The immune response in horses involves a complex network of cells, tissues, and molecules that work together to protect the animal from pathogens and other harmful agents. This process includes both innate and adaptive immune mechanisms. Innate immunity provides the first line of defense and involves components such as physical barriers, phagocytic cells, and the complement system. Adaptive immunity, on the other hand, is characterized by the activation of lymphocytes and the production of antibodies, which provide a targeted response to specific antigens. Key components of the equine immune system include T cells, B cells, and various cytokines that facilitate communication between immune cells. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, regulation, and implications of immune responses in equine health.
Marenzoni ML, De Waure C, Timoney PJ.Equid herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) infection can cause a range of disease syndromes of variable severity that can result in a lethal outcome and restriction of horse movements, especially in the case of outbreaks involving neurological disease. Vaccination is one of the tools used to control the infection. It is widely known that vaccination is not completely effective in ensuring protection against disease caused by this virus. In fact, the real efficacy of vaccination against EHV-1 related disease has not been measured and no systematic reviews exist on this topic. Objective: To perform a syst...
Xu Z, Hao X, Li M, Luo H.Rhodococcus equi (R. equi) is a Gram-positive coccobacillus that causes pneumonia in foals of less than 3 months, which have the ability of replication in macrophages. The ability of R. equi persist in macrophages is dependent on the virulence plasmid pVAPA. Gram-positive extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry a variety of virulence factors and play an important role in pathogenic infection. There are few studies on R. equi-derived EVs (R. equi-EVs), and little knowledge regarding the mechanisms of how R. equi-EVs communicate with the host cell. In this study, we examine the properties of EVs prod...
Abo-Aziza FAM, Hendawy SHM, Abdullah HHAM, El Namaky A, Laidoudi Y, Mediannikov O.Equine filariosis (EF) is a neglected vector-borne disease caused by nematode species belonging to the Onchocercidae and Setariidae families. Aside from their zoonotic potential, some species are responsible for serious health problems in equids worldwide, leading to significant economic difficulties. Here, we molecularly investigated equine blood samples (320 horses and 109 donkeys from Egypt) and four adult worms isolated from the peritoneal cavity of 5 out of the 94 slaughtered donkeys. In addition, quantitative enzyme-linked immunoassays (ELISAs) targeting circulating cytokines were used t...
Even KM, Gaesser AM, Ciamillo SA, Linardi RL, Ortved KF.Joint injury often leads to cartilage damage and posttraumatic inflammation, which drives continued extracellular matrix degradation culminating in osteoarthritis. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been proposed as a biotherapeutic to modulate inflammation within the joint. However, concerns have been raised regarding the immunogenicity of MSCs cultured in traditional fetal bovine serum (FBS) containing media, and the potential of xenogenic antigens to activate the immune system causing rejection and destruction of the MSCs. Xenogen-free alternatives to FBS have been proposed to decrease MSC ...
Gömer A, Delarocque J, Puff C, Nocke MK, Reinecke B, Baumgärtner W, Cavalleri JMV, Feige K, Steinmann E, Todt D.More than 70 million people worldwide are still infected with the hepatitis C virus 30 years after its discovery, underscoring the need for a vaccine. To develop an effective prophylactic vaccine, detailed knowledge of the correlates of protection and an immunocompetent surrogate model are needed. In this study, we describe the minimum dose required for robust equine hepacivirus (EqHV) infection in equids and examined how this relates to duration of infection, seroconversion, and transcriptomic responses. To investigate mechanisms of hepaciviral persistence, immune response, and immune-media...
Schmucker S, Preisler V, Marr I, Krüger K, Stefanski V.Domestic horses are currently often subject to management practices that can entail social stressors, which in turn can negatively influence immunocompetence and disease susceptibility. The present study therefore aimed to characterize the number of various blood leukocyte subsets in horses, focusing on two potentially stressful housing environments: changes in group composition and relocation to individual stabling. Immune measurements were conducted before as well as one and eight days after changes were made. They were complemented by an assessment of plasma cortisol concentrations as well ...
Kahn SK, Cohen ND, Bordin AI, Coleman MC, Heird JC, Welsh TH.The bacterium Rhodococcus equi causes pneumonia in foals that is prevalent at breeding farms worldwide. In the absence of an effective vaccine, transfusion of commercial plasma from donor horses hyperimmunised against R. equi is used by many farms to reduce the incidence of pneumonia among foals at farms where the disease is endemic. The effectiveness of hyperimmune plasma for controlling R. equi pneumonia in foals has varied considerably among reports. The purposes of this narrative review are: (1) to review early studies that provided a foundational basis for the practice of transfusion of h...
Cvitas I, Oberhaensli S, Leeb T, Marti E.Equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most common skin disease affecting horses. It is described as an IgE-mediated, Type I hypersensitivity reaction to salivary gland proteins of Culicoides insects. Together with Th2 cells, epithelial barrier cells play an important role in development of Type I hypersensitivities. In order to elucidate the role of equine keratinocytes in development of IBH, we stimulated keratinocytes derived from IBH-affected (IBH-KER) (n = 9) and healthy horses (H-KER) (n = 9) with Culicoides recombinant allergens and extract, allergic cytokine milieu (ACM) and ...
Cappelli K, Ciucis CG, Mecocci S, Nervo T, Crescio MI, Pepe M, Gialletti R, Pietrucci D, Migone LF, Turco S, Mechelli L, Passamonti F, Drago C....Equine Papillomavirus 2 (EcPV2) is responsible for squamous cell carcinomas (eSCCs) of external genitalia of both male and female horses. However, few studies report the EcPV2 prevalence among healthy horses. Currently, the lack of these data does not permit identifying at-risk populations and, thus, developing screening protocols aimed at the early detection of the infection, as for humans. The aim of our study was to estimate the genoprevalence of EcPV2 in clinically healthy horses in Italy and to evaluate their innate immune response. For this purpose, penile and vulvar swabs of 234 healthy...
Stefanovski D, Robinson MA, Van Eps A.Insulin dysregulation (ID) is the most important risk factor for the development of laminitis in horses and therapies to control it are needed. Objective: To assess the effects of a single dose of the synthetic GLP-1 analog exenatide on postprandial insulin dynamics. We hypothesized that exenatide would improve insulin sensitivity and lower postprandial blood insulin concentrations. Methods: Randomized, crossover, experimental study. Methods: Six horses (3 mares, 3 geldings; 2 with normal insulin regulation [NIR] and 4 with mild ID). Methods: Horses completed both study arms: subcutaneous admi...
Bonhomme D, Werts C.Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infectious disease affecting all vertebrates. It is caused by species of the genus Leptospira, among which are the highly pathogenic L. interrogans. Different mammals can be either resistant or susceptible to the disease which can present a large variety of symptoms. Humans are mostly asymptomatic after infection but can have in some cases symptoms varying from a flu-like syndrome to more severe forms such as Weil's disease, potentially leading to multiorgan failure and death. Similarly, cattle, pigs, and horses can suffer from acute forms of the disease, including ...
Boger BL, Manfredi JM, Yob C, Weber PSD, Jacobs CC.Diagnosis of equine septic arthritis is not straightforward, and increasing time between onset, diagnosis, and treatment can have serious consequences for quality of life. Defensins are used in diagnosis of human joint infection. The presence of beta defensins (BDs) in equine synovial fluid and their utility as a biomarker of sepsis has not been investigated; therefore, our objectives were to (1) compare in vitro gene expression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated equine neutrophils to unstimulated neutrophils and (2) compare BD protein expression from normal, aseptically inflamed, and sept...
Durán-Ferrer M, Villalba R, Fernández-Pacheco P, Tena-Tomás C, Jiménez-Clavero MÁ, Bouzada JA, Ruano MJ, Fernández-Pinero J, Arias M....This study described the clinical, virological, and serological responses of immunologically naïve and vaccinated horses to African horse sickness virus (AHSV) serotype 9. Naïve horses developed a clinical picture resembling the cardiac form of African horse sickness. This was characterized by inappetence, reduced activity, and hyperthermia leading to lethargy and immobility-recumbency by days 9-10 post-infection, an end-point criteria for euthanasia. After challenge, unvaccinated horses were viremic from days 3 or 4 post-infection till euthanasia, as detected by serogroup-specific (GS) real...
Jiménez-Cabello L, Utrilla-Trigo S, Barreiro-Piñeiro N, Pose-Boirazian T, Martínez-Costas J, Marín-López A, Ortego J.Bluetongue virus (BTV) and African horse sickness virus (AHSV) are widespread arboviruses that cause important economic losses in the livestock and equine industries, respectively. In addition to these, another arthropod-transmitted orbivirus known as epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) entails a major threat as there is a conducive landscape that nurtures its emergence in non-endemic countries. To date, only vaccinations with live attenuated or inactivated vaccines permit the control of these three viral diseases, although important drawbacks, e.g., low safety profile and effectiveness...
Janssen P, Tosi I, Hego A, Maréchal P, Marichal T, Radermecker C.Asthma encompasses a spectrum of heterogenous immune-mediated respiratory disorders sharing a similar clinical pattern characterized by cough, wheeze and exercise intolerance. In horses, equine asthma can be subdivided into severe or moderate asthma according to clinical symptoms and the extent of airway neutrophilic inflammation. While severe asthmatic horses are characterized by an elevated neutrophilic inflammation of the lower airways, cough, dyspnea at rest and high mucus secretion, horses with moderate asthma show a milder neutrophilic inflammation, exhibit intolerance to exercise but no...
Gressler AE, Lübke S, Wagner B, Arnold C, Lohmann KL, Schnabel CL.Equine asthma (EA) is a highly relevant disease, estimated to affect up to 20% of all horses, and compares to human asthma. The pathogenesis of EA is most likely immune-mediated, yet incompletely understood. To study the immune response in the affected lower airways, mixed leukocytes were acquired through bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and the cell populations were analyzed on a single-cell basis by flow cytometry (FC). Samples of 38 horses grouped as respiratory healthy or affected by mild to moderate (mEA) or severe EA (sEA) according to their history, clinical signs, and BAL cytology were ana...
Jasiński T, Zdrojkowski Ł, Ferreira-Dias G, Kautz E, Juszczuk-Kubiak E, Domino M.Endometrosis is a frequently occurring disease decreasing mares' fertility. Thus, it is an important disease of the endometrium associated with epithelial and stromal cell alterations, endometrium gland degeneration and periglandular fibrosis. Multiple degenerative changes are found in uterine mucosa, the endometrium. However, their pathogenesis is not well known. It is thought that nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), a cell metabolism regulator, and its activation pathways take part in it. The transcription of the profibrotic pathway genes of the NF-κB in fibrotic endometria differed between the fo...
Protection against infectious diseases can be obtained with vaccines generating immunogenic response through a combination of humoral and cellular immunity. In this study haematological and serum protein electrophoretic profiles of horses vaccinated against herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and 4 (EHV-4) were evaluated. Blood samples were collected from 16 horses before (T0), after 24h, 48h, 72h, 1st week, 2nd week and 3rd week (T1I, T2I, T3I, T7I, T14I and T21I) from the first EHV vaccine-dose administration as well as before (TPRE), and after 24h, 48h, 72h, 1st week, 2nd week, 3rd week and 4th week (T1I...
Hu D, Tang Y, Wang C, Qi Y, Ente M, Li X, Zhang D, Li K, Chu H.The microbiota and its metabolites play an important role in regulating the host metabolism and immunity. However, the underlying mechanism is still not well studied. Thus, we conducted the LC-MS/MS analysis and RNA-seq analysis on with and without horse botfly infestation to determine the metabolites produced by intestinal microbiota in feces and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to the immune response in blood and attempted to link them together. The results showed that parasite infection could change the composition of microbial metabolites. These identified metabolites could b...
Witkowski M, Duliban M, Rak A, Profaska-Szymik M, Gurgul A, Arent ZJ, Galuszka A, Kotula-Balak M.Endometrosis is a periglandular fibrosis associated with dysfunction of affected glandular epithelial cells that is the most common cause of reduced fertility in mares, although it is not fully understood. The etiology of the disease is still partially unknown. This study focuses on understanding the genetic mechanisms potentially underlying endometrosis in mares using the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technique. Endometrial samples, used in the study, were obtained in the anestrus phase both from healthy mares and those diagnosed with endometrosis. The NGS data were analyzed for gene invol...
Kimura S, McCoy AM, Boothe DM, Wooldridge AA, Graff E, Hammack SM, Cresci L, Hofmeister E, Lascola KM.To describe misoprostol pharmacokinetics and anti-inflammatory efficacy when administered orally or per rectum in endotoxin-challenged horses. Methods: 6 healthy geldings. Methods: A randomized 3-treatment crossover design was performed with a minimum washout period of 28 days between treatment arms. Prior to endotoxin challenge (lipopolysaccharide, 30 ng/kg IV over 30 minutes), horses received misoprostol (5 µg/kg once) per os (M-PO) or per rectum (M-PR) or water as control (CON). Clinical parameters were evaluated and blood samples obtained to measure plasma misoprostol free acid concentrat...
Bayless RL, Sheats MK, Jones SL.Neutrophils play a major role in many equine conditions, including equine asthma, laminitis, and intestinal ischemia and reperfusion injury, and therefore represent an attractive target for innovative therapeutic approaches. Novel strategies for reducing neutrophilic inflammation include modulation of neutrophil functions and lifespan. Withaferin A (WFA) is a phytochemical with well-established and anti-inflammatory properties, but its direct effects on neutrophils are largely unknown. We hypothesized that WFA would inhibit adhesion, migration, and respiratory burst by equine neutrophils and...
Taylor SD, Serpa PBS, Santos AP, Hart KA, Vaughn SA, Moore GE, Mukhopadhyay A, Page AE.A systemic and dysregulated immune response to infection contributes to morbidity and mortality associated with sepsis. Peripheral blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (PB-MSC) mitigate inflammation in animal models of sepsis. Allogeneic PB-MSC administered IV to horses is well-tolerated but therapeutic benefits are unknown. Objective: After IV lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infusion, horses treated with PB-MSC would have less severe clinical signs, clinicopathological abnormalities, inflammatory cytokine gene expression, and oxidative stress compared to controls administered a placebo. Methods: ...
Salinas C, Espinosa G, Morales N, Henríquez C, Morán G, Gajardo G, Burgos RA, Uberti B.Obesity and insulin dysregulation (ID) are increasingly prevalent conditions in equid populations worldwide. Immune impairment is well described in humans with metabolic dysfunction and is reported but still incompletely understood in horses. This study evaluated the effect of acute induced transient hyperglycemia on apoptosis, phagocytosis and oxidative burst activity of peripheral blood polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) of lean and obese adult horses with or without insulin dysregulation. Seventeen adult horses were allocated into three groups based on their body condition score (BCS) and metabo...
Lucassen A, Hankel J, Finkler-Schade C, Osbelt L, Strowig T, Visscher C, Schuberth HJ.Feed supplements such as fermentation products (SCFP) alter immune responses in horses. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether a prebiotic activity of the SCFP alters the gut microbiome in horses. Racehorses were fed either SCFP (Olimond BB, OLI, = 6) or placebo pellets (PLA, = 5) for 43 days. Fecal microbiota analysis was performed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The numbers and function of circulating immune cell subpopulations were analyzed by flow cytometry. SCFP supplementation resulted in non-consistent differences in fecal microbiota between the PLA and OLI during the feedi...
Lee DH, Lee EB, Seo JP, Ko EJ.Despite vaccination, equine influenza virus (EIV) and equine herpesvirus (EHV) infections still cause highly contagious respiratory diseases in horses. Recently, concurrent vaccination with EIV and EHV was suggested as a new approach; however, there have been no reports of concurrent vaccination with recombinant canarypox EIV and inactivated EHV vaccines. In this study, we aimed to compare the EIV-specific immune responses induced by concurrent administrations of a recombinant canarypox EIV vaccine and an inactivated bivalent EHV vaccine with those induced by a single recombinant canarypox EIV...
El-Hage C, Hartley C, Savage C, Watson J, Gilkerson J, Paillot R.During Australia's first and only outbreak of equine influenza (EI), which was restricted to two northeastern states, horses were strategically vaccinated with a recombinant canarypox-vectored vaccine (rCP-EIV; ProteqFlu™, Merial P/L). The vaccine encoded for haemagglutinin (HA) belonging to two equine influenza viruses (EIVs), including an American and Eurasian lineage subtype that predated the EIV responsible for the outbreak (A/equine/Sydney/07). Racehorses in Victoria (a southern state that remained free of EI) were vaccinated prophylactically. Although the vaccine encoded for (HA) belon...
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...
Zandoná Meleiro MC, de Carvalho HJC, Ribeiro RR, da Silva MD, Salles Gomes CM, Miglino MA, de Santis Prada IL.Racehorses are constantly exposed to stress. Aiming to verify the state of blood components and cortisol alterations during their routine and after races, phagocytosis and oxidative neutrophil burst assays, serum cortisol determination, erythrocytes apoptosis evaluation, lymphoproliferation assays, and blood count tests were performed in thirty Thoroughbred racehorses, which were divided in two groups. The samples were taken right after races (moment 0 d), during rest periods (-11 d, +1 d, +3 d), and after training (-8, +2, +5). In both groups, the phagocytosis showed a decrease in percentage ...
Birdwhistell KE, Hurley DJ, Heins B, Peroni JF.Allogeneic solid organ transplantation is currently the only treatment option for end stage organ disease. The shortage of available donor organs has driven efforts to utilize xenogeneic organs for transplantation. In vitro methods for evaluating immune-compatibility are a quick and low cost means of screening novel tissue products prior to more involved, expensive, and invasive live animal studies. Recently, a new analog of the DNA base thymidine, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), was developed. It may be used in a fast, efficient and specific means of evaluating cell proliferation via flow cy...
Ranera B, Antczak D, Miller D, Doroshenkova T, Ryan A, McIlwraith CW, Barry F.Recently, it has been shown that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) do not express the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) II antigen and are able to inhibit proliferation of MHC-mismatched stimulated lymphocytes, enabling their use as in vivo allogeneic transplants. However, prior to clinical application of allo-MSCs, in vitro tests are required to confirm the safety of treatment protocols. Objective: To evaluate the immunosuppressive capabilities of equine bone-marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs) on MHC-mismatched lymphocytes. Methods: In vitro experiment. Methods: Phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated per...
Vairo S, Vandekerckhove A, Steukers L, Glorieux S, Van den Broeck W, Nauwynck H.Equine viral arteritis (EVA) is an infectious disease with variable clinical outcome. Outbreaks, causing important economic losses, are becoming more frequent. Currently, there is a shortage of pathogenesis studies performed with European strains. In the present study, eight seronegative ponies were experimentally inoculated with the Belgian strain of equine arteritis virus (EAV) 08P178 (EU-1 clade) and monitored daily for clinical signs of EVA. Nasopharyngeal swabs, ocular swabs, bronchoalveolar cells and blood were collected for virological and serological testing. Two ponies were euthanized...
Brosnahan MM, Miller DC, Adams M, Antczak DF.The invasive trophoblast cells of the equine placenta migrate into the endometrium to form endometrial cups, dense accumulations of trophoblast cells that produce equine chorionic gonadotropin between days 40 and 120 of normal pregnancy. The mechanisms by which the trophoblast cells invade the endometrium while evading maternal immune destruction are poorly defined. A gene expression microarray analysis performed on placental tissues obtained at day 34 of gestation revealed a >900-fold upregulation of mRNA encoding the cytokine IL-22 in chorionic girdle relative to noninvasive chorion. Quan...
Tanabe S, Suzuki T, Wasano Y, Nakajima F, Kawasaki H, Tsuda T, Nagamine N, Tsurumachi T, Sugaya K, Akita H, Takagi M, Takagi K, Inoue Y, Asai Y....We previously isolated the commensal bacteria lactobacilli and bifidobacteria from the Thoroughbred intestine and prepared the horse probiotics LacFi(TM), consisting of Lactobacillus ruminis KK14, L. equi KK 15, L. reuteri KK18, L. johnsonii KK21, and Bifidobacterium boum HU. Here, we found that the five LacFi(TM) constituent strains remarkably suppressed pro-inflammatory interleukin-17 production in mouse splenocytes stimulated with interleukin-6 and transforming growth factor-β. The protective effects of the probiotic on impaired intestinal barrier function were evaluated in Caco-2 cells tr...
Sanchez-Teran AF, Bracamonte JL, Hendrick S, Riddell L, Musil K, Hoff B, Rubio-Martínez LM.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of through-and-through joint lavage on systemic and synovial serum amyloid A (SAA), total protein, nucleated cell count and percentage of neutrophils in the synovial fluid of six healthy horses. A prospective experimental study was performed where one healthy tarsocrural joint of each horse was randomly assigned to receive repeated through-and-through joint lavage at 0, 48 and 96 h. Synovial fluid and blood samples were collected at 0 (baseline), 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h. Systemic and synovial SAA, total protein, nucleated cell count a...
Mateo-Otero Y, Zambrano F, Catalán J, Sánchez R, Yeste M, Miro J, Fernandez-Fuertes B.In several mammalian species, acute endometritis driven by the recruitment of polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) occurs in response to semen. These PMNs release DNA to form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in cattle, horse and human, leading to sperm entrapment. While there is no evidence of this phenomenon occurring in donkeys, artificial insemination (AI) with frozen-thawed semen, which results in very poor pregnancy rates, leads to a large PMN recruitment to the uterus. Objective: To investigate whether donkey semen can trigger NET release (NETosis) and if excessive NETosis occurs in respon...
Rappocciolo G, Birch J, Ellis SA.There is good evidence that cytotoxic T lymphocytes play an important role in the clearance of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV1) in horses. We have demonstrated that, in common with other alphaherpesviruses, EHV1 infection can lead to dramatic down-regulation of MHC class I expression at the cell surface, a common strategy for pathogen evasion of the host immune response. This down-regulation is specific for MHC class I and does not reflect a general shut-off of host-cell protein synthesis. The use of monoclonal antibodies that recognize different MHC class I epitopes has demonstrated that the effec...
Fjordbakk CT, Johansen GM, Løvås AC, Oppegård KL, Storset AK.No recommendations have been made regarding the relative timing of blood collection for autologous conditioned serum (ACS) preparation and surgical procedures. Objective: 1) To identify effects of surgical stress on cytokine levels in ACS, 2) identify haematological markers for prediction of cytokine production in ACS and 3) investigate the necessity for specialised ACS containers when preparing a cytokine-rich serum. Methods: Experimental in vitro study. Methods: Blood was drawn from 15 stallions admitted for elective castration preoperatively and 22-24 h post operatively and incubated in A...
Mealey RH, Sharif A, Ellis SA, Littke MH, Leib SR, McGuire TC.Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are critical for control of lentiviruses, including equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Measurement of equine CTL responses has relied on chromium-release assays, which do not allow accurate quantitation. Recently, the equine MHC class I molecule 7-6, associated with the ELA-A1 haplotype, was shown to present both the Gag-GW12 and Env-RW12 EIAV CTL epitopes. In this study, 7-6/Gag-GW12 and 7-6/Env-RW12 MHC class I/peptide tetrameric complexes were constructed and used to analyze Gag-GW12- and Env-RW12-specific CTL responses in two EIAV-infected horses (A2164 an...
Li Y, Ma Q, Shi X, Liu G, Wang C.Evidence has shown that gut microbiota play a key role in host metabolism and health; however, little is known about the microbial community in the donkey hindgut as well as the interactions that occur between gut microbes and the host. This study aimed to explore the gut microbiome differences by analyzing the microbial community and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to lipid metabolism and the immune system along the donkey hindgut. The hindgut tissues (cecum, ventral colon, and dorsal colon) were separated, and the contents of each section were collected from six male donkeys fo...
Berghaus LJ, Giguère S, Sturgill TL.Rhodococcus equi, a facultative intracellular pathogen of macrophages, causes life-threatening pneumonia in foals and in people with underlying immune deficiencies. As a basis for this study, we hypothesized that macrophage lineage and age would affect intracellular survival of R. equi and cytokine induction after infection. Monocyte-derived and bronchoalveolar macrophages from 10 adult horses and from 10 foals (sampled at 1-3 days, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, and 5 months of age) were infected ex vivo with virulent R. equi. Intracellular R. equi were quantified and mRNA expression of IL-1β, ...
Bodaan CJ, Wise LM, Wakelin KA, Stuart GS, Real NC, Mercer AA, Riley CB, Theoret C.Healing is delayed in limb wounds relative to body wounds of horses, partly because of sustained inflammation and inefficient angiogenesis. In laboratory animals, proteins derived from orf virus modulate these processes and enhance healing. We aimed to compare immune cell trafficking and the inflammatory, vascular, and epidermal responses in body and limb wounds of horses and then to investigate the impact of orf virus interleukin-10 and vascular endothelial growth factor-E on these processes. Standardized excisional wounds were created on the body and forelimb of horses and their progression ...
Gildea S, Arkins S, Walsh C, Cullinane A.Protection against equine influenza virus (EIV) relies largely on the production of circulating antibodies specific for the haemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein. The objective of this study was to determine the antibody response of National Hunt horses in training to booster vaccination. The antibody response to the six equine influenza vaccines available in Ireland (three whole inactivated vaccines, two subunit vaccines and a canary pox recombinant vaccine), was monitored by single radial haemolysis (SRH) for six months post vaccination. There was no significant difference between antibody respon...
Lohmann KL, Vandenplas ML, Barton MH, Bryant CE, Moore JN.Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antagonists inhibit the response of inflammatory cells to LPS, presumably by competitive inhibition, and may be of therapeutic value in the treatment of endotoxemia and sepsis. The inhibitory effects of some LPS antagonists are restricted to certain host species, however, as the same molecules can have significant endotoxic activity in other species. This species-specific recognition appears to be mediated by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and/or MD-2. We have shown previously that LPS from Rhodobacter sphaeroides ( RsLPS) is an LPS antagonist in human cells but an agonis...
Rocha JN, Cohen ND, Bordin AI, Brake CN, Giguère S, Coleman MC, Alaniz RC, Lawhon SD, Mwangi W, Pillai SD.There is currently no licensed vaccine that protects foals against Rhodococcus equi-induced pneumonia. Oral administration of live, virulent R. equi to neonatal foals has been demonstrated to protect against subsequent intrabronchial challenge with virulent R. equi. Electron beam (eBeam)-inactivated R. equi are structurally intact and have been demonstrated to be immunogenic when administered orally to neonatal foals. Thus, we investigated whether eBeam inactivated R. equi could protect foals against developing pneumonia after experimental infection with live, virulent R. equi. Foals (n = 8) w...
Little CB, Flannery CR, Hughes CE, Goodship A, Caterson B.To determine whether the focal susceptibility to cartilage degeneration in joints is related to a differential response to cytokine stimulation. Methods: Compare aggrecan and collagen catabolism in in-vitro models of cartilage degradation induced by retinoic acid (RA), interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) and IL-1 plus oncostatin M (OSM). Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and hydroxyproline (HyPro) quantification and Western immunoblot analyses of aggrecan and collagen degradation products were undertaken in explant cultures of normal cartilage from regions of equine joints with a kno...
Flaminio MJ, Antczak DF.At days 36-38 of gestation, the equine invasive trophoblast cells migrate into the endometrium of the pregnant mare to form the endometrial cups. During their migration, they become surrounded by maternal CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, and stimulate a cytotoxic antibody response to the paternal major histocompatibility complex class I antigens that they express. Nevertheless, endometrial cup cells remain viable at the site of uterine invasion up to days 80-100 of gestation, suggesting the participation of immunomodulatory mechanisms to the maternal cellular immune response. To determine the effe...
Tomlinson JE, Wolfisberg R, Fahnøe U, Patel RS, Trivedi S, Kumar A, Sharma H, Nielsen L, McDonough SP, Bukh J, Tennant BC, Kapoor A, Rosenberg BR....Equine hepacivirus (EqHV) is phylogenetically the closest relative of HCV and shares genome organization, hepatotropism, transient or persistent infection outcome, and the ability to cause hepatitis. Thus, EqHV studies are important to understand equine liver disease and further as an outbred surrogate animal model for HCV pathogenesis and protective immune responses. Here, we aimed to characterize the course of EqHV infection and associated protective immune responses. Seven horses were experimentally inoculated with EqHV, monitored for 6 months, and rechallenged with the same and, subsequen...
Nagata LP, Hu WG, Masri SA, Rayner GA, Schmaltz FL, Das D, Wu J, Long MC, Chan C, Proll D, Jager S, Jebailey L, Suresh MR, Wong JP.The efficacy of a DNA vaccine against western equine encephalitis (WEE) infection in mice was evaluated. The 26S structural region was expressed, in vitro from an internal T7 promoter using a rabbit reticulysate transcription/translation system; and from a CMV promoter after transfection into Vero cell monolayers. The proteins synthesized were reactive with anti-WEE virus (WEEV) antibodies, both in western blot analysis and histochemical staining, respectively. When the DNA vaccine plasmid, pVHX-6, was administered intraepidermally to mice, followed by challenge in a lethal mouse model, the le...
Smith EJ, Beaumont RE, McClellan A, Sze C, Palomino Lago E, Hazelgrove L, Dudhia J, Smith RKW, Guest DJ.Tendon injuries occur commonly in both human and equine athletes, and poor tendon regeneration leads to functionally deficient scar tissue and an increased frequency of re-injury. Despite evidence suggesting inadequate resolution of inflammation leads to fibrotic healing, our understanding of the inflammatory pathways implicated in tendinopathy remains poorly understood, meaning successful targeted treatments are lacking. Here, we demonstrate IL-1β, TNFα and IFN-γ work synergistically to induce greater detrimental consequences for equine tenocytes than when used individually. This includes ...
Although equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) is a relatively uncommon manifestation of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection, it can cause devastating losses during outbreaks. Antemortem diagnosis of EHM relies mainly on the molecular detection of EHV-1 in nasal secretions and blood. Management of horses affected by EHM is aimed at supportive nursing and nutritional care, at reducing central nervous system inflammation and preventing thromboembolic sequelae. Horses exhibiting sudden and severe neurologic signs consistent with a diagnosis of EHM pose a definite risk to the surrounding...
Falomo ME, Ferroni L, Tocco I, Gardin C, Zavan B.Endometriosis is a degenerative process due to a chronic inflammatory damage leading to extracellular matrix components deposition and glandular fibrosis. It is known that mesenchymal stem cells secrete a wide range of bioactive molecules, some of them modulating the immune inflammatory response, and others providing regeneration and remodeling of injured tissue. We have performed in vitro experiments in order to analyze the capability of allogenic equine adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) to infiltrate mares' endometrial tissues and to stimulate the expression of cytokines and metallopeptidas...
de la Rebière de Pouyade G, Serteyn D.Despite ongoing research and a widening range of treatment options, laminitis remains a severely damaging condition with poorly understood pathophysiology. Results obtained from cytokine regulation studies during the last decade have highlighted the inflammatory nature of laminitis. This review will describe the role of systemic activation and local infiltration of neutrophils in laminar tissues in the induction of laminitis. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of neutrophil activation in subsequent vascular dysfunction and oxidative and proteolysis imbalances that are pathways previousl...
Waller AS, Paillot R, Timoney JF.Strangles caused by the host adapted Lancefield group C Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) is a frequently diagnosed infectious disease of horses worldwide. Critical to the global success of S. equi is its ability to establish persistent infections within the guttural pouches of recovered apparently healthy horses that can result in transmission to in-contact animals. Recent research has identified key events in the S. equi genome, which occurred during its evolution from an ancestral strain of S. equi subspecies zooepidemicus, that may enhance its ability to evade host innate immune...
Castagnetti C, Mariella J, Pirrone A, Cinotti S, Mari G, Peli A.To evaluate and compare the gene expression of interleukin(IL)-1β, IL-8, and interferon-γ during the first 72 hours after birth in healthy foals and during the first 72 hours after hospitalization in sick neonatal foals and investigate correlations of clinicopathologic variables with cytokine expressions in healthy and sick neonatal foals. Methods: 33 foals < 7 days old (10 healthy foals, 7 foals with sepsis, 6 foals with peripartum asphyxia syndrome, and 12 foals with other diseases [2 with failure of passive transfer of immunity only were not further evaluated]). Methods: A blood sample...
Wang X, Ji Y, Su J, Xue Y, Xi H, Wang Z, Bi L, Zhao R, Zhang H, Yang L, Guo Z, Guan Y, Feng X, Sun C, Lei L, Ur Rahman S, Dong J, Han W, Gu J. subsp. serovar Abortusequi is a frequently reported pathogen causing abortion in mares. In this study, the preventive and therapeutic effects of phage P SAE-01E2 against Abortusequi in a mouse model of abortion were investigated. Phage P SAE-01E2 was stable at different temperatures (4 to 70°C) and pH values (pH 4 to 10) and could lyse the majority of the serogroup O:4 and O:9 strains tested (25/28). There was no lysogeny-related, toxin, or antibiotic resistance-related gene in the genome of P SAE-01E2. All of these characteristics indicate that P SAE-01E2 has the potential for use in pha...
Soboll G, Hussey SB, Minke JM, Landolt GA, Hunter JS, Jagannatha S, Lunn DP.Equine influenza virus remains an important problem in horses despite extensive use of vaccination. Efficacy of equine influenza vaccination depends on the onset and duration of protective immunity, and appropriate strain specificity of the immune response. This study was designed to test the protective immunity resulting from vaccination with the North American commercial ALVAC equine influenza vaccine (RECOMBITEK Influenza, Merial, USA)(1) against challenge with American lineage influenza viruses. In experiment 1, 12 ponies were vaccinated twice, at a 35 day interval, using the ALVAC-influen...
Crawford TB, Wardrop KJ, Tornquist SJ, Reilich E, Meyers KM, McGuire TC.The purpose of this study was to identify the mechanisms responsible for the thrombocytopenia that develops following infection of horses by the lentivirus equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Immunocompetent Arabian foals and Arabian foals with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which lack functional B and T lymphocytes, were experimentally infected with EIAV. Levels of viremia and a number of clinical and hematologic parameters were examined prior to and following infection. Thrombocytopenia was not dependent on the immune response: SCID foals were affected as severely as immunocompe...
Carossino M, Loynachan AT, Canisso IF, Cook RF, Campos JR, Nam B, Go YY, Squires EL, Troedsson MHT, Swerczek T, Del Piero F, Bailey E, Timoney PJ....Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has a global impact on the equine industry as the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory, systemic, and reproductive disease of equids. A distinctive feature of EAV infection is that it establishes long-term persistent infection in 10 to 70% of infected stallions (carriers). In these stallions, EAV is detectable only in the reproductive tract, and viral persistence occurs despite the presence of high serum neutralizing antibody titers. Carrier stallions constitute the natural reservoir of the virus as they continuously shed EAV in their seme...
Frellstedt L, Waldschmidt I, Gosset P, Desmet C, Pirottin D, Bureau F, Farnir F, Franck T, Dupuis-Tricaud MC, Lekeux P, Art T.In humans, strenuous exercise causes increased susceptibility to respiratory infections associated with down-regulated expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and costimulatory and antigen-presenting molecules. Lower airway diseases are also a common problem in sport and racing horses. Because innate immunity plays an essential role in lung defense mechanisms, we assessed the effect of acute exercise and training on innate immune responses in two different compartments. Blood monocytes and pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs) were collected from horses in untrained, moderately trained, inten...
