Immunization in horses involves the administration of vaccines to stimulate an immune response, thereby providing protection against specific infectious diseases. Vaccines commonly used in equine medicine include those for equine influenza, tetanus, and West Nile virus. The process of immunization aims to prepare the horse's immune system to recognize and combat pathogens upon exposure. Vaccination schedules and protocols may vary based on factors such as age, health status, and regional disease prevalence. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, efficacy, and considerations of immunization practices in equine health.
Minke JM, Fischer L, Baudu P, Guigal PM, Sindle T, Mumford JA, Audonnet JC.In this study, experimental canarypox virus (ALVAC) and plasmid DNA recombinant vaccines expressing the gB, gC and gD glycoproteins of EHV-1 were assessed for their ability to protect conventional ponies against a respiratory challenge with EHV-1. In addition, potential means of enhancing serological responses in horses to ALVAC and DNA vaccination were explored. These included co-administration of the antigen with conventional adjuvants, complexation with DMRIE-DOPE and co-expression of the antigen along with equine GM-CSF. Groups of EHV primed ponies were vaccinated twice intra-muscularly wi...
Paillot R, Hannant D, Kydd JH, Daly JM.Equine influenza virus is a leading cause of respiratory disease in the horse. Equine influenza vaccines containing inactivated virus were first developed in the 1960s. Despite their intensive use, equine influenza outbreaks still continue to occur and therefore new strategies of vaccination are necessary to improve vaccine efficacy. Numerous methods of vaccination have been evaluated and commercialised in the horse, the most recent being the cold-adapted influenza virus and poxvirus-based vaccines. As a large animal model, the horse is also a useful species in which to evaluate the potential ...
Thompson JM, Whitmore AC, Konopka JL, Collier ML, Richmond EM, Davis NL, Staats HF, Johnston RE.Vaccination represents the most effective control measure in the fight against infectious diseases. Local mucosal immune responses are critical for protection from, and resolution of, infection by numerous mucosal pathogens. Antigen processing across mucosal surfaces is the natural route by which mucosal immunity is generated, as peripheral antigen delivery typically fails to induce mucosal immune responses. However, we demonstrate in this article that mucosal immune responses are evident at multiple mucosal surfaces after parenteral delivery of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicon pa...
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...
Arora S, Sharma S, Goel SK, Singh US.Implementation of the recommended post-exposure prophylaxis by vaccination and specific immunoglobulin therapy for rabies is largely hampered by its high cost and inadequate production. Therefore, the development and availability of an economic preparation of rabies immunoglobulin is a high priority for India, where rabies is a major cause of death. We studied the efficacy of four different adjuvants in raising antibodies to rabies antigen in older, discarded equines. Methods: Eleven equines, 23-26 years old, were divided into 4 groups to receive four different adjuvants in small amounts (1-2 ...
Gall D, Nielsen K, Bermudez RM, Muñoz del Real MC, Halbert G, Groulx R, Moreno F, Chow EY, Checkley SL.An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IELISA) was developed for the detection of equine serum antibodies to lipopolysaccharide of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Abortusequi (LPS), a causative organism of Equine Paratyphoid. The data presented demonstrates that horses immunized with S. abortusequi LPS developed antibodies detectable by the IELISA. By comparison, the tube agglutination test (TAT) did not detect antibody to S. abortusequi LPS as consistently as the IELISA. The data suggests that the IELISA may be a more suitable test for the detection of serum antibodies to ...
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...
Weerasinghe CU, Learmonth GS, Gilkerson JR, Foote CE, Wellington JE, Whalley JM.The envelope glycoprotein D of EHV-1 (EHV-1 gD) is essential for virus infectivity and entry of virus into cells and is a potent inducer of virus-neutralizing antibody. In this study, truncated EHV-1 gD (gDt) was expressed with a C-terminal hexahistidine tag in E. coli using a pET vector. Western blot analysis using an anti-gD monoclonal antibody demonstrated the presence of gDt bands at 37.5, 36, 29.5 and 28 kDa. The immunogenicity and protective efficacy of partially purified gDt was compared with gD expressed in insect cells by a recombinant baculovirus (Bac gD) using a BALB/c mouse model o...
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...
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.
Rosskopf U, Noeske K, Werner E.The bacterium Clostridium (C.) tetani is an ubiquitous pathogen. This anaerobic, gram-positive bacterium can form spores and can be found in the whole environment. It enters the body via injuries of the skin and wounds where it releases the neurotoxin "tetanospasmin" (= tetanus toxin). The animals most susceptible to tetanus infection are horses and sheep. Only active immunisation by tetanus vaccine provides effective protection against tetanus intoxication. The marketing authorisation requirements stipulate that efficacy of tetanus vaccines ad us. vet. must be demonstrated in all target anima...
Soutullo A, García MI, Bailat A, Racca A, Tonarelli G, Malan Borel I.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a lentivirus causing a persistent infection in horses characterized by recurrent febrile episodes and high levels of viremia associated with a novel antigenic strain of the virus. The virus contains two envelope glycoproteins, gp90 and gp45, and four internal proteins, p26, p15, p11 and p9. Considering that the most infected horses are able to restrict EIAV replication to very low levels and that gp45 and p26 contain highly conserved epitopes among lentiviruses, it would be necessary to identify those conserved epitopes stimulating cellular and humoral ...
Crouch CF, Daly J, Henley W, Hannant D, Wilkins J, Francis MJ.In horses, natural infection confers long lasting protective immunity characterised by mucosal IgA and humoral IgGa and IgGb responses. In order to investigate the potential of locally administered vaccine to induce a protective IgA response, responses generated by vaccination with an immunostimulating complex (ISCOM)-based vaccine for equine influenza (EQUIP F) containing A/eq/Newmarket/77 (H7N7), A/eq/Borlänge/91 (H3N8) and A/eq/Kentucky/98 (H3N8) using a systemic prime/mucosal boost strategy were studied. Seven ponies in the vaccine group received EQUIP F vaccine intranasally 6 weeks after...
Hooper-McGrevy KE, Wilkie BN, Prescott JF.The purpose of this study was to determine whether foals immunized orally from 2 days of age with virulent Rhodococcus equi developed a protective pulmonary immune response and to characterise the antibody response of the immunized foals to the virulence-associated proteins (Vaps) of the bacterium. Two groups of foals were used. One (n=4) was given live R. equi ATCC 33701 orally at 2, 7, and 14 days of age. The second group comprised three non-immunized foals age-matched to the vaccinates. At 3 weeks of age, 1 week after the final immunization, both groups were challenged intrabronchially with...
Fraser DG, Leib SR, Zhang BS, Mealey RH, Brown WC, McGuire TC.The effect of immunization with five lipopeptides, three containing T-helper (Th) epitopes and two with both Th and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes, on equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) challenge was evaluated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from EIAV lipopeptide-immunized horses had significant proliferative responses to Th peptides compared with those preimmunization, and the responses were attributed to significant responses to peptides Gag from positions 221 to 245 (Gag 221-245), Gag 250-269, and Pol 326-347; however, there were no consistent CTL responses. The significant pr...
Hallamaa RE, Saario E, Tallberg T.Healing sarcoids were followed in 18 horses which had taken part in previous clinical studies on a total of 29 horses suffering from either primary or recurrent sarcoids, treated with bio-immunotherapy. In the present study, attention was paid to changes observed in these fibroblastic skin tumours during their regression. The tumours were surgically debulked leaving the base in the skin. The horses were immunized according to bio-immunotherapy at 2- to 4-week intervals with an autogenous vaccine made from the excised part of the tumour until the base had visibly regressed. Healing was followed...
McGuire TC, Fraser DG, Mealey RH.Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are associated with virus control in horses infected with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Early in infection, control of the initial viremia coincides with the appearance of CTL and occurs before the appearance of neutralizing antibody. In carrier horses, treatment with immunosuppressive drugs results in viremia before a change in serum neutralizing antibody occurs. Clearance of initial viremia caused by other lentiviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus, is also associated with CTL and not neutralizing antibody. ...
Rohrbach BW, Ward DA, Hendrix DV, Cawrse-Foss M, Moyers TD.To evaluate the effect of vaccination against leptospirosis on frequency and days to recurrence of uveitis and progression of disease in horses with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). Methods: Forty-one horses with ERU. Methods: Horses were randomly assigned to experimental (vaccinated) or control groups. Vaccine containing six serovars of Leptospira or placebo was administered, an ophthalmic examination performed and blood samples drawn on days 0, 28, 180 and 365. Antibody titers were measured against each serovar. Recurrence of uveitis was verified by ophthalmic examination. Results of the init...
Grogan EH, McDonnell SM.To evaluate behavioral compliance of horses and ponies with simulated intranasal vaccination and assess development of generalized aversion to veterinary manipulations. Methods: Clinical trial. Methods: 28 light horse mares, 3 pony geldings, 2 light horse stallions, and 3 pony stallions that had a history of compliance with veterinary procedures. Methods: Behavioral compliance with 2 intranasal vaccine applicators was assessed. Compliance with standard physical examination procedures was assessed before and after a single experience with either of the applicators or a control manipulation to e...
Cook RF, Cook SJ, Bolin PS, Howe LJ, Zhou W, Montelaro RC, Issel CJ.In the context of DNA vaccines the native equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)-envelope gene has proven to be an extremely weak immunogen in horses probably because the RNA transcripts are poorly expressed owing to an unusual codon-usage bias, the possession of multiple RNA splice sites and potential adenosine-rich RNA instability elements. To overcome these problems a synthetic version of sequences encoding the EIAV surface unit (SU) envelope glycoprotein was produced (SYNSU) in which the codon-usage bias was modified to conform to that of highly expressed horse and human genes. In transfect...
Trapp S, von Einem J, Hofmann H, Köstler J, Wild J, Wagner R, Beer M, Osterrieder N.Key problems using viral vectors for vaccination and gene therapy are antivector immunity, low transduction efficiencies, acute toxicity, and limited capacity to package foreign genetic information. It could be demonstrated that animal and human cells were efficiently transduced with equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) reconstituted from viral DNA maintained and manipulated in Escherichia coli. Between 13 and 23% of primary human CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD11b+, and CD19+ cells and more than 70% of CD4+ MT4 cells or various human tumor cell lines (MeWo, Huh7, HeLa, 293T, or H1299) could be transduced with o...
Edlund Toulemonde C, Daly J, Sindle T, Guigal PM, Audonnet JC, Minke JM.Fifteen influenza-naive Welsh mountain ponies were randomly assigned to three groups of five. A single dose of a recombinant ALVAC vaccine was administered intramuscularly to five of the ponies, two doses, administered five weeks apart, were administered to five, and the other five served as unvaccinated, challenge controls. Two weeks after the completion of the vaccination programme, the ponies were all challenged by exposure to an aerosol of influenza virus A/eq/Newmarket/5/03. Their clinical signs were scored daily for 14 days according to a standardised scoring protocol, and nasal swabs we...
Ledizet M, Kar K, Foellmer HG, Wang T, Bushmich SL, Anderson JF, Fikrig E, Koski RA.West Nile (WN) virus is a flavivirus that first appeared in North America in 1999. Since then, more than 600 human deaths and 22,000 equine infections have been attributed to the virus in the United States. We expressed a truncated form of WN virus envelope (E) protein in Drosophila S2 cells. This soluble recombinant E protein was recognized by antibodies from naturally infected horses, indicating that it contains native epitopes. Mice and horses produced high-titer antibodies when immunized with recombinant E protein combined with aluminum hydroxide. Immunized mice were resistant to challenge...
Turkstra JA, van der Meer FJ, Knaap J, Rottier PJ, Teerds KJ, Colenbrander B, Meloen RH.Immunization against gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) was studied as an alternative for the commonly used surgical castration in stallions. Two GnRH vaccines comprising non-mineral oil adjuvants were evaluated for their potential to induce high antibody titers directed against GnRH and subsequent effects on reproductive characteristics. Twelve sexually mature male hemicastrated Shetland ponies were assigned to three groups. Group 1 and 2 were injected with 1mg peptide equivalent of G6k-GnRH-tandem-dimer conjugated to ovalbumin (OVA) in CoVaccine HT adjuvant (GnRH/CoVaccine) and in Carbop...
Stephano MA, Guidolin R, Higashi HG, Tambourgi DV, Sant'Anna OA.The main features associated with pit viper envenomations include the intense local lesions such as oedema, necrosis, acute renal failure and other effects. The severity of these reactions to snakebite depends on the degree of envenomation. Lachesis muta venom (LMV) has weak lethal activity, but due to the large amount often inoculated, the effects are extremely severe and demand anti-venom with a high neutralizing capacity. LMV had the lowest neutralizing antibody induction capacity in horses when compared with that of other venoms. For example, Bothrops anti-venom serum neutralizes 180 times...
Haghighi HR, Prescott JF.There is a need to produce a vaccine against Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in foals in which immunity against infection is largely based on a type 1, cell-mediated, immune response. The VapA protein of the virulence plasmid of R. equi is highly immunogenic. To assess the potential of vapA-DNA to produce immunity, C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice were immunized with a DNA vaccine constructed from vapA incorporated into pcDNA3.1. The plasmid construct expressed VapA in a COS-7 cell line. Intramuscular immunization of mice resulted in enhanced clearance of R. equi from the liver of intravenously challenged m...
Grosenbaugh DA, Backus CS, Karaca K, Minke JM, Nordgren RM.A new recombinant West Nile virus (WNV) vaccine has been licensed for use in horses. Prior to the availability of the recombinant vaccine in 2004, the only equine WNV vaccine available on the market had been an inactivated vaccine. Since the recombinant vaccine only expresses selected viral genes, the question could be posed as to whether a single dose of the recombinant vaccine would be effective in producing an anamnestic serologic response in horses previously vaccinated with an inactivated WNV vaccine. In this study we demonstrate that vaccination of horses with a canarypox-vectored recomb...
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...
Liu IK, Turner JW, Van Leeuwen EM, Flanagan DR, Hedrick JL, Murata K, Lane VM, Morales-Levy MP.In this study of equids, we investigated the antibody response and the effect on the estrous cycle following a single inoculation of porcine zonae pellucidae (pZP) employing controlled-release methodology. We also investigated the use of two different water-soluble adjuvants as an alternative to oil-based adjuvants. Twenty-seven domestic mares were inoculated with various formulations of pZP and adjuvant. We showed that the anti-pZP antibodies generated as a result of the inoculations persisted for at least 43 weeks (length of the study). Of the various formulations used in the study, pZP and ...
Spier SJ, Lavoie JP, Cullor JS, Smith BP, Snyder JR, Sischo WM.Thirty-two horses with clinicopathologic evidence of endotoxic shock were randomly selected for a double-blind trial of hyperimmune lipopolysaccharide (LPS) core antigen plasma. Horses were suffering from acute toxic enteritis (n = 15), 360 degrees volvulus of the large colon (n = 9), proximal jejunitis/duodenitis (n = 6), or strangulating obstruction of the small intestine (n = 2). Plasma was harvested from suitable equine plasma donors (preimmune plasma) and horses were immunized with a whole-cell bacterin of an Rc mutant E. coli (J5). Plasma was again harvested from these horses when IgG EL...
Mealey RH, Kappmeyer LS, Ueti MW, Wagner B, Knowles DP.Theileria equi immune plasma was infused into young horses (foals) with severe combined immunodeficiency. Although all foals became infected following intravenous challenge with homologous T. equi merozoite stabilate, delayed time to peak parasitemia occurred. Protective effects were associated with a predominance of passively transferred merozoite-specific IgG3.
Bogaert L, Woodham AW, Da Silva DM, Martens A, Meyer E, Kast WM.Equine sarcoids are highly recurrent bovine papillomavirus (BPV)-induced fibroblastic neoplasms that are the most common skin tumours in horses. In order to facilitate the study of potential equine sarcoid prophylactics or therapeutics, which can be a slow and costly process in equines, a murine model for BPV-1 protein-expressing equine sarcoid-like tumours was developed in mice through stable transfection of BPV-1 E5 and E6 in a murine fibroblast tumour cell line (K-BALB). Like equine sarcoids, these murine tumour cells (BPV-KB) were of fibroblast origin, were tumorigenic and expressed BPV-1 ...
Cohen JJ.Sunrise over the Rincon Mountains revealed a procession of fifty horses groaning under their burden of psychologists and immunologists as a recent desert workshop got under way. The participants later sat, some rather gingerly, around a table to discuss methodological questions central to the new and sometimes embattled field variously called behavioural immunology, psychoneuroimmunology, and neuroimmunomodulation.
Pusterla N, Mapes S, Gebhart C.The cell-mediated immune response to Lawsonia intracellularis, the agent of equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE), was investigated in vaccinated and naturally infected foals. Interferon (IFN)-γ gene expression was determined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected from vaccinated (n=6) and control foals (n=6) every 30 days for 180 days following first vaccine administration, and from clinically affected foals (n=16) within 7-10 days of diagnosing EPE. Seroconversion (immunoperoxidase monolayer assay titer ≥60) occurred in 5/6 vaccinated foals between 60 and 90 days following the f...
Cauchard J, Taouji S, Sevin C, Duquesne F, Bernabé M, Laugier C, Ballet JJ.Rhodococcus equi infection is considered the most common cause of pneumonia in foals less than 6 months of age. Immunization of foals and/or mares may become a procedure of choice for prevention. The present work documents the antibody response of neonate foals to R. equi virulence-associated protein (Vap) vaccine candidate peptides. A mixture of 4 R. equi (ATCC 33701) Vap peptides was selected based on their hydrophilicity and recognition by naturally acquired IgG antibodies from 13 adult horses and 33 neonate foals from France and Japan. They were combined with a water-based nanoparticular a...
Fermaglich DH, Horohov DW.Although vaccine manufacturers make no specific recommendations regarding the vaccination of older horses and ponies, the similarities in age-induced immunologic changes between human beings and equids suggests that similar vaccination recommendations should be followed. The need for vaccination of the older horse depends, of course, on the relative risk of exposure for the individual horse. Particular care should be taken when using attenuated vaccine products because these live agents may pose a unique risk to the older individual. Immunization with inactivated agent vaccines is likely to be...
Freitas TV, Fortes-Dias CL, Diniz CR, Velarde DT, Freitas CF.1. A comparative study was carried out on horses immunized with Crotalus durissus terrificus venom using four different inoculation procedures, which included the use of Freund's adjuvant, A1(OH)3 and liposomes as adjuvants. The antibody titer was assessed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the neutralizing potency by the neutralizing median effective dose (ED50). 2. The inoculation schedule used in horses to obtain antivenom serum consisted of sc injections of a 7.5 mg venom starting dose in 5.0 ml sterile saline emulsified with an equal volume of Freund's complete adjuvant. One...
Fearon SH, Dennis SJ, Hitzeroth II, Rybicki EP, Meyers AE.African horse sickness (AHS) is a devastating viral disease affecting equines and has resulted in many disastrous epizootics. To date, no successful therapeutic treatment exists for AHS, and commercially used live-attenuated vaccines have various undesirable side effects. Previous studies have shown that mice inoculated with insoluble African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VP7 crystals are protected from live challenge with a lethal dose of AHSV. This study investigates the humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in guinea-pigs to a safer monovalent vaccine alternative based on AHSV-5 VP7 quas...
Taouji S, Nomura I, Giguère S, Tomomitsu S, Kakuda T, Ganne V, Takaï S.Amino acid 65-78 of membrane protein VapA of the facultative intracellular Rhodococcus equi contained an immunodominant N-terminal B-cell epitope (N15Y peptide). Safety and immunogenecity of a synthetic peptide consisting of the amino acid 65-78 of VapA (peptide N15Y) were evaluated first in mice and in healthy adult horses. A single dose of a peptide-VapA vaccine induced and only in presence of adjuvant, specific IgG antibodies in sera of mice. After challenge with virulent R. equi 3 weeks after immunization, tissue clearance was more delayed in immunized mice than in control mice. An antibod...
Wernery U, Joseph S, Raghavan R, Dyer B, Spendrup S.Our investigation has shown that multiple vaccinations with inactivated African horse sickness (AHS) vaccines containing all 9 serotypes and produced at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai, UAE, protect horses from AHS. However, the immunization did not prevent African horse sickness fever (AHSF) in approximately 10% of the vaccinated horses despite high enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and virus neutralizing antibodies. African horse sickness fever is a very mild form of AHS with similar clinical signs. From all 6 horses which had developed AHSF, no virus was isolated from ED...
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...
Ponthier J, Rigaux G, Parrilla-Hernandez S, Egyptien S, Gatez C, Carrasco Leroy C, Deleuze S.This report describes an option to modulate the testicular function of wild horses and field methods to assess it. Non-surgical castration of a captive wild Przewalski's stallion with anti-gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) immunization was performed by sub-cutaneous injection of two doses of 450 μg (3 ml) of GnRH conjugated to diphtheria toxin, further repeated every 6 months. Semen quality was assessed after collection by electro-ejaculation under general anesthesia. Endocrine and behavioral consequences were studied during a 2-year follow-up period. The procedure of electro-ejaculation ...
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 ...
Yan W, Shin KS, Wang SJ, Xiang H, Divers T, McDonough S, Bowman J, Rowlands A, Akey B, Mohamed H, Chang YF.Clostridium (C.) difficile is a common cause of nosocomial diarrhea in horses. Vancomycin and metronidazole have been used as standard treatments but are only moderately effective, which highlights the need for a novel alternative therapy. In the current study, we prepared antiserum of equine origin against both C. difficile toxins A and B as well as whole-cell bacteria. The toxin-neutralizing activities of the antibodies were evaluated in vitro and the prophylactic effects of in vivo passive immunotherapy were demonstrated using a conventional mouse model. The data demonstrated that immunized...
Robinson C, Heather Z, Slater J, Potts N, Steward KF, Maskell DJ, Fontaine MC, Lee JJ, Smith K, Waller AS.Strangles, caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) is one of the most frequently diagnosed infectious diseases of horses and there remains a significant need to develop new preventative vaccines. We generated a live vaccine strain of S. equi containing deletions in six genes: sagA, hasA, aroB, pyrC, seM and recA, which was administered to nine Welsh mountain ponies via the intramuscular route. Four vaccinated ponies developed adverse reactions following the first vaccination from which the live vaccine strain was isolated. Two of these ponies were withdrawn from the study and se...
Birrell JR, Schulman ML, Botha AE, Ganswindt A, Fosgate GT, Bertschinger HJ.Surgical castration is one of the most frequently performed surgeries in horses and is associated with various post-surgical complications ranging in severity. Objective: We investigated the effects of administering an anti-GnRH vaccine to colts for reduction of testis size on the incidence of complications associated with their subsequent surgical castration. Methods: Randomised open controlled trial. Methods: Nineteen colts were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. Treatment Groups V1-57 and V2-100 received two treatments of Improvac (Zoetis, South Africa) before their castration in...
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...
Onzere CK, Fry LM, Bishop RP, Da Silva M, Madsen-Bouterse SA, Bastos RG, Knowles DP, Suarez CE.Theileria equi is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that causes severe hemolytic anaemia in most equid species. Similar to other apicomplexan parasites, T. equi contains rhoptries whose contents have been implicated in host cell invasion and formation of the parasitophorous vacuole that is crucial for survival of the species within cells. Despite their importance, the composition of T. equi rhoptries and their role(s) in host cell invasion remain unexplored. To gain insight into these issues, we evaluated the expression, immunogenicity, and functional roles of two T. equi rhoptry-as...
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 ...
Pakdemirli A, Çalışkan E, Hacıoğlu S, Danyer E, Kardoğan Ö, Kurt ZE, Yıldırım Ö, Taşkaya H, Ündar B, Sezgin Y, Ergin G, Ekici H....SARS-CoV-2 disease was announced as a pandemic by The World Health Organization in early 2020. It is still threatening the world population. Here, we aimed to produce hyperimmune sera that contain immunoglobulin G and F(ab')2 fragments sourced from horse antibodies as an urgent response to the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 was produced and inactivated with three different methods [formaldehyde (FA), formaldehyde, and binary ethylene amine (FA + BEI), and heat treatment]. After in vitro inactivation control, immunogens were mixed with Freund’s adjuvant, thereafter horses (n: 2 for FA, 4 for FA + BEI, ...
Castillo-Olivares J, de Vries AAF, Raamsman MJB, Rottier PJM, Lakhani K, Westcott D, Tearle JP, Wood JLN, Mumford JA, Hannant D, Davis-Poynter NJ.An Escherichia coli-expressed recombinant protein (6hisG(L)ecto) comprising the entire ectodomain (aa 18-122) of equine arteritis virus (EAV) glycoprotein G(L), the immunodominant viral antigen, induced higher neutralizing antibody titres than other G(L)-derived polypeptides when compared in an immunization study in ponies. The potential of the recombinant G(L) ectodomain to act as a sub-unit vaccine against EAV was evaluated further in three groups of four ponies vaccinated with doses of 35, 70 or 140 microg of protein. All vaccinated animals developed a virus-neutralizing antibody (VNAb) res...
British medical journalSeptember 13, 1980
Volume 281, Issue 6242 699-702 doi: 10.1136/bmj.281.6242.699
English TA, Cooper DK, Cory-Pearce R.The major factors contributing to the recommencement of clinical heart transplantation in the United Kingdom last year were the steadily improving results from Stanford University, the clarification of the diagnosis of brain death, and advances in preserving donor hearts. Twelve men aged 16 to 52 years received heart transplants at Papworth Hospital from January 1979 to July 1980. Six had cardiomyopathies and six ischaemic heart disease. The donors were aged 16 to 35 (mean 21) years. A combination of road and air transport was used to transport the heart to Papworth in seven cases. The total d...
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...
Kitai Y, Shirafuji H, Kanehira K, Kamio T, Kondo T, Konishi E.West Nile virus (WNV) and Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus are distributed separately in the world with some exceptions. There is a concern that WNV may invade into Asia where JE virus exists. On and after such invasion, any differential diagnosis could be complicated by serological crossreactivities. We previously demonstrated experimentally using horses infected with WNV that preimmunization with inactivated JE vaccine considerably affected the ability of neutralization tests and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to diagnose WNV infection. Here...
Witonsky S, Morrow JK, Leger C, Dascanio J, Buechner-Maxwell V, Palmer W, Kline K, Cook A.A vaccine against Sarcocystis neurona, which induces equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), has received conditional licensure in the United States. A major concern is whether the immunoglobulin G (IgG) response elicited by the vaccine will compromise the use of Western blotting (WB) as a diagnostic tool in vaccinated horses with neurologic disease. Our goals were to determine if vaccination (1) causes seroconversion: (2) causes at least a transient increase in S neurona-specific IgG in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); and (3) induces an IgG response that can be differentiated from that induc...
Cohen ND, Cywes-Bentley C, Kahn SM, Bordin AI, Bray JM, Wehmeyer SG, Pier GB.Strangles is a common disease of horses with worldwide distribution caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (SEE). Although vaccines against strangles are available commercially, these products have limitations in safety and efficacy. The microbial surface antigen β 1→6 poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) is expressed by SEE. Here we show that intramuscular (IM) injection alone or a combination of IM plus intranasal (IN) immunization generated antibodies to PNAG that functioned to deposit complement and mediate opsonophagocytic killing of SEE ex vivo. However, immunization st...
