2-mm-needle arthroscope. Suitability of the needle arthroscope and degree of joint visualization with traditional arthroscopic approaches were assessed. In phase 2, the feasibility of the procedure was assessed in six standing healthy horses. A custom-made splint and base were developed to maintain joint...
Biedrzycki AH, Kistler HC, Perez-Jimenez EE, Morton AJ. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical execution of a virtual surgical plan (VSP) with three-dimensional (3D) guides against a freehand approach in the equine navicular bone using an automated computer analysis technique. Methods: Eight pairs of cadaveric forelimb specimens of adult horses were used in an experimental study design with modelling. Limbs received either a 3.5 mm cortical screw according to a VSP or using an aiming device. Using computed tomography and computer segmentation, a comparison was made between the executed screw and the planned screw using the Ha...
MacKay RJ, Clark CK, Logdberg L, Lake P.To determine the efficacy of polymyxin B-dextran 70 (PBD) for treatment of endotoxemic horses. Methods: 15 horses during study 1 and 6 horses during study 2. Methods: 3 groups were used in study 1. Horses in groups 1 and 2 were given 30 ng of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/kg of body weight, IV, over 60 minutes. Horses in group 3 were given saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. Beginning 15 minutes before LPS infusion and continuing for 75 minutes, horses in groups 1 and 3 were given PBD, IV. Horses in group 2 were given dextran 70. Blood samples were obtained for hemograms and determination of cytokine, lac...
Pereira BC, Ortiz I, Dorado JM, Diaz-Jimenez MA, Consuegra C, Gosalvez J, Hidalgo M.DNA fragmentation of cumulus cells could be used as an indicator of oocyte vitrification success as an indirect indicator of the quality of the oocyte. This study was designed to compare the DNA fragmentation of post-mortem equine cumulus cells before or after vitrification in the absence of permeable cryoprotectant agents. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs; n = 56) were recovered from slaughterhouse ovaries and subjected to in vitro maturation (42 hr/38.2°C/5%CO ) before (control group) or after a permeable cryoprotectant-free vitrification method using 1 M sucrose (vitrification group). Af...
Marcilla MG, Schauvliege S, Duchateau L, Gasthuys F.To evaluate the cardiopulmonary effects of two different constant rate infusions (CRI) of dexmedetomidine (1 and 1.75 microg kg(-1 )hour(-1)) in experimental ponies. Methods: Six healthy ponies (mean 306 +/- SD 71 kg, 7.0 +/- 1.6 years). Methods: Prospective, randomized, experimental study. Methods: After premedication with intravenous (IV) dexmedetomidine (3.5 microg kg(-1)), anaesthesia was induced (T0) with ketamine (2.2 mg kg(-1) IV) and midazolam (0.06 mg kg(-1) IV) and maintained with isoflurane (Fe'ISO 1.50%) in 55% oxygen for 150 minutes. Normocapnia was maintained using artificial ven...
Olbrich VH, Mosing M.To evaluate and compare the effects of caudal epidural administration of methadone (METH) and lidocaine (LIDO) on tolerance to thermal stimulation over the dermatomes of the perineal, sacral, lumbar and thoracic regions in the horse. Methods: A blinded, randomized, prospective, experimental cross-over study. Methods: Seven healthy horses, 15.7 +/- 4.9 years (mean +/- SD) of age, weighing 536 +/- 37 kg. Methods: The horses were randomly assigned to receive two treatments (group M: METH, 0.1 mg kg-1 or group L: LIDO, 0.35 mg kg-1) at intervals of at least 28 days. An 18-gauge 80-mm Tuohy epidura...
Tee SY, Dart AJ, MacDonald MH, Perkins NR, Horadagoda N, Jeffcott LB.To evaluate the effect of collecting serial tracheal aspirate (TA) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples on the cytological findings of subsequent fluid samples obtained from horses without clinical signs of respiratory disease. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Six healthy Standardbred horses. Methods: Endoscopically-guided TA samples, and BAL samples collected using the blind field technique were obtained from the six horses on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, and 17. On day 17, horses were sampled three times: at baseline and at 2.5 h and 4 h apart. The differential cytology of the fluid samples co...
