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.
Bartner LR, Robinson NE, Kiupel M, Tesfaigzi Y.This study examined the contribution of delayed apoptosis of bronchial mucous cells to mucus accumulation in equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). In pilot studies, Bcl-2, an apoptosis inhibitor, was detected in airway mucous cells of RAO-affected horses in remission and during acute disease, when most mucus was secreted. To study whether delayed apoptosis results in an increase in the number of mucous cells during disease recovery, six RAO-affected and six control horses were fed hay for 5 days to induce inflammation and then pellets for 7 days to partially resolve RAO before euthanasia....
Wang X, Kikuchi T, Rikihisa Y.Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligatory intracellular bacterium that causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis. The polymorphic 44-kDa major outer membrane proteins of A. phagocytophilum are dominant antigens recognized by patients and infected animals. However, the ability of anti-P44 antibody to neutralize the infection has been unclear due to a mixture of P44 proteins with diverse hypervariable region amino acid sequences expressed by a given bacterial population and lack of epitope-defined antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) 5C11 and 3E65 are directed to different domains of P44 prote...
Flock M, Karlström A, Lannergård J, Guss B, Flock JI.A mouse model resembling Streptococcus equi subspecies equi infection in the horse, strangles, was used to assess the protective effect of vaccination with selected recombinant proteins from S. equi subsp. equi. After challenge the infection was monitored by weight loss and by nasal colonisation with S. equi subsp. equi. Vaccination with a collagen-binding protein (CNE) and a collagen-like protein (SclC) resulted in protective antibodies, whereas a novel fibronectin-binding protein (FNEB) did not. Co-administration of CNE with EAG, a poorly immunogenic alpha2-macroglobulin-, albumin- and immun...
Neves AP, Keller A, Trein CR, Möller G, Jobim MI, Castilho LF, Cardoso MR, Leibold W, Zerbe H, Klug E, Gregory RM, Mattos RC.This study compared four treatments for bacterial endometritis in mares experimentally infected with Streptococcus zooepidemicus. Twenty-five mares were used, 20 resistant and five susceptible to endometritis. Mares would be in estrus when infected. Twenty-four hours after inoculation, clinical, bacteriological and cytological examinations were performed and repeated until the first occurrence: negative cytology and no Streptococcus growth or the seventh day post-infection. All mares showed clinical signs of endometritis and were assigned to one of the following treatments: (1) intrauterine in...
Kydd JH, Townsend HG, Hannant D.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is an alphaherpesvirus which infects horses, causing respiratory and neurological disease and abortion in pregnant mares. Latency is established in trigeminal ganglia and lymphocytes. Immunity to EHV-1 lasts between 3 and 6 months. Current vaccines, many of which contain inactivated virus, have reduced the incidence of abortion storms in pregnant mares but individual animals, which may be of high commercial value, remain susceptible to infection. The development of effective vaccines which stimulate both humoral and cellular immune responses remains a priority. Uti...
Werners AH, Bull S, Vendrig JC, Smyth T, Bosch RR, Fink-Gremmels J, Bryant CE.The inter- and intra-species differences in the response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are well recognised in mammalian species. It has been hypothesized that these differences can be attributed to genetic polymorphisms in the components involved in LPS signal transduction. These components include the cluster of differentiation factor 14 (CD-14), a membrane bound protein on the surface of mononuclear cells that recognises LPS and a receptor complex consisting of Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) and myeloid differentiation factor-2 (MD-2). Sequencing of these three proteins in humans and mice revea...
Holmes MA, Townsend HG, Kohler AK, Hussey S, Breathnach C, Barnett C, Holland R, Lunn DP.Horses are commonly vaccinated to protect against pathogens which are responsible for diseases which are endemic within the general horse population, such as equine influenza virus (EIV) and equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), and against a variety of diseases which are less common but which lead to greater morbidity and mortality, such as eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus (EEE) and tetanus. This study consisted of two trials which investigated the antigenicity of commercially available vaccines licensed in the USA to protect against EIV, EHV-1 respiratory disease, EHV-1 abortion, EEE and tetan...
Newton JR, Daly JM, Spencer L, Mumford JA.Between March and May 2003, equine influenza virus infection was confirmed as the cause of clinical respiratory disease among both vaccinated and unvaccinated horses of different breeds and types in at least 12 locations in the UK. In the largest outbreak, 21 thoroughbred training yards in Newmarket, with more than 1300 racehorses, were affected, with the horses showing signs of coughing and nasal discharge during a period of nine weeks. Many of the infected horses had been vaccinated during the previous three months with a vaccine that contained representatives from both the European (A/eq/Ne...
Coombs DK, Patton T, Kohler AK, Soboll G, Breathnach C, Townsend HG, Lunn DP.Protecting equids against equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection remains an elusive goal. Repeated infection with EHV-1 leads to protective immunity against clinical respiratory disease, and a study was conducted to measure the regulatory cytokine response (IFN-gamma and IL-4) in repeatedly infected immune ponies compared to non-immune ponies. Two groups of four ponies were established. Group 1 ponies had previously been infected on two occasions, and most recently 7 months before this study. Group 2 ponies had no history no vaccination or challenge infection prior to this study. Both groups w...
Goodman LB, Wagner B, Flaminio MJ, Sussman KH, Metzger SM, Holland R, Osterrieder N.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is a ubiquitous alphaherpesvirus of horses which causes rhinopneumonitis, abortion and myeloencephalopathy. To test the efficacy of commercial vaccines in protection against neurological EHV-1 challenge, groups of five horses were immunized with modified-live virus or an inactivated vaccine, or received placebo. Horses were challenged by aerosol with a recent virus isolate obtained from a case of paralytic EHV-1. The duration of fever decreased significantly in the modified-live virus vaccine group. Three animals in each of the inactivate and control groups sh...
van der Meulen KM, Favoreel HW, Pensaert MB, Nauwynck HJ.Equine herpesvirus (EHV)-1 is a pathogen of horses, well known for its ability to induce abortion and nervous system disorders. Clinical signs may occur despite the presence of a virus-specific immune response in the horse. The current review will summarize the research, on how, EHV-1-infected cells can hide from recognition by the immune system. Research findings on immune evasion of EHV-1 will be compared with those of other herpesviruses of veterinary importance.
Cunha CW, McGuire TC, Kappmeyer LS, Hines SA, Lopez AM, Dellagostin OA, Knowles DP.In this study, the kinetics of specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) isotypes were characterized in Babesia equi (Theileria equi)-infected horses. IgGa and IgGb developed during acute infection, whereas IgG(T) was detected only after resolution of acute parasitemia. The same IgG isotype profile induced during acute infection was obtained by equi merozoite antigen 1/saponin immunization.
Breathnach CC, Yeargan MR, Timoney JF, Allen GP.Immunological protection of horses from equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection and disease depends on the cooperation of virus-specific humoral and cellular immune responses. EHV-specific mucosal immunity may be an important component of such immune responses. This study demonstrates the induction of anti-EHV cytotoxic cellular immune responses in various mucosal and systemic lymphoid tissues associated with the upper respiratory tract (URT) of the horse. Four young horses (1-2 years of age) were inoculated intranasally with the Army 183 strain of EHV-1 and euthanized 1 week later. One untreat...
Wagner B, Hillegas JM, Antczak DF.Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is secreted by T helper type 2 cells, mast cells, basophils and eosinophils. Detection of IL-4 can contribute the evaluation of cellular immune responses during infectious diseases, immunological disorders or vaccination. We used recombinant equine IL-4 to generate a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to equine IL-4. The mAb detected recombinant IL-4 in mammalian cells transfected with different plasmids containing IL-4 cDNA. After mitogen stimulation of equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells, an intracellular protein was recognized by the new mAb in 1-2% of lymphocytes using fl...
Rosas CT, Goodman LB, von Einem J, Osterrieder N.Infections of horses with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) have garnered new attention over the last few years. Devastating outbreaks occurring worldwide, primarily of the neurologic form of the disease, have resulted in a reassessment of the control strategies, and particularly the prophylactic measures, that are necessary to keep the infection and spread of disease in check. Most of the available EHV-1 vaccines are based on preparations of inactivated virus, which are applied monovalently for prevention of EHV-1-caused abortion in pregnant mares or as part of multivalent vaccines to prevent...
Deeg CA, Amann B, Raith AJ, Kaspers B.To test the hypothesis that inter- and intramolecular spreading to S-antigen (S-Ag) and interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (IRBP)-derived epitopes occurs in a spontaneous model of recurrent uveitis in the horse. Methods: The immune response of eight horses with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) was compared with that of five control horses with healthy eyes. Lymphocytes derived from peripheral blood (PBLs) were tested every 8 weeks for their reactivity against S-Ag and various S-Ag and IRBP-derived peptides for 12 to 39 months (median, 22 months). During uveitic episodes, additional bloo...
van der Meulen K, Caij B, Pensaert M, Nauwynck H.In vitro studies demonstrated that most equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1)-infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) do not expose viral envelope proteins on their surface. This protects them against antibody-dependent lysis. We examined whether viral envelope proteins are also undetectable on infected PBMC during cell-associated viremia. Further, surface expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I was examined, since MHC-I assists in making infected cells recognizable for cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). Four ponies, previously exposed to EHV, and two ponies that had no contact wi...
Zhang XY, Li HM, Liang H, Shen T, Ma Y, Xiang WH, Shen RX, Shao YM.To elucidate cellular immune protective mechanism of EIAV. Methods: Four horses were immunized with (DLV) by subcutaneous injection and 2 horses with 0.85% sodium chloride as the negative control. Rectal temperatures and clinical features were recorded daily. Whole blood samples were collected, from which PBMC were separated and used for CTL assay and lymphocyte proliferation assay. Results: The target cells were activated by PWM and treated with DLV or recombinant vaccinia vectors expressing DLV and LN Gag or Env separately. The percentage of EIAV-specific CTL lysis was under 5% in the negati...
Wagner B, Flaminio JB, Hillegas J, Leibold W, Erb HN, Antczak DF.IgE is the key antibody involved in type I allergies. Allergen mediated crosslinking of IgE bound to high affinity Fcepsilon-receptors on mast cells and basophils stimulates cellular degranulation and release of inflammatory mediators and cytokines. In this report, we demonstrate that IgE antibodies can be transferred from the mother to offspring in horses via the colostrum. We found a clear correlation between the IgE concentration in colostrum and the total IgE concentration in foal sera on day 2 after birth (r(sp)=0.83). Maternal IgE was detected in foal sera by ELISA and on peripheral bloo...
Farley J, Sirois J, MacFarlane PH, Kombé A, Laverty S.To characterize expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) and regulation of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production by equine articular chondrocytes. Methods: Articular cartilage from the metacarpophalangeal joints of 7 adult horses. Methods: Equine chondrocyte monolayer cultures were stimulated with different concentrations (2.5, 5, 10, and 20 ng/mL) of recombinant human interleukin-1beta (rhIL-1beta) for 24 hours and then with rhIL-1beta (5 ng/mL) for 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 hours. Concentration of PGE2 in the media was measured via radioimmunoassay. T...
Franck T, Grulke S, Deby-Dupont G, Deby C, Duvivier H, Peters F, Serteyn D.Equine inflammatory disease is accompanied by a neutrophil activation resulting in the release of granulocytic enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO). To measure MPO in horse plasma as marker of neutrophil activation, the authors purified equine neutrophil MPO and developed a specific enzyme immunoassay using 2 specific polyclonal antibodies obtained from rabbit (primary antibody) and guinea pig (secondary antibody). The sandwich complex "primary antibody-MPO-secondary antibody" was detected using a goat anti-guinea pig immunoglobulin antibody conjugated to alkaline phosphatase. The enzyme-linked immuno...
Vandenplas ML, Moore JN, Barton MH, Roussel AJ, Cohen ND.To determine concentrations of 2 acute-phase proteins (serum amyloid A [SAA] and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein [LBP]) in serum samples obtained from horses with colic and identify relationships among these acute-phase proteins and clinical data. Methods: 765 horses with naturally developing gastrointestinal tract diseases characterized by colic (ie, clinical signs indicative of abdominal pain) and 79 healthy control horses; all horses were examined at 2 university teaching hospitals. Methods: Serum concentrations of SAA and LBP were determined by immunoturbidometric and dot-blot assays, r...
Laan TT, Bull S, Pirie RS, Fink-Gremmels J.To evaluate cytokine production by equine alveolar macrophages after exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Aspergillus fumigatus, and hay dust, and determine the effect of clenbuterol on the cytokine response. Methods: 6 horses. Methods: Alveolar macrophages were exposed to PBS solution (negative control), LPS, hyphae and conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus (AF), or a suspension of hay dust (HDS) and incubated for 24 hours at 37 degrees C. Concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-1beta were measured in the supernatant. The procedure was repeated with cells that wer...
Lannergård J, Flock M, Johansson S, Flock JI, Guss B.Streptococcus equi subsp. equi is the causative agent of strangles, a disease of the upper respiratory tract in horses. The initiation of S. equi subsp. equi infection is likely to involve cell surface-anchored molecules mediating bacterial adhesion to the epithelium of the host. The present study describes the cloning and characterization of FNEB, a fibronectin-binding protein with cell wall-anchoring motifs. FNEB can thus be predicted as cell surface located, contrary to the two previously characterized fibronectin-binding proteins in S. equi subsp. equi, FNE and SFS. Assays of antibody tite...
Paillot R, Ellis SA, Daly JM, Audonnet JC, Minke JM, Davis-Poynter N, Hannant D, Kydd JH.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is a ubiquitous pathogen of horses, which continues to cause respiratory and neurological disease and abortion, despite the widespread use of vaccines. Cell mediated immunity (CMI) is thought to play a major role in protection against infection with EHV-1. The aim of this study was to characterise the virus-specific CMI response in ponies vaccinated with vP1014, a vaccinia-based construct (NYVAC) coding for the immediate early gene (gene 64) of EHV-1. This gene product is a CTL target protein for an equine MHC class I allele expressed on the A3 haplotype. EHV-prime...
Fernández-Bellon H, Solano-Gallego L, Bardagí M, Alberola J, Ramis A, Ferrer L.Leishmania infantum infection has recently been described in horses in Europe. We report the results of a study on the immune response to L. infantum in horses living in an area endemic for leishmaniosis in NE Spain. Two ELISAs using protein A and anti-horse IgG conjugates were adapted to measure specific antibodies to L. infantum in horse sera. A lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to L. infantum antigen was also performed to detect specific cellular immune response to Leishmania. Anti-L. infantum antibodies were detected in the serum of 16 of the horses...
Wong DM, Buechner-Maxwell VA, Manning TO, Ward DL.To evaluate the precision of intradermal testing (IDT) in horses. Methods: 12 healthy adult horses. Methods: IDT was performed on the neck of each horse by use of 2 positive control substances (histamine and phytohemagglutinin [PHA]) and a negative control substance. An equal volume (0.1 mL) for each injection was prepared to yield a total of 20 syringes ([4 concentrations of each positive control substance plus 1 negative control substance] times 2 positive control substances times 2 duplicative tests) for each side of the neck. Both sides of the neck were used for IDT; therefore, 40 syringes...
Vychodilova-Krenkova L, Matiasovic J, Horin P.The objective of this study was to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within four functionally related immune response genes in the horse, and to develop genotyping techniques that could be useful for future genomic studies of horse infectious and allergic diseases. The genes analysed were: the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor gene CD14, the toll-like receptor 4 gene TLR4, the gene Cepsilon encoding the IgE heavy chain molecule and the gene FcepsilonR1 alpha coding for the alpha subunit of the IgE receptor molecule. Horse-specific primers amplifying selected gene regions were des...
Vanniasinkam T, Barton MD, Heuzenroeder MW.Rhodococcus equi is a significant pathogen in foals predominantly causing a pyogranulomatous bronchopneumonia. Many vaccine candidates have been tested for the prevention of R. equi disease in foals. However, none of these have been developed for widespread commercial use. Previous studies have shown that a Th1 immune response is imperative for the protection of foals against R. equi disease. In this study a DNA and a protein vaccine based upon the well-characterised R. equi virulence-associated protein VapA were developed. The vaccines were tested in the BALB/c murine model and the results sh...
Watson ED, Stokes CR, David JS, Bourne FJ, Ricketts SW.Intrauterine infusion of 1 per cent oyster glycogen solution was used to induce acute endometritis in four genitally normal mares. Numbers of viable neutrophils recovered in uterine washings had increased by 1 h after infusion and remained elevated for at least 72 h. There was a significant correlation between numbers of viable neutrophils and total protein concentrations and between prostaglandin (PG)F and PGE2 concentrations in washings. There was also a significant relationship between concentrations of 15-keto-13, 14-dihydro PGF2 alpha in plasma and PGF in washings. Intrauterine concentrat...
Siemieniuch MJ, Gajos K, Kozdrowski R, Nowak M.Even if mares continue to breed up to an advanced age, in aging mares reproductive failure is quite common. Subclinical endometritis, which occurs more often in aging mares than in younger counterparts, may cause prolongation or shortening of the inter-estrus period or the corpus luteum lifespan. We hypothesized that during subclinical endometritis the secretion of selected arachidonic acid metabolites may differ in aging mares compared to younger females. To verify this thesis, ex vivo organ cultures of endometrium were established with subsequent measurements of concentrations of prostaglan...
Singha H, Goyal SK, Malik P, Khurana SK, Singh RK.Equine infectious anemia (EIA)-a retroviral disease caused by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)-is a chronic, debilitating disease of horses, mules, and donkeys. EIAV infection has been reported worldwide and is recognized as pathogen of significant economic importance to the horse industry. This disease falls under regulatory control program in many countries including India. Control of EIA is based on identification of inapparent carriers by detection of antibodies to EIAV in serologic tests and "Stamping Out" policy. The current internationally accepted test for diagnosis of EIA is the ...
Pretorius A, Faber FE, van Kleef M.Development of African horsesickness (AHS) subunit vaccines will have to include a rational approach that uses knowledge of how the virus interacts with the host immune system. The global in vivo immune response induced by attenuated AHSV serotype 4 in horses was characterised using transcriptome sequencing. PBMC were collected with 24h intervals for four days after inoculation and four days after a second boost, 21 days later. Transcriptome data were normalised to the day 0 naïve transcriptome and up- or down-regulated immune genes identified using the CLC workbench. Peak expression was obse...
Weiss DJ, Moritz A.Previous studies have suggested an association between equine immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and clostridial infections or neck abscesses. Objective: The purpose of this report was to describe and characterize the hematologic abnormalities in a horse with Clostridium-associated immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. We also retrospectively evaluated hematologic abnormalities in 8 horses with clostridial myositis or subcutaneous emphysema. Methods: A 7-year-old Foreign Warm-Blood gelding was evaluated for anemia and a cervical abscess. CBCs and reticulocyte counts were obtained using an Advia 120 ...
Gajos K, Kozdrowski R, Nowak M, Siemieniuch MJ.Mares that fail to become pregnant after repeated breeding, without showing typical signs of clinical endometritis, should be suspected of subclinical endometritis (SE). Contact with infectious agents results in altered synthesis and secretion of inflammatory mediators, including cytokines and arachidonic acid metabolites, and disturbs endometrial functional balance. To address the hypothesis that SE affects the immune endocrine status of the equine endometrium, spontaneous secretion of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), prostaglandin F(2α) (PGF(2α)), 6-keto-PGF(1α )(a metabolite of prostacyclin ...
Fernandez C, Möller G.After a primary immune response to the alpha 1-6 epitope of dextran B512, dextran high responder strains exhibit a specific inability to produce IgM and IgG antibodies against this epitope, although they gave an expected secondary response to horse erythrocytes. Spleen cells from dextran-primed and-suppressed mice responded well to dextran after transfer to lethally irradiated previously untreated mice, indicating that tolerance or exhaustive proliferation of dextran reactive B cells is not responsible. Thymus-dependent dextran-protein conjugates also induced specific suppression. Suppression ...
Bochsler PN, Slauson DO, Neilsen NR.Neutrophil (PMN) contributions to the acute inflammatory process and host defense include generation of bioreactive oxygen metabolites and secretion of granule enzymes. We assessed equine PMN secretion using several PMN stimuli, singly and in combination with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). LPS avidly associated with equine PMN, as shown by strong PMN labeling with FITC-conjugated LPS. LPS alone (1 or 10 micrograms ml-1) was a weak stimulus for PMN superoxide anion (O2-) generation, but preincubation with LPS followed by phorbol ester (PMA, 10 ng ml-1) significantly augmented (P less than ...
Brown CM, Morrow JK, Carleton CL, Ramanathan B, Reddy R, Vaidya V, Karthikeyan SM, Zulfikar AA, Kannadkar VS.The study reported here was undertaken to assess the presence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona in the serum of horses of North American origin that had been relocated for 1 year or more to India (ie, outside of the known endemic areas for S. neurona). Objective: The presence or absence of such antibodies should provide information concerning the persistence of such antibodies, or support the presence of chronic infection, or both. Methods: A total of 228 Thoroughbred horses were sampled in India, of which 86 were of North American origin that had been in India between 1 and 13 years, 124 w...
Balena V, Pradhan SS, Bera BC, Anand T, Sansanwal R, Khetmalis R, Madhwal A, Bernela M, Supriya K, Pavulraj S, Tripathi BN, Virmani N.Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) infection causes significant health problems in equines. The EHV-1 infection leads to abortion storm in mares, respiratory disease and myeloencephalopathy. Despite the wide use of vaccines, the outbreaks of EHV-1 infections keep occurring globally, suggesting the need for the development of improved vaccines. Gene deletion attenuated mutant viruses could be a good candidate for the development of modified live vaccines. Here, we report the generation of mutant EHV-1 by deleting virulence (glycoprotein E & internal repeat 6; IR6) and immune evasive (pUL43 &a...
Roelfstra L, Deeg CA, Hauck SM, Buse C, Membrez M, Betschart B, Pfister K.Little information is available on the immunological aspect of parasitic Gasterophilus intestinalis (Diptera, Oestridae) larvae causing horse gastric myiasis. The objectives of this research were to analyze the protein content of larval crude extracts of the migrating second and third larvae (L2 and L3) of G. intestinalis in order to characterize the immune response of horses. Results: The proteomic profile of L2 and L3, investigated by using one and two dimensional approaches, revealed a migration pattern specific to each larval stage. Furthermore, Western blots were performed with horse sera...
Muhktar MM, Timoney JF.Streptococcus equi infection in horses is characterised by intense infiltration of lymph nodes by polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) suggesting a potent chemotactic response to the organism or its products. Equine PMNs were separated using Ficoll-Hypaque medium and used in an assay of chemotaxis under agarose to study the components of S equi involved in this response. Results showed that complement-derived chemotactic factors generated by activation of the alternative complement pathway were important in chemotactic responses to S equi. Both whole bacteria and peptidoglycan preparations were...
Goehring LS, Brandes K, Ashton LV, Wittenburg LA, Olea-Popelka FJ, Lunn DP, Soboll Hussey G.Equine herpesvirus-associated myeloencephalopathy is the result of endothelial cell infection of the spinal cord vasculature with equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) during cell-associated viraemia. Endothelial cell infection requires contact between infected peripheral blood mononuclear and endothelial cells. Inflammation generated during viraemia likely upregulates adhesion molecule expression on both cell types increasing contact and facilitating endothelial cell infection. Objective: Evaluating the role of anti-inflammatory drugs in decreasing endothelial cell infection with EHV-1. Methods: In vi...
Hanel RM, Crawford PC, Hernandez J, Benson NA, Levy JK.To determine whether passive transfer of IgG in neonatal kittens affects plasma opsonic capacity and neutrophil phagocytic and oxidative burst responses to bacteria in vitro. Methods: 22 kittens from 6 specific pathogen-free queens. Methods: Kittens were randomized at birth into the following treatment groups: colostrum-fed, colostrum-deprived, or colostrum-deprived supplemented with feline or equine IgG. Blood samples were collected at intervals from birth to 56 days of age. Plasma IgG concentrations were determined by radial immunodiffusion assay. Neutrophil function was assessed by a flow c...
Brown JJ, Ollier WE, Thomson W, Matthews JB, Carter SD, Binns M, Pinchbeck G, Clegg PD.Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a crucial role in the regulation of inflammatory and immune responses. In all vertebrate species the genes encoding TNF-alpha are located within the major histocompatability complex. In the horse TNF-alpha has been ascribed a role in a variety of important disease processes. Previously two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been reported within the 5' un-translated region of the equine TNF-alpha gene. We have examined the equine TNF-alpha promoter region further for additional SNPs by analysing DNA from...
Marsh AE, Lakritz J, Johnson PJ, Miller MA, Chiang YW, Chu HJ.Clinically normal horses developed cellular immunity to Sarcocystis neurona following IM vaccination with a commercial killed S. neurona vaccine, as indicated by the development of measurable anti-S. neurona IgG antibodies and additional intradermal skin testing. Large-scale independent assessments of the vaccine's performance and safety are in progress under field conditions. The next step in the evaluation of this vaccine would be to attempt experimental challenge after a reproducible reliable equine model of S. neurona encephalitis has been established that allows for reisolation of the pat...
Pezzanite LM, Chow L, Strumpf A, Johnson V, Dow SW.Antimicrobial resistance and biofilm formation both present challenges to treatment of bacterial infections with conventional antibiotic therapy and serve as the impetus for development of improved therapeutic approaches. Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy exerts an antimicrobial effect as demonstrated in multiple acute bacterial infection models. This effect can be enhanced by pre-conditioning the MSC with Toll or Nod-like receptor stimulation, termed activated cellular therapy (ACT). The purpose of this review is to summarize the current literature on mechanisms of antimicrobial activity...
Nally JE, Artiushin S, Sheoran AS, Burns PJ, Simon B, Gilley RM, Gibson J, Sullivan S, Timoney JF.Streptococcus equi causes equine strangles, a highly contagious disease of the upper respiratory tract. The antiphagocytic surface protein SeM is strongly immunogenic and evokes mucosal and systemic antibodies during convalescence. The present study investigated the potential of sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB); a high viscosity excipient that provides controlled release of biologically active substances, to enhance antibody responses following intranasal immunization of horses with a 108 a.a. peptide of SeM (SeMF3). SeMF3-SAIB was administered intranasally to each of the 11 adult horses on ...
Van Crombrugge E, Vanbeylen E, Van Cleemput J, Van den Broeck W, Laval K, Nauwynck H.Respiratory disease in horses is caused by a multifactorial complex of infectious agents and environmental factors. An important pathogen in horses is equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). During co-evolution with this ancient alphaherpesvirus, the horse's respiratory tract has developed multiple antiviral barriers. However, these barriers can become compromised by environmental threats. Pollens and mycotoxins enhance mucosal susceptibility to EHV-1 by interrupting cell junctions, allowing the virus to reach its basolateral receptor. Whether bacterial toxins also play a role in this impairment ha...
Walsh CP, Duncan RB, Zajac AM, Blagburn BL, Lindsay DS.Neospora hughesi is a recently described cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). A rodent model for pathogenicity would facilitate development of therapies to be used in horses. In the present study, we examined the susceptibility of BALB/c gamma-interferon gene knockout (gamma-INFKO), BALB/c, CD-1, and C57BL/6 strains of mice and gerbils to infection with tachyzoites of the Nh-A1 strain of N. hughesi isolated from a horse from AL, USA. Only the gamma-IFNKO mice developed severe clinical disease following infection with N. hughesi and died 19-25 days after infection and exhibited se...
James K, Pullar DM, Morton JB, Dalton RG, Nolan B, Woodruff MF.Methods are described for the intravenous administration of equine antilymphocytic globulin (ALG) to renal transplant recipients. The development of circulating antibodies to the equine IgG has been investigated using primary and secondary immunological procedures. The need for primary immunoassay procedures to assess both the immune response and induction of tolerance to equine IgG in ALG treated patients is extensively discussed.
Liu C, Cook FR, Cook SJ, Craigo JK, Even DL, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC, Horohov DW.Distinct from human lentivirus infection, equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)-infected horses will eventually enter an inapparent carrier state in which virus replication is apparently controlled by adaptive immune responses. Although recrudescence of disease can occur after immune suppression, the actual immune correlate associated with protection has yet to be determined. Therefore, EIAV provides a model for investigating immune-mediated protective mechanisms against lentivirus infection. Here, we have developed a method to monitor EIAV-envelope specific cellular immunity in vivo. An EIA c...
Kunanusont N, Taesuji M, Kulthonggate U, Rattanamas K, Mamom T, Thongsri K, Phannithi T, Ruenphet S.African horse sickness (AHS) has become a newly emerging disease after an outbreak in northeastern Thailand in March 2020. Mass vaccination in horses with live-attenuated AHS virus (AHSV) vaccine is essential for AHS control and prevention. This study aimed to monitor the longitudinal humoral immune response before and after a single vaccination using a live-attenuated vaccine against AHS in stallions, mares, and pregnant mares, including maternal immunity in foals born from pregnant mares during the outbreak in Thailand. Unassigned: A total of 13 stallions and 23 non-pregnant and 21 pregnant ...
Cequier A, Vázquez FJ, Vitoria A, Bernad E, Fuente S, Serrano MB, Zaragoza MP, Romero A, Rodellar C, Barrachina L.The effectiveness and safety of allogeneic mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) can be affected by patient's immune recognition. Thus, MSC immunogenicity and their immunomodulatory properties are crucial aspects for therapy. Immune responses after allogeneic MSC administration have been reported in different species, including equine. Interactions of allogenic MSCs with the recipient's immune system can be influenced by factors like matching or mismatching for the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) between donor-recipient, and by the levels of MHC expression in MSCs. The latter can vary u...
Fedorka CE, Scoggin KE, El-Sheikh Ali H, Troedsson MHT.The interleukin (IL)-6 family of cytokines is grouped by a common receptor subunit (gp130), but functions in distinct but overlapping physiological activities, including regulation of acute phase reaction and the balance between effector and regulatory T cell populations-both of which play a role in successful pregnancy maturation. Methods: Here, we aim to assess the expression profiles of members of the IL-6 cytokine family throughout equine gestation. To do so, RNA Sequencing was performed on chorioallantois and endometrium of mares at 120, 180, 300, and 330 days of gestation (n = 4/stage), ...
Bourebaba L, Bourebaba N, Galuppo L, Marycz K.Nowadays, regenerative medicine techniques are usually based on the application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the repair or restoration of injured damaged tissues. However, the effectiveness of autologous therapy is limited as therapeutic potential of MSCs declines due to patient's age, health condition and prolonged in vitro cultivation as a result of decreased growth rate. For that reason, there is an urgent need to develop strategies enabling the in vitro rejuvenation of MSCs prior transplantation in order to enhance their in vivo therapeutic efficiency. In presented study, we attemp...
Shoraba M, Shoulah SA, Arnaout F, Selim A.Surra caused by () is widely distributed and has significant impact on equine sector and international trades. However, there are no available data about the genetic characterization of this parasite in horses in Egypt. So, the goal of this study was to study the molecular characterization of in horses and determine the changes in hematological parameters and oxidative stress associated with infection. A total of 12 horses were examined using PCR targeting RoTat 1.2 VSG gene, and we evaluated the changes in hematological and oxidative stress between infected and healthy animals. The results...
Hobbs KJ, Bayless R, Sheats MK.With the emergence of COVID-19, there is an increased focus in human literature on cytokine production, the implications of cytokine overproduction, and the development of novel cytokine-targeting therapies for use during sepsis. In addition to viral infections such as COVID-19, bacterial infections resulting in exposure to endotoxins and exotoxins in humans can also lead to sepsis, resulting in organ failure and death. Like humans, horses are exquisitely sensitive to endotoxin and are among the veterinary species that develop clinical sepsis similar to humans. These similarities suggest that ...
Johansson L, Ringmark S, Bergquist J, Skiöldebrand E, Widgren A, Jansson A.The human plasma proteome is rather well studied, but not that of other species, including horses. The aims of this study were to (1), explore differences in plasma proteomic profile of young elite harness trotters kept under standardised conditions and subjected to two different training programmes for 2 years and (2) explore changes in proteomic profile over time during the training period. From September at age 1.5 year to March at age 2 years, 16 Standardbred horses were exposed to the same training programme. In March, high-intensity training was introduced and the horses were divided int...
