Genes in horses are segments of DNA that encode the biological instructions necessary for the development, functioning, and reproduction of equine species. These genetic sequences influence a wide range of traits, including coat color, speed, endurance, and susceptibility to diseases. Genetic research in horses focuses on identifying specific genes and genetic markers associated with these traits, as well as understanding the inheritance patterns and genetic diversity within and between horse breeds. Studies in equine genetics contribute to breeding programs, disease prevention strategies, and the overall understanding of horse biology. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the identification, function, and implications of genes in equine health and performance.
Miragliotta V, Raphaël K, Ipiña Z, Lussier JG, Theoret CL.Wound healing in horses is complicated, particularly when wounds are on the limb. The objectives of this study were to clone equine thrombospondin II (THBS2) and secreted protein acidic and cysteine-rich (SPARC) cDNAs and to compare the spatiotemporal expression of mRNAs and proteins during repair of body and limb wounds. These molecules were targeted in view of their potential biological contribution to angiogenesis, which is exacerbated during the repair of limb wounds in horses. Cloning was achieved by screening size-selected cDNA libraries previously derived from 7-day-old wounds. Expressi...
Ma J, Jiang C, Lin Y, Wang X, Zhao L, Xiang W, Shao Y, Shen R, Kong X, Zhou J.To study the in vivo evolution of the attenuated Chinese equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) vaccine, viral gp90 gene variation and virus replication in immunosuppressed hosts were investigated. The results showed that after vaccination, the gp90 gene followed an evolutionary trend of declining diversity. The trend coincided with the maturation of immunity to EIAV, and eventually, the gp90 gene became highly homologous. The sequences of these predominant quasispecies were consistently detected up to 18 months after vaccination. Furthermore, after transient immune suppression with dexamethaso...
Budak MT, Orsini JA, Pollitt CC, Rubinstein NA.Gene expression in the lamellar dermis and epidermis was compared between healthy horses and horses in the developmental phase of carbohydrate overload-induced laminitis, in order to better understand the local biochemical and cellular events involved in the pathogenesis of laminitis. Methods: Six healthy adult horses, with no history or clinical evidence of laminitis. Methods: Horses were randomly divided into two groups: control (n=3) and laminitis (n=3). Control horses received no treatment and were humanely euthanatized at the same time as the laminitis group. Horses in the laminitis group...
Figueiredo MD, Salter CE, Andrietti AL, Vandenplas ML, Hurley DJ, Moore JN.Quantification of gene expression using real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is a reliable method to monitor cellular responses to pro-inflammatory stimuli. The main objective of this study was to validate a set of equine primer pairs that can be routinely used to monitor expression of genes that are central to inflammatory and immune responses. This paper describes the steps used to optimize and validate 29 equine primer pairs for RT-qPCR assays using SYBR Green detection. To validate these assays, monocytes were isolated from three horses and stimulated with Escherichia...
Borzacchiello G, Mogavero S, De Vita G, Roperto S, Della Salda L, Roperto F.The equine sarcoid is the most common dermatologic neoplasm reported in horses. Bovine papillomavirus (BPV) types 1 and 2 are associated with sarcoids, in which the expression of the major transforming oncoprotein (E5) is often recorded. The transformation activity of the virus is due to the binding of the E5 to the platelet-derived growth factor beta receptor (PDGFbeta-r). In the present study, we show by Western blot in 4 sarcoid samples and 3 normal equine skin samples that the PDGFbeta-r is more phosphorylated in sarcoid tissue than in normal skin (P < .001). Furthermore, the physical i...
DiMaio Knych HK, DeStefano Shields C, Buckpitt AR, Stanley SD.Substantial gaps exist in our knowledge of the metabolic clearance of therapeutic agents in horses. Accordingly, a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase in the 2C family was cloned from an equine liver, sequenced and expressed in a baculovirus expression system. Catalytic activities of the recombinant protein were measured with a number of substrates. The protein, assigned CYP2C92, displayed optimal catalytic activity with diclofenac using molar ratios of CYP2C92 to NADPH CYP450 reductase of 1:18. Addition of cytochrome b(5) to diclofenac incubations had no significant effect on metabolic turnover. CY...
Aradaib IE.A nested reverse transcriptase (RT) polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), for rapid detection of African horse sickness virus (AHSV) double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) in cell culture and tissue samples, was developed and evaluated. Using an outer pair of primers (P1 and P2), selected from genome segment three of AHSV serotype 6 (AHSV-6), the RT-PCR-based assay resulted in amplification of a 890 base pair (bp) primary PCR product. RNAs from the nine vaccine strains of AHSV, and a number of AHSV field isolates including the Central African isolates of AHSV-9 and AHSV-6, propagated in cell c...
González-Fernández L, Ortega-Ferrusola C, Macias-Garcia B, Salido GM, Peña FJ, Tapia JA.Protein tyrosine kinases have important roles in spermatozoa; however, little is known about the presence and regulation in these cells of their counterparts in signaling, namely, protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) and dual-specificity phosphatases (DSPs). The objectives of the present study were to identify PTPs and DSPs in boar, stallion, and dog spermatozoa; to characterize their subcellular distribution; and to investigate the roles of tyrosine phosphatases in maintenance of protein tyrosine phosphorylation level and in sperm motility. Using Western blotting with specific antibodies in b...
Giesecke K, Hamann H, Stock KF, Woehlke A, Sieme H, Distl O.Stallion fertility is an economically important trait because the use of artificial insemination is increasing in the horse industry and superior sires are used more intensely. Molecular genetic markers may be useful as early indicators for a stallion's fertility and genetic improvement programmes. The testis-specific SPATA1 protein is involved in shaping the sperm head during spermatogenesis. Thus, the spermatogenesis associated 1 (SPATA1) gene was chosen as candidate for stallion fertility, and we analysed intragenic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as genetic markers for the least squ...
Zhang YW, Davis EG, Bai J.Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has become a basic, reliable and sensitive modern technique, in both biological research and clinical diagnosis, for investigation of gene expression and validation of cDNA microarray analysis. Accurate mRNA quantification using quantitative RT-PCR commonly requires data normalization through stable housekeeping genes (HKGs). Selection of HKGs for data normalization is critical for accurate mRNA quantification. Our objective was to evaluate a set of candidate HKGs as internal controls for gene expression studies using quanti...
Ipiña Z, Lussier JG, Theoret CL.To clone full-length equine pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) complementary DNA (cDNA) and to evaluate its temporal expression during repair of wounds in horses. Methods: 4 clinically normal 2-to 3-year-old Standardbred mares. Methods: Full-length equine PEDF cDNA was cloned by screening size-selected cDNA libraries derived from biopsy specimens obtained from the wound edge 7 days after experimental creation of a 6.25-cm(2) full-thickness wound in the skin of the lateral thoracic wall. Expression was evaluated in normal skin and in biopsy specimens obtained weekly from experimentally in...
Black WD, Hartley CA, Ficorilli NP, Studdert MJ.Equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV), genus Erbovirus, is most closely related to the Cardiovirus genus in the family Picornaviridae. The structural proteins (VP1-4) of erboviruses are not well described, but are predicted by sequence to be 35, 29, 26 and 7 kDa. Methods for the purification of cardioviruses (polyethylene glycol, trypsin treatment) were used to characterise the structural proteins of ERBV1. Only one of the virus proteins detected was an expected molecular mass, and this 26 kDa protein was identified as VP3 by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. N-terminal sequencing of the 56 and a 29 ...
Foord AJ, Selleck P, Colling A, Klippel J, Middleton D, Heine HG.Equine influenza (EI) virus (H3N8) was identified in the Australian horse population for the first time in August 2007. The principal molecular diagnostic tool used for detection was a TaqMan real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) assay specific for the matrix (MA) gene of influenza virus type A (IVA). As this assay is not specific for EI, we developed a new EI H3-specific TaqMan assay targeting the haemagglutinin (HA) gene of all recent EI H3 strains. The IVA and the EI H3 TaqMan assays were assessed using in vitro transcribed RNA template, virus culture, diagnost...
Cochet M, Vaiman D, Lefèvre F.Interferons (IFNs) are cytokines of vertebrates with many biological effects including antiviral, immunoregulatory and antiproliferative activities. Among them, mammalian type I IFNs represents a large family of related proteins, mainly virus-inducible, divided in 10 distinct subfamilies named alpha, beta, omega, delta, epsilon, alphaomega, nu, tau, kappa and zeta (or Limitin). Some type I IFN subfamilies are physiologically expressed by the conceptus during early pregnancy in ungulates. This is the case in ruminants with IFN-tau (which triggers the maintenance of the maternal corpus luteum du...
Zou X, Zou L, Foldager C, Bendtsen M, Feng W, Bünger CE.To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of spinal fusion with different graft materials during an anterior lumbar interbody fusion, we examined the gene-expression profiles after implantation of equine bone protein extract, rhBMP-2 and autograft using microarray technology and data analysis, including hierarchical clustering, self-organizing maps (SOM), KEGG pathway and Biological process GO analyses in a porcine model. The results suggest that equine bone protein extract exhibited a more similar expression pattern with autograft than that of rhBMP-2. rhBMP-2 recruits progenitor cells, prolifera...
Piro M, Benjouad A, Tligui NS, El Allali K, El Kohen M, Nabich A, Ouragh L.Severe combined immunodeficiency disease (SCID) of horses is an autosomal, recessive hereditary disease occurring among Arabian or crossbred Arabian horses. The genetic defect responsible was previously identified as a 5-base pair deletion in the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of the DNA dependant protein kinase (DNA-PKcs). This study was carried out to determine the frequency of SCID and identify horses carrying the gene for SCID among Arabian and Arabian crossbred stallions and mares in Morocco using a DNA-based test. Twenty-one horses were SCID carriers: 14 (7%) Arabians, 6 (4%) Arab-B...
Coyne MJ, Cousin H, Loftus JP, Johnson PJ, Belknap JK, Gradil CM, Black SJ, Alfandari D.Equine laminitis is a debilitating disease affecting the digital laminae that suspend the distal phalanx within the hoof. While the clinical progression of the disease has been well documented, the molecular events associated with its pathogenesis remain largely unknown. Using real time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), we have investigated the expression of genes coding for proteins containing a Disintegrin and Metalloprotease domain (ADAM), as well as genes encoding the natural inhibitors of these enzymes (tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease; TIMP) in horses with naturally-acquired (acute, chronic...
Graves KT, Henney PJ, Ennis RB.Laminin 5 is a heterotrimeric basement membrane protein integral to the structure and function of the dermal-epidermal junction. It consists of three glycoprotein subunits: the alpha3, beta3 and gamma2 chains, which are encoded by the LAMA3, LAMB3 and LAMC2 genes respectively. A mutation in any of these genes results in the condition known as hereditary junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB). A 6589-bp deletion spanning exons 24-27 was found in the LAMA3 gene in American Saddlebred foals born with the skin-blistering condition epitheliogenesis imperfecta. The deletion confirms that this autoso...
Noschka E, Vandenplas ML, Hurley DJ, Moore JN.The results of recent studies indicate that inflammatory responses occurring in the early stages of equine laminitis lead to downstream events that eventually result in failure of the bond between the hoof wall and the distal phalanx. In order to gain further insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of laminitis, an equine-specific cDNA microarray consisting of transcripts for more that 3000 genes was used to assess temporal changes in gene expression in laminar tissues at 1.5, 3 and 12 h after administration of either a laminitis-inducing agent (black walnut heartwoo...
Mienaltowski MJ, Huang L, Stromberg AJ, MacLeod JN.Articular cartilage undergoes an important maturation process from neonate to adult that is reflected by alterations in matrix protein organization and increased heterogeneity of chondrocyte morphology. In the horse, these changes are influenced by exercise during the first five months of postnatal life. Transcriptional profiling was used to evaluate changes in articular chondrocyte gene expression during postnatal growth and development. Methods: Total RNA was isolated from the articular cartilage of neonatal (0-10 days) and adult (4-5 years) horses, subjected to one round of linear RNA ampli...
Mirams M, Tatarczuch L, Ahmed YA, Pagel CN, Jeffcott LB, Davies HM, Mackie EJ.Osteochondrosis is a condition involving defective endochondral ossification and retention of cartilage in subchondral bone. The pathophysiology of this condition is poorly characterized, but it has been proposed that the fundamental defect is failure of chondrocyte hypertrophy. The aim of the current study was to characterize phenotypic changes in chondrocytes associated with the initiation of osteochondrosis. Early lesions were induced in an equine model of osteochondrosis by feeding foals a high energy diet for 8 or 15 weeks. Lesions in articular-epiphyseal growth cartilage were examined hi...
Bhoora R, Franssen L, Oosthuizen MC, Guthrie AJ, Zweygarth E, Penzhorn BL, Jongejan F, Collins NE.A molecular epidemiological survey of the protozoal parasites that cause equine piroplasmosis was conducted using samples collected from horses and zebra from different geographical locations in South Africa. A total of 488 samples were tested for the presence of Theileria equi and/or Babesia caballi using the reverse line blot hybridization assay. Ten percent of the samples hybridized to the Theileria/Babesia genus-specific probe and not to the B. caballi or T. equi species-specific probes, suggesting the presence of a novel species or genotype. The small subunit of rRNA gene (18S; approximat...
Bailat AS, Soutullo AR, García MI, Veaute CM, Garcia L, Racca AL, Malan Borel IS.Gp90 and gp45 synthetic peptides, which mimic conserved sequences of native viral proteins, are recognized by antibodies to equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) in asymptomatic carrier horses and generate humoral and cellular responses in immunized mice. Cytokine mRNA levels were evaluated in equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after in vitro stimulation with gp90 and gp45 with the aim of determining the cytokine profile associated with the proliferative response. Stimulation index (SI) values indicate that 100 and 60% of EIAV-infected horses recognized gp90 and gp45, respective...
Horin P, Osickova J, Necesankova M, Matiasovic J, Musilova P, Kubickova S, Hubertova D, Vyskocil M, Rubes J.In previous work, we found significant associations of horse chromosome 15 (ECA15) microsatellite markers HMSO1 and HTG06 with two horse infections, Rhodococcus equi and Lawsonia intracellularis, respectively. Interleukin-1 beta subunit and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist encoding genes (IL1B and IL1RN) could be considered as candidate genes underlying the associations reported. Therefore, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within three interleukin-1 beta functionally related genes: IL1B, IL1RN and Casp1 (interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme/caspasel encoding gene). Using a...
Liu JX, Höglund AS, Karlsson P, Lindblad J, Qaisar R, Aare S, Bengtsson E, Larsson L.This comparative study of myonuclear domain (MND) size in mammalian species representing a 100,000-fold difference in body mass, ranging from 25 g to 2500 kg, was undertaken to improve our understanding of myonuclear organization in skeletal muscle fibres. Myonuclear domain size was calculated from three-dimensional reconstructions in a total of 235 single muscle fibre segments at a fixed sarcomere length. Irrespective of species, the largest MND size was observed in muscle fibres expressing fast myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms, but in the two smallest mammalian species studied (mouse and r...
Herszberg B, McCue ME, Larcher T, Mata X, Vaiman A, Chaffaux S, Chérel Y, Valberg SJ, Mickelson JR, Guérin G.Glycogen storage diseases or glycogenoses are inherited diseases caused by abnormalities of enzymes that regulate the synthesis or degradation of glycogen. Deleterious mutations in many genes of the glyco(geno)lytic or the glycogenesis pathways can potentially cause a glycogenosis, and currently mutations in fourteen different genes are known to cause animal or human glycogenoses, resulting in myopathies and/or hepatic disorders. The genetic bases of two forms of glycogenosis are currently known in horses. A fatal neonatal polysystemic type IV glycogenosis, inherited recessively in affected Qu...
Vinogradov E, MacLean LL, Brooks BW, Lutze-Wallace C, Perry MB.Taylorella equigenitalis is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes venereally transmitted contagious equine metritis (CEM), and its identification and differentiation from other bacteria and Taylorella species is an important requirement for the control of CEM infection. Based on the results of NMR and MS analysis, the antigenic O-polysaccharide (O-PS) component of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced by the type strain T. equigenitalis (ATCC 35865) was found to be a linear polymer composed of a repeating disaccharide unit, containing partially amidated 2,3-diacetamido-2,3-dideoxy-alpha-L-gulu...
Cook D, Brooks S, Bellone R, Bailey E.Champagne coat color in horses is controlled by a single, autosomal-dominant gene (CH). The phenotype produced by this gene is valued by many horse breeders, but can be difficult to distinguish from the effect produced by the Cream coat color dilution gene (CR). Three sires and their families segregating for CH were tested by genome scanning with microsatellite markers. The CH gene was mapped within a 6 cM region on horse chromosome 14 (LOD = 11.74 for theta = 0.00). Four candidate genes were identified within the region, namely SPARC [Secreted protein, acidic, cysteine-rich (osteonectin)], SL...
Wang L, Tong G, Liu H, Yang Z, Qiu H, Kong X, Wang M.Proviral DNA was extracted from donkey leukocyte infected with Chinese donkey leukocyte attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (DLA-EIAV), and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from a horse infected with the virulent EIAV strain Liaoning (EIAV L). The entire proviral DNA from both viruses was cloned and sequenced. The lengths of complete genomic sequences of DLA-EIAV and EIAV L provirus were 8266 bp and 8235 bp, respectively. Sequence comparison indicated that DLA-EIAV shares 97.0% and 97.5% in sequence homology with EIAV L and donkey-adapted EIAV (DA-EIAV), respectively. Lots of variation...
Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Ropka-Molik K, Piórkowska K, Bugno-Poniewierska M.One of the most significant reason of economic loss on race track performance is lame in performed horses. Primarily, due to the failure within proper bone maintenance during conditioning in young horses. The training overload causes bone turnover disturbances in homeostasis between bone resorption and bone formation which promote the bone loss. Within our study we investigated training induced changes in transcript abundance of genes (NFATc1, CTSK, DAP12, CLEC5A, IL6ST, VAV3) involved in osteoclastogenesis hence bone resorption, in whole blood of Arabian horses. The expression pattern of all ...
Allen CA, Payne SL, Harville M, Cohen N, Russell KE.The study of the equine immune system and inflammatory responses, by measuring cytokine expression, can provide important insight into disease pathogenesis in the horse. A set of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) assays for the equine cytokines IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha were validated using QPCR primers and probes which were generated for the equine IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-alpha and 18S genes. Amplification efficiency, intra-assay and inter-assay variation were determined using 10-fold dilutions of plasmid for each gene. Under these condit...
Davie AJ, Wen L, Cust ARE, Beavers R, Fyfe T, Zhou S.This study investigated the effects of six weeks of normobaric hypoxic training on transcriptional expression of the genes associated with mitochondrial and glycolytic activities in Thoroughbred horses. Eight horses were divided into two groups of four. They completed an identical incremental, moderate intensity training program, except that one group trained in a hypoxic chamber with 15% oxygen for 30 min on alternate days except Sundays (HT), while the other group trained in normal air (NC). Prior to and post training, heart rate and blood lactate were measured during an incremental treadm...
Prieto JMB, Tallmadge RL, Felippe MJB.Identification and classification of B cell subpopulations has been shown to be challenging and inconsistent among different species. Our study tested aspects of ontogeny, phenotype, tissue distribution, and function of equine CD5 B cells, which represented a greater proportion of B cells early in development and in the peritoneal cavity. CD5 and CD5 B cells differentially expressed B cell markers (CD2, CD21, IgM) measured using flow cytometry, but similar mRNA expression of signature genes (DGKA, FGL2, PAX5, IGHM, IL10) measured using quantitative RT-PCR. Sequencing lambda light chain segment...
Tallmadge RL, Lear TL, Johnson AK, Guérin G, Millon LV, Carpenter SL, Antczak DF.A clone containing beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)-m), the light chain of the major histocompatibility complex class I cell surface molecule, was isolated from an equine bacterial artificial chromosome library. This clone was used as a template for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and unidirectional sequencing to elucidate the genomic sequence and intron/exon boundaries. We obtained 7,000 bases of sequence, extending from 1,100 nucleotides (nt) upstream of the coding region start through 1,698 nt downstream of the stop codon. The sequence contained regulatory elements in the region upstream of t...
Hansen M, Knorr C, Hall AJ, Broad TE, Brenig B.The solute carrier family 26, member 2 (SLC26A2) gene belongs to a family of multifunctional anion exchangers. Mutations in the human SLC26A2 gene are associated with autosomal recessively inherited chondrodysplasias. Hence, we postulate that the equine SLC26A2 could be a candidate gene for conformational traits in horses. An equine BAC clone harboring the SLC26A2 gene was isolated. The complete 142,625 bp insert sequence of this clone was determined by transposon sequencing. Together with the SLC26A2 gene the BAC clone contains four genes, i.e. the macrophage colony stimulating factor 1 recep...
Onzere CK, Fry LM, Bishop RP, Silva MG, Bastos RG, Knowles DP, Suarez CE.Theileria equi is a widely distributed apicomplexan parasite that causes severe hemolytic anemia in equid species. There is currently no effective vaccine for control of the parasite and understanding the mechanism that T. equi utilizes to invade host cells may be crucial for vaccine development. Unlike most apicomplexan species studied to date, the role of micronemes in T. equi invasion of host cells is unknown. We therefore assessed the role of the T. equi claudin-like apicomplexan microneme protein (CLAMP) in the invasion of equine erythrocytes as a first step towards understanding the role...
Pinto-Bravo P, Galvão A, Rebordão MR, Amaral A, Ramilo D, Silva E, Szóstek-Mioduchowska A, Alexandre-Pires G, Roberto da Costa R, Skarzynski DJ....The oviduct plays important roles in the early reproductive process. The aim of this study was to evaluate gene transcription and protein expression of progesterone receptor (PGR), estrogen receptors 1 (ESR1) and 2 (ESR2); oxytocin receptor (OXTR); prostaglandin F2α synthase (AKR1C3), and prostaglandin E2 synthase (Ptges) in mare oviduct in different estrous cycle stages. Estradiol (E), progesterone (P), oxytocin (OXT), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF) effect on in vitro PGE and prostaglandin F2α (PGF) secretion by equine oviduct explants or by oviductal epithelial cells (OECs) were also ...
Wypchło M, Korwin-Kossakowska A, Bereznowski A, Hecold M, Lewczuk D.The aim of this research was to evaluate the polymorphisms of selected genes and to find their potential effect on the occurrence of osteochondrosis in Polish Warmbloods (sport horse breeds). The study was conducted on a group of 198 horses subjected to official performance tests. Investigated joints-fetlock, hock and stifle-were X-rayed twice, once before and again at the end of the tests (first and second examination), and on this basis the degree of disease was evaluated. Based on the results of previous research, 13 candidate genes potentially associated with the occurrence of osteochondro...
Wagner B, Overesch G, Sheoran AS, Holmes MA, Richards C, Leibold W, Radbruch A.Previous restriction analysis of cloned equine DNA and genomic DNA of equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells had indicated the existence of one c epsilon, one c alpha and up to six c gamma genes in the haploid equine genome. The c epsilon and c alpha genes have been aligned on a 30 kb DNA fragment in the order 5' c epsilon-c alpha 3'. Here we describe the alignment of the equine c mu and c gamma genes by deletion analysis of one IgM, four IgG and two equine light chain expressing heterohybridomas. This analysis establishes the existence of six c gamma genes per haploid genome. The genomic a...
Fukuda K, Miyata H, Kuwano A, Kuroda T, Tamura N, Kotoyori Y, Kasashima Y.Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy is promising for treating skeletal muscle injuries in human athletes by promoting muscle regeneration. It might also be useful for treating muscle injuries in equine athletes. In the present study, muscle regeneration induced by injection of PRP into intact muscle of Thoroughbred was investigated. Autologous PRP and saline were injected twice into intact left and right gluteus medius muscles of seven clinically healthy Thoroughbreds. Muscle samples were collected from the injection sites by needle biopsy at 2 and 7 days after PRP injection. Immunohistochemica...
Hobo S, Niwa H, Oku K.Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) constitutes a potentially valuable diagnostic tool for rapid diagnosis of contagious diseases. In this study, we developed a novel LAMP method (seM-LAMP) to detect the seM gene of Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (S. equi), the causative agent of strangles in equids. The seM-LAMP successfully amplified the target sequence of the seM gene at 63°C within 60 min. The sensitivity of the seM-LAMP was slightly lower than the 2nd reaction of the seM semi-nested PCR. To evaluate the species specificity of the seM-LAMP, we tested 100 S. equi and 189 non-S. e...
Sobel JH, Thibodeau CA, Kolks MA, Canfield RE.Immunochemical studies of equine fibrinogen were conducted to characterize the structural basis for the immunologic cross-reactivity observed between human and equine A alpha chains when employing an antiserum to the 26K, human cyanogen bromide (CNBr) fragment, A alpha 241-476 (CNBr VIII). A 38K, equine CNBr fragment that reacts with this antiserum was isolated from CNBr-digested equine fibrinogen by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. It was further purified by sequential hydrophobic chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B, followed by reversed-phased (C-8) high-performance liquid chromatography ...
Tirosh-Levy S, Steinman A, Einhorn A, Apanaskevich DA, Mumcuoglu KY, Gottlieb Y.Theileria equi Mehlhorn and Schein, 1998 (Piroplasmida: Babesiidae) is an important tick-borne pathogen of horses that is highly endemic in many parts of the world, including Israel. The present study evaluated the potential roles of five hard tick species [Hyalomma excavatum Koch, 1844; Hyalomma marginatum Koch, 1844; Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantsev 1936; Rhipicephalus annulatus Say, 1821; Haemaphysalis parva (Neumann, 1897) (all: Ixodida: Ixodidae)], previously found to infest horses in Israel, in acting as vectors for piroplasmosis. For this, DNA was extracted from whole ticks and, when...
Ninomiya S, Anjiki A, Nishide Y, Mori M, Deguchi Y, Satoh T.In stabled horses, behavioral responses to frustration are often observed, especially around feeding time. These behavioral responses are a useful indicator of their welfare. In this study, we investigated the association between this behavioral indicator and DRD4 gene polymorphisms in stabled horses. Twenty one horses housed in two stables were used. The horses were observed for approximately 4 h around feeding over three or more days using focal-sampling and instantaneous-sampling. Horses were genotyped for the A-G substitution in the DRD4 gene. The effects of the A-G substitution (with or w...
Gerber V, Swinburne JE, Blott SC, Nussbaumer P, Ramseyer A, Klukowska-Rötzler J, Dolf G, Marti E, Burger D, Leeb T.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a multifactorial and polygenic disease. Affected horses are typically 7 years of age or older and show exercise intolerance, increased breathing effort, coughing, airway neutrophilia, mucus accumulation and hyperreactivity as well as cholinergic bronchospasm. The environmental factors responsible are predominantly allergens and irritants in haydust, but the immunological mechanisms underlying RAO are still unclear. Several studies have demonstrated a familiar predisposition for RAO and it is now proven that the disease has a genetic basis. In offspring, th...
Shupe JL, Leone NC, Olson AE, Gardner EJ.Investigation of hereditary multiple exostoses in horses under controlled research conditions for 10 years and epidemiologic studies that have spanned up to five generations of human families contain notable similarities. The present study demonstrated that a single dominant autosomal gene is responsible for hereditary multiple exostoses in horses and man. Affected individuals transmit this trait to approximately 50% of their progeny, whereas nonaffected individuals do not transmit the condition to their offspring. The tumors in affected horses are most often present at birth. They tend to be ...
Myćka G, Musiał AD, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Piórkowska K, Ropka-Molik K.The gene encodes peroxisomal acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1, the first enzyme in the fatty acid β-oxidation pathway, which could be significant for organisms exposed to long periods of starvation and harsh living conditions. We hypothesized that variations within , revealed by RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq), might be based on adaptation to living conditions and had resulted from selection pressure. There were five different horse breeds used in this study, representing various utility types: Arabian, Thoroughbred, Polish Konik, draft horses, and Hucul. The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located i...
Schwarz B, Ertl R, Zimmer S, Netzmann Y, Klein D, Schwendenwein I, Hoven RV.The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence and frequency of a mutation in the gene coding for skeletal muscle glycogen synthase type 1 (GYS-1), which is the cause of equine polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) type 1 in a population of 50 Haflingers. GYS-1 genotyping of 50 Haflingers was performed with a validated restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay. The second aim was to compare resting and post-exercise muscle enzyme activities as well as parameters of glucose metabolism in blood between horses with and without the mutation. Nine of the 50 Haflingers were ident...
Castaneda C, Radović L, Felkel S, Juras R, Davis BW, Cothran EG, Wallner B, Raudsepp T.Structural rearrangements like copy number variations in the male-specific Y chromosome have been associated with male fertility phenotypes in human and mouse but have been sparsely studied in other mammalian species. Here, we designed digital droplet PCR assays for 7 horse male-specific Y chromosome multicopy genes and SRY and evaluated their absolute copy numbers in 209 normal male horses of 22 breeds, 73 XY horses with disorders of sex development and/or infertility, 5 Przewalski's horses and 2 kulans. This established baseline copy number for these genes in horses. The TSPY gene showed the...
Vinogradov E, MacLean LL, Brooks BW, Lutze-Wallace C, Perry MB.Taylorella asinigenitalis sp. nov is a nonpathogenic gram-negative bacterium recently isolated from the genital tract of male donkeys. The bacterium is phenotypically indistinguishable from Taylorella equigenitalis, a pathogen that is the cause of contagious equine metritis, a highly communicable venereal disease of horses. The structural analysis of the lipopolysaccharide produced by T. asinigenitalis sp. nov (ATCC 700933) demonstrated that its O-polysaccharide (O-PS) component is a linear unbranched polymer of repeating disaccharide units composed of 1,3-linked pyranosyl residues of 2,4-diac...
Deriusheva SE, Loginova IuA, Chiriaeva OG, Iaschak K, Smirnov AF.Distribution of blocks of ribosomal RNA genes along metaphase chromosomes of 26 horses from five breeds was determined by means of a modified method of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in combination with simultaneous R- banding. Gene loci coding for rRNA were mapped to the region of secondary constriction on the short arm of chromosome 1, and to the pericentromeric regions of chromosomes 27, 28, and 31. The nucleolar organizer region (NOR) on chromosome 27 was not described earlier. Interindividual and interchromosomal NOR polymorphism was detected With the use of a semiquantitative ...
Miragliotta V, Ipiña Z, Lefebvre-Lavoie J, Lussier JG, Theoret CL.Wound healing in horses is fraught with complications. Specifically, wounds on horse limbs often develop exuberant granulation tissue which behaves clinically like a benign tumor and resembles the human keloid in that the evolving scar is trapped in the proliferative phase of repair, leading to fibrosis. Clues gained from the study of over-scarring in horses should eventually lead to new insights into how to prevent unwanted scar formation in humans. cDNA fragments corresponding to CTNNB1 (coding for beta-catenin) and PECAM1, genes potentially contributing to the proliferative phase of repair,...
Herszberg B, McCue ME, Larcher T, Mata X, Vaiman A, Chaffaux S, Chérel Y, Valberg SJ, Mickelson JR, Guérin G.Glycogen storage diseases or glycogenoses are inherited diseases caused by abnormalities of enzymes that regulate the synthesis or degradation of glycogen. Deleterious mutations in many genes of the glyco(geno)lytic or the glycogenesis pathways can potentially cause a glycogenosis, and currently mutations in fourteen different genes are known to cause animal or human glycogenoses, resulting in myopathies and/or hepatic disorders. The genetic bases of two forms of glycogenosis are currently known in horses. A fatal neonatal polysystemic type IV glycogenosis, inherited recessively in affected Qu...
Bernoco D, Byrns G, Bailey E, Lew AM.Two antisera, B-442 and R-2046, were produced by immunizing offspring with purified peripheral blood lymphocytes from a parent matched for the ELA-A specificity carried on the unshared haplotype. Absorption analysis demonstrated that these antisera contained at least two families of cytotoxic antibodies, one directed against antigens present on T and B cells, and a second directed preferentially against antigens present on surface Ig positive cells. Immunoprecipitation studies using these antisera demonstrated that both antisera contain antibodies specific for glycoproteins with molecular weig...
Semik-Gurgul E, Szmatoła T, Gurgul A, Pawlina-Tyszko K, Gałuszka A, Pędziwiatr R, Witkowski M, Ząbek T.DNA methylation is a key mechanism in transcription regulation, and aberrant methylation is a common and important mechanism in tumor initiation, maintenance, and progression. To find genes that are aberrantly regulated by altered methylation in horse sarcoids, we used reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) accompanied by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) for methylome (whole genome DNA methylation sequencing) and transcriptome profiling, respectively. We found that the DNA methylation level was generally lower in lesion samples than in controls. In the analyzed samples, a total of 14,692 d...
The Journal of heredityNovember 25, 2014
Volume 106, Issue 1 37-44 doi: 10.1093/jhered/esu074
Khanshour A, Juras R, Blackburn R, Cothran EG.The Canadian breed of horse invokes a fascinating chapter of North American history and as such it is now a heritage breed and the national horse of Canada. The aims of this study were to determine the level of genetic diversity in the Canadian, investigate the possible foundation breeds and the role it had in the development of the US horse breeds, such as Morgan Horse. We tested a total of 981 horses by using 15 microsatellite markers. We found that Canadian horses have high values of genetic diversity indices and show no evidence of a serious loss of genetic diversity and the inbreeding coe...
Austbø L, Røed KH, Dolvik NI, Skretting G.The aim of this study was to investigate genes for differential expression in cartilage of foals predisposed to osteochondrosis (OC). Tissue was sampled from the cranial part of the distal intermediate ridge of the tibia in the tarso-crural joint. Foals were considered predisposed to OC when parents had OC at the distal intermediate ridge of the tibia. RNA was isolated and subjected to arbitrarily primed PCR (RAP-PCR) followed by fingerprinting to screen for differentially expressed genes. By verification of results from the RAP-PCR fingerprint screening using real-time RT-PCR, we identified t...
Tobiasch E, Kehm R, Bahr U, Tidona CA, Jakob NJ, Handermann M, Darai G, Giese M.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is a member of the Arteriviridae family, that includes lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and simian haemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). Equine arteritis is a contagious disease of horses and is spread via respiratory or reproductive tract. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the possibility for developing a model system for prevention horses against an EAV infection by DNAvaccination. A cDNA bank from the RNA of EAV was established. This gene library contains the translation unit of ...
Schmitz A, Zielinski J, Dick B, Mevissen M.Testosterone (TES) 6-β-hydroxylation is a significant metabolic step in the biotransformation of TES in human liver microsomes and reflects cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4/5 specific metabolic activity. Several CYP3A enzymes have been annotated in the horse genome, but functional characterization is missing. This descriptive study investigates TES metabolism in the horse liver in vitro and the qualitative contribution of three CYP3A isoforms of the horse. Metabolism of TES was investigated by using equine hepatocyte primary cultures and liver microsomes. Chemical inhibitors were used to determine t...
