Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is an antibody that plays a significant role in the mucosal immunity of horses. It is primarily found in mucous membranes lining the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tracts, as well as in secretions such as saliva and tears. IgA functions by binding to pathogens and preventing their adherence to and penetration of mucosal surfaces. This antibody is a key component of the horse's immune system, providing a first line of defense against environmental pathogens. Research on equine IgA focuses on its production, distribution, and function, as well as its potential use as a biomarker for disease susceptibility and immune status in horses. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the role, mechanisms, and clinical implications of immunoglobulin A in equine health.
A four-year-old thoroughbred was presented with clinical manifestations of purpura haemorrhagica. Evidence of renal involvement consistent with glomerulopathy and nephrotic syndrome, characterized by heavy proteinuria and azotaemia, became apparent and may have been exacerbated by diuretic therapy. Autopsy revealed membrano- and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis and chronic pleuritis. Circulating immune complexes may have been responsible for the renal diseases and the purpura.
Allen PZ, Glode M, Schneerson R, Robbins JB.Hyperimmune horse serum from a single animal (horse 46) immunized with group B (strain B-11) meningococcal vaccine provides a standardized, readily available diagnostic reagent used in primary isolation medium and for serogrouping of meningococci. Identification of the heavy-chain isotypes of specific anticapsular polysaccharide and anti-lipopolysaccharide isolated from horse 46 serum revealed a differential distribution in the occurrence of immunoglobulin classes. Meningococcal anticapsular antibodies of horse 46 serum were restricted predominately to the immunoglobulin M (IgM) class, with on...
Rearden TP, Sprouse RF, Garner HE.A radioimmunoassay was developed to discriminate immunoglobulin (Ig) classes specific for the J-5 mutant of Escherichia coli (serotype O:111-B4). Adult horses were periodically inoculated IM with a nonviable suspension of the J-5 mutant emulsified in Freund's incomplete adjuvant. Before and after the horses were inoculated, sera were collected sequentially and examined by radioimmunoassay. Rabbit anti-(horse) Ig and [125I]protein A served as the indicator system. Antigen-specific IgM, IgG, and IgA were observed to follow a classic immune response. The radioimmunoassay offers a valuable tool fo...
Mitchell G, Liu IK, Perryman LE, Stabenfeldt GH, Hughes JP.Immunoglobulin concentrations were compared in serum and in saline uterine washings from 10 normal mares and 7 subfertile mares with chronic endometrial pathology. Samples were collected in dioestrus and in oestrus. For each immunoglobulin class (IgA, IgG, IgG(T), IgM) the results were expressed as a percentage of total immunoglobulin present in uterine washings or serum. Comparison was also made between changes in immunoglobulin concentrations between dioestrous and oestrous uterine samples, and uterine immunoglobulin concentrations between groups of mares. There was significantly more IgA in...
Dixon JB, Jenkins P, Allan D.Culture of murine lymph node cells together with living protoscolices of Echinococcus granulosus is described. The presence of the parasite induced potent blastic transformation in lymphocytes of unimmunized mice as indicated by tritiated thymidine incorporation. The response was markedly reduced by killing the parasite immediately prior to culture. No blastogenic activity was detectable in supernatants from living parasites cultured alone. Protoscolices from artificially infected syngeneic mice were effective stimuli, as were protoscolices from naturally infected horse and sheep. Stimulation ...
Dutta SK, Bumgardner MK, Scott JC, Myrup AC.Various methods of separation and identification of major equine leukocyte populations and subpopulations were used. The purity of T and B lymphocytes separated in Sephadex anti-equine F(ab')2 columns was 87% to 99% and 83% of 97%, respectively. The purity of T lymphocytes separated in nylon-wool columns was 89% to 98%. Preparations of B lymphocytes separated in glass-bead columns were 68% to 79% pure. The presence (or absence) of surface immunoglobulin by immunofluorescence was the most consistent and reliable method for the identification of B or T lymphocytes, respectively. However, the ery...
Lew AM, Hosking CS, Studdert MJ.Tests for T- and B-cell quantitation and immune function were developed, and their application in the diagnosis of primary severe combined immunodeficiency disease (CID) in Arabian foals was investigated. Foals with CID had severe lymphopenia and had small or zero numbers of B cells, as shown by immunofluorescence of surface immunoglobulin (Ig), erythrocyte-antibody-complement rosetting, and staphylococcal protein A rosetting. Serum IgM was undetectable in four CID foals 25 to 71 days old. Demonstrable antibody responses were not elicited in CID foals by phage phi X-174, a potent antigen in no...
Perryman LE, McGuire TC.Between January 1973 and September 1979, 2,092 horses and ponies were evaluated for immunologic disorders. A total of 418 abnormalities were detected in 416 (20%) of the animals tested. Disorders encountered were failure or partial failure of colostral immunoglobulin transfer from mare to foal (228 cases), combined immunodeficiency (159 cases), selective immunoglobulin M deficiency (19 cases), agammaglobulinemia (3 cases), transient hypogammaglobulinemia (2 cases), and lymphosarcoma (7 cases). Four conclusions were drawn from the study. (1) Immunologic abnormalities occur commonly in horses an...
Doyle DG.During an electron and light microscopic study of the equine intestinal epithelium, it was observed that some secretory granules of the undifferentiated crypt epithelium were incorporated into the nucleus during mitosis. A study was made of the chemical nature of the granules, using standard histochemical techniques: PAS-Alcian blue, Deamination-PAS, and Ninhydrin-Schiff reactions. The granules contained a neutral protein-polysaccharide complex with many terminal amino groups, possibly an antibody (IgA). The intranuclear granules underwent coalescence and degeneration during differentiation. T...
Deem DA, Traver DS, Thacker HL, Perryman LE.Immunologic deficiency was suspected in an 18-month-old Standardbred horse with persistent fever, multifocal bacterial infection, and neutropenia with a large number of immature neutrophils. Serum protein electrophoresis revealed marked depression of the gamma-globulin fraction (0.2 g/100 ml). Immunologic testing and histologic examination of lymphoid tissues identified the immune deficit as agammaglobulinemia. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin (Ig)G and IgG(T) were initially low and declined with time; IgM and IgA were not detectable. The horse failed to produce antibodies when inoculate...
Fujimiya Y, Perryman LE, Crawford TB.Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and direct cytotoxicity assays were performed with equine infectious anemia virus-infected target cells, equine leukocytes, and equine anti-equine infectious anemia virus antibody to determine whether these mechanisms play a role in controlling viral replication in equine infectious anemia. Direct cytotoxicity was observed by using peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 7 of 10 infected horses. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity was not observed. The antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity reaction in horses was then studied by using sheep eryth...
Buening GM, Perryman LE, McGuire TC.Nasal washings and tears were collected from seven Arabian foals with combined immunodeficiency and nine normal foals. The major immunoglobulin in the external secretions of normal foals over 2 months of age was secretory immunoglobulin A, whereas foals with combined immunodeficiency lacked this immunoglobulin. The external secretions of both normal and immunodeficient foals contained free secretory component at birth.
Kono Y, Hirasawa K, Fukunaga Y, Taniguchi T.Horses which had passed a few months to a few years asymptomatically after the last recurrence of equine infectious anemia (EIA) showed a typical febrile response after treatment with the immunosuppressive agent, dexamethasone (DM) or cyclophosphamide (CY). In horses showing a febrile response, EIA virus which had not been neutralized by neutralizing antibody previously produced was propagated. In DM-treated horses it disappeared from the blood soon after pyretolysis and antibody against the virus was produced promptly. In contrast, detectable viremia persisted in CY-treated horses for 10 to 8...
McGuire TC, Banks KL, Evans DR, Poppie MJ.Agammaglobulinemia was diagnosed in a 1-year-old Thoroughbred horse on the basis of the following observations: (1) absence of serum immunoglobulins M, A, and G(T); (2) small amounts of serum immunoglobulin G (16 mg/100 ml); (3) absence of specific antibody in the serum of the horse following immunization and challenge exposure to 2 antigens; (4) absence of plasma cells, primary follicles, and germinal centers in a lymph node removed after antigenic stimulation; (5) absence of "natural" serum antibodies to rabbit-erythrocytes which were easily detectable in age-matched control horse serums; an...
Targowski SP.All chronically diarrheal horses given (orally) 2 series of treatments with normal horse serum recovered in 2 to 4 weeks. However, mild diarrhea sometimes persisted several months in the group of horses with severe diarrhea. Weight gains were approximately 35% in horses with severe diarrhea and approximately 10% in horses with mild diarrhea. Serum specimens from 12 diarrheal and 20 normal horses were examined for immunoglobulins by single radial immunodiffusion technique. Concentration of immunoglobulin A in serum of diarrheal horses was approximately 50% lower than that in serum of normal hor...
Targowski SP.Serum specimens from 12 sick and 20 normal horses were examined for levels of different classes of immunoglobulin (Ig) by a single radial immunodiffusion. The level of IgA in the sera of sick horses was about 50% lower than in the sera of normal horses. By contrast, the level of serum IgG was higher in sick than in normal horses. Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) responsiveness of blood lymphocytes showed transient suppression during the stage of severe diarrhea. The regaining of PHA responsiveness of lymphocytes was observed simultaneously with the recovery process. However, the responsiveness of lymp...
Moroz LA, Comerford TA, Guttman RD.Serum sickness followed the administration of anti-lymphocyte globulin to a patient with multiple sclerosis. In addition to other characteristic features of this syndrome, there was hypocomplementemia and transient renal dysfunction similar to that observed in the 'one-shot' experimental model of serum sickness. Cryoglobulinemia was transiently demonstrable at the height of the inflammatory response. Analysis of the purified cryoprecipitate revealed the presence of human IgG and IgA, and, in addition, equine IgG. This demonstration of a well-defined exagenous antigen in the cryoprecipitate pro...
McGuire TC, Crawford TB.Immunoglobulin A (IgA) was demonstrated in equine serum and secretions. This immunoglobulin had a molecular weight extending from 150,000 to 700,000 and reacted with specific antihuman alpha-chain antiserum. Antigenic determinants specific for secretory IgA were demonstrated and found to be absent on serum IgA. Antigen binding activity was detected in IgA from tears. Purified IgA was antigenically distinct from equine IgG, IgM, IgG(T), and aggregating immunoglobulin. Quantitative studies demonstrated that IgA was the predominant immunoglobulin in tears and milk but not in colostrum. The electr...
Vaerman JP, Querinjean P, Heremans JF.Equine serum and secretions were found to contain a protein which cross-reacted with an antiserum against human IgA, but not with antisera against any other human immunoglobulin. The physicochemical properties of equine IgA resembled those of human IgA. IgA was found to be the immunoglobulin having the highest secretion serum concentration ratio in equine lacteal and salivary secretions, and to be the protein produced by the majority of immunoglobulin-containing cells in the of the equine intestine.
Hurlimann J, Darling H.The synthesis of immunoglobulins by the salivary glands from eight different species was studied. It has been demonstrated that salivary glands from the cow, horse, sheep, pig, rat and guinea-pig preferentially synthesize a fast migrating immunoglobulin which seems to be analogous to IgA. In three of the species, the cow, sheep and pig, the IgA-like component cross-reacts with human IgA. The IgA synthesized by the salivary glands from the rat cross-reacts with the mouse IgA. When one compares the salivary IgA from the cow, horse, sheep, pig and rat with the IgA synthesized by the lymph nodes,...
Finkelstein RA.An antiserum specific for Vibrio cholerae exo-enterotoxin was produced by immunization of a horse with purified choleragenoid, a natural cholera toxoid. The serum has a high titer against the toxin antigen in passive hemagglutination tests and a respectable antipermeability factor activity. It also passively protected against choleragen-induced mouse foot edema. The serum was found to be useful for assaying toxin antigen in crude and refined products by in vitro tests such as radial immunodiffusion, Lf, and quantitative precipitin titrations. Based upon experimental observations, the serum was...
Heath SE, Geor RJ, Tabel H, McIntosh K.An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for use in horses to determine serum titers of antibodies of the immunoglobulin classes IgA, IgG, and IgM to Streptococcus equi M-like protein and culture supernatant protein antigens. Serum antibodies were determined in 28 adult horses, including 9 horses with recent S. equi infections, 17 horses without known exposure to S. equi, but without a history of respiratory disease in the preceding 4 months, and 2 horses with clinical purpura hemorrhagica. Serum IgA titers to culture supernatant protein antigen were highest in recently infec...
Mair TS, Stokes CR, Bourne FJ.Lavage techniques were used to obtain secretions from the nasal cavity, trachea and bronchi of conscious horses. The techniques, which utilised fibreoptic endoscopy for recovery of tracheal and bronchial secretions, were well tolerated by the horses. The recovery rates of the lavaged fluids were acceptable, but were lowest for bronchial secretions, and there was minimal contamination by blood. The fluids were analysed for IgG and IgM by single radial immunodiffusion, and for IgA and albumin by rocket immunoelectrophoresis. Relative to albumin there was significantly more IgA and IgM, and signi...
Manglai D, Wada R, Kurohmaru M, Sugiura T, Yoshihara T, Oikawa M, Hayashi Y.To clarify the functions of the equine guttural pouch, the distribution of various immunoglobulin isotypes and subisotypes in the guttural pouch mucosa were examined in healthy horses. IgGa was present in the mucosa of guttural pouch, mucosal lymph nodules and submucosal lymph nodules. IgM was scattered in the mucosal lymph nodules and in the germinal centers of the submucosal lymph nodules. IgGc was recognized only in the submucosal lymph nodules. These immunoglobulin isotypes and subisotypes were found in lymphocytes and plasma cells. On the other hand, IgA was detected in glandular epitheli...
LeBlanc M, Ward L, Tran T, Widders P.A direct ELISA was used to measure immunoglobulin (Ig) isotypes G, Gt, A, and M recognizing Streptococcus zooepidemicus epitopes in uterine lavage fluids collected during the early post ovulatory period. A S. zooepidemicus isolate, used as the plate antigen in this assay, was inoculated into the uteri of 8 mares (3 resistant and 5 susceptible to endometritis) at oestrus prior to ovulation during Oestrous Cycles 1, 3 and 5. Resistant mares aged 2-5 years were nulliparous, with clinically normal reproductive tracts as determined by physical examination, bacteriological culture of the uterus, and...
Pawlas-Opiela M, Jawor P, Galli J, Zak-Bochenek A, Gorczykowski M, Galli J, Sołtysiak Z, Stefaniak T.Infection with Gasterophilus intestinalis (botfly) larvae often occurs in horses. The aim of the study was to isolate the larvae of G. intestinalis and evaluate the serum and salivary humoral immune response using self-developed ELISA in G. intestinalis infected horses. Blood serum or saliva samples were taken from 125 infected horses and 54 uninfected slaughtered horses. The antigens from G. intestinalis larvae were used for development of ELISA in order to evaluate the intensity of G. intestinalis IgG, IgM, and IgA antibody reactivity in the serum or saliva of naturally infected horses and h...
Winder NC, von Fellenberg R.Pulmonary parenchymal tissues from 6 healthy horses and from 9 horses with chronic bronchiolitis were evaluated by use of an indirect immunofluorescent technique. In horses of both groups, the diffuse interstitial immunofluorescence was most intense for immunoglobulin (Ig)G, moderate for IgA, and minimal for IgM. Intensity of fluorescence was increased markedly in diseased lungs exposed to anti-IgA and anti-IgG. Around small bronchi and large bronchioles of healthy horses, IgA-containing cells generally were more numerous than were IgG-Fc fragment (Fc)-containing cells; in small bronchioles, h...
Riley CB, Jenvey CJ, Baker FJ, Corripio A. To determine if an ELISA for measurement of IgA in equine serum could be used to measure concentrations of IgA in foal faeces and to determine correlations with concentrations in the milk of the dam. Faeces from 20 Welsh Cob and Welsh Pony foals and milk from their dams were collected within 12 hours (Day 0) and at 6 days after parturition (Day 6). On Day 6, faeces could not be collected from 2/20 foals, and milk samples could not be collected from 3/20 mares. An equine IgA ELISA validated for serum and plasma was used to measure concentrations of IgA in all samples in triplicate. The preci...
Johnson JU, Oxender WD, Berkhoff HA.Effect of estrogen (E2) and progesterone (P4) on uterine antibacterial activity and immunoglobulin concentrations in mares was studied. In 2 in vitro experiments, 6 mixed-breed mares were ovariectomized, and uterine fluid and blood serum were analyzed. Antibacterial assay methods were used to determine inhibitory effects on Streptococcus zooepidemicus of uterine fluid samples collected on days 3, 5, and 8, and serum obtained on day 8 of treatment. Single radial immunodiffusion methods were used to quantify amounts of IgA and IgG in uterine fluid and serum on days 3, 5, 8, and 14 of treatment. ...
Galan JE, Timoney JF.Purpura hemorrhagica is an acute disease of the horse characterized by edema of the head and limbs, leucocytoclastic vasculitis, petechial hemorrhages in mucosae, musculature and viscera, and sometimes glomerulonephritis. It is usually associated with strangles, an upper respiratory tract disease of the horse caused by Streptococcus equi. We have detected and characterized immune complexes in the sera of horses with poststrangles purpura hemorrhagica by using PEG precipitation and Western blot analysis. The immune complexes contained IgA and S. equi-specific antigens similar to those found in ...
Lunn DP, Hussey S, Sebing R, Rushlow KE, Radecki SV, Whitaker-Dowling P, Youngner JS, Chambers TM, Holland RE, Horohov DW.To determine safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of an intranasal cold-adapted modified-live equine influenza virus vaccine administered to ponies following induction of exercise-induced immunosuppression. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: Fifteen 9- to 15-month old ponies that had not had influenza. Methods: Five ponies were vaccinated after 5 days of strenuous exercise on a high-speed treadmill, 5 were vaccinated without undergoing exercise, and 5 were not vaccinated or exercised and served as controls. Three months later, all ponies were challenged by nebulization of homologous equine i...
Muirhead TL, McClure JT, Wichtel JJ, Stryhn H, Frederick Markham RJ, McFarlane D, Lunn DP.The proportion of geriatric horses within the equine population has increased in the past decade, but there is limited information on the immune function of these animals. Objective: Aged horses will have a lesser increase in serum antibody response to vaccination. Methods: Thirty-four aged healthy horses (> or = 20 years) and 29 younger adult horses (4-12 years) of various breeds. Methods: All horses were vaccinated with vaccines of killed rabies and influenza virus. Horses in each age group were allocated to receive either rabies or influenza booster vaccine 4 weeks after the initial vaccina...
Gutiérrez JM, Tsai WC, Pla D, Solano G, Lomonte B, Sanz L, Angulo Y, Calvete JJ.A polyspecific antivenom is used in Central America for the treatment of envenomings by viperid snakes. This antivenom is generated in horses hyperimmunized with a mixture of venoms from Bothrops asper, Crotalus simus and Lachesis stenophrys. The present study analyzed the ability of this antivenom to neutralize the venoms of three Central American viperid species of the 'Porthidium group', i.e. Porthidium nasutum, Porthidium ophryomegas and Cerrophidion sasai, formerly classified as Cerrophidion godmani. In addition, the immunorecognition of the components of these venoms was assessed by immu...
Ferrer MS, Miller LMJ.Antisperm antibodies (ASAs) have been associated with infertility in stallions. The objectives of this study were to investigate the frequency of ASA-positive semen samples in satisfactory and non-satisfactory breeder stallions, the association between ASA binding and semen quality, and factors that may affect the diagnosis. Breeding soundness examinations were performed in 21 stallions and the percentage of IgG- and IgA-bound spermatozoa was evaluated using flow cytometry. Median IgG and IgA binding did not differ between the first and second ejaculates. The percentage of IgA-bound spermatozo...
Bannai H, Takahashi Y, Ohmura H, Ebisuda Y, Mukai K, Kambayashi Y, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Ohta M, Raidal S, Padalino B.This study evaluated the effects of 12-hour transportation on immune responses to equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 4 (EHV-4). Possible replication of EHV-1 and EHV-4 was monitored by real-time PCR of nasal swabs and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and changes in systemic and mucosal antibodies were investigated. Six healthy Thoroughbreds with transport experience were transported in commercial trucks, repeating the same three-hour route four times. Blood samples for cortisol measurement were taken before departure and every three hours. Nasal swabs, PBMCs, nasal wash and ...
Saeidi E, Mansoori Yarahmadi H, Fakhraei J, Mojahedi S.The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of dietary prebiotic fructooligosaccharides (FOS) from inulin and Enterococcus faecium on nutrient digestibility, fecal pH, and some blood parameters. In this experiment, twelve adult Kurdish horses with average bogy weight of 416 ± 43.3 kg and age averaging 6 ± 1.8 year were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin Square experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial design during 4 periods of 28 days, including 21 days for dietary adaptation and 7 days for sampling. Horses were offered 1 of 4 treatments: (1) no FOS or 2.5 × 10 colony forming ...
Frohlich M, Knights K, Springer NL.Differentiating immune-mediated causes from other causes of anemia and thrombocytopenia can be challenging. Flow cytometry can detect surface-associated immunoglobulin (sIg) on red blood cells (RBC) and platelets (PLT) in dogs and horses. Sample storage parameters for ideal assay performance has not been evaluated in horses. The study objective is to identify optimal storage time and temperature of equine whole blood for the detection of RBC-sIg and PLT-sIg via flow cytometry. Both assays were performed on samples at time 0, 4, 24, 48, and 72 h post collection. RBC-sIg samples were stored at ...
Jenvey C, Caraguel C, Howarth GB, Riley CB.Prior to the start of endogenous production of immunoglobulins (Igs), absorption of maternal Igs is important to protect against pathogens in the early neonatal period. It is possible that mare- or foal-associated factors may influence neonatal IgA concentrations. Objective: The temporal relationships among serum and milk IgA concentrations in Thoroughbred mare-foal pairs were explored to determine if periparturient mare- and foal-associated factors contribute to the prediction of foal serum IgA concentrations. Methods: Blood and milk samples as well as complete veterinary records, were collec...
Ansar Ahmed S, Furr M, Chickering WR, Sriranganathan N, Sponenberg DP.Immunological, clinical, and pathological investigations were conducted on a horse with lymphosarcoma. The immunological status was investigated by measuring the level of antibodies by single radial immunodiffusion test and the ability of lymphocytes to proliferate in response to mitogens. Multiple immunological abnormalities were noted in this horse. They were; (1) decreased IgM, IgG, and IgA levels in the serum despite hyperproteinemia; (2) increased in-vitro spontaneous lymphoproliferation which reflects augmented mitosis; (3) decreased lymphoproliferative response to T cell stimulants (e.g...
Targowski SP.All chronically diarrheal horses given (orally) 2 series of treatments with normal horse serum recovered in 2 to 4 weeks. However, mild diarrhea sometimes persisted several months in the group of horses with severe diarrhea. Weight gains were approximately 35% in horses with severe diarrhea and approximately 10% in horses with mild diarrhea. Serum specimens from 12 diarrheal and 20 normal horses were examined for immunoglobulins by single radial immunodiffusion technique. Concentration of immunoglobulin A in serum of diarrheal horses was approximately 50% lower than that in serum of normal hor...
Palaniappan RU, Chang YF, Jusuf SS, Artiushin S, Timoney JF, McDonough SP, Barr SC, Divers TJ, Simpson KW, McDonough PL, Mohammed HO.A clone expressing a novel immunoreactive leptospiral immunoglobulin-like protein A of 130 kDa (LigA) from Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona type kennewicki was isolated by screening a genomic DNA library with serum from a mare that had recently aborted due to leptospiral infection. LigA is encoded by an open reading frame of 3,675 bp, and the deduced amino acid sequence consists of a series of 90-amino-acid tandem repeats. A search of the NCBI database found that homology of the LigA repeat region was limited to an immunoglobulin-like domain of the bacterial intimin binding protein of Esc...
Widders PR, Stokes CR, Newby TJ, Bourne FJ.This study identifies nonimmune binding of equine immunoglobulin by the causative organism of contagious equine metritis. Immunoglobulin binding to the bacterium was strongest for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and less for IgM; IgA was not bound. Binding of equine IgG was inhibited by human IgG, but not by IgG of domestic animals. Immunoglobulin binding by the bacterium appeared to be directed towards an epitope in the hinge region of the immunoglobulin molecule.
Wagner B, Brandt K, Sheoran A, Holmes MA, Deegen E, Leibold W.The functional properties of different immunoglobulin isotypes in equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) has not been investigated yet. Here, we describe the quantitative determination of total immunoglobulin levels and isotype differentiation in the vitreous of four horses with ERU as compared to that of seven healthy horses. In contrast to almost equal amounts of total immunoglobulin in the vitreous of both groups, remarkable differences were found: All four of the horses with ERU had significantly higher IgA contents in their vitreous as compared to the control group. However, the other isotypes mo...
Pellegrini-Masini A, Bentz AI, Johns IC, Parsons CS, Beech J, Whitlock RH, Flaminio MJ.Three adult horses were evaluated for signs of musculoskeletal pain, dullness, ataxia, and seizures. A diagnosis of bacterial meningitis was made on the basis of results of CSF analysis. Because primary bacterial meningitis is so rare in adult horses without any history of generalized sepsis or trauma, immune function testing was pursued. Flow cytometric phenotyping of peripheral blood lymphocytes was performed, and proliferation of peripheral blood lymphocytes in response to concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, and lipopolysaccharide was determined. Serum IgA, IgM, and IgG co...
Pan X, Wu Y, Wang W, Zhang L, Xiao G.Argentine haemorrhagic fever (AHF) is a rodent-borne disease with a lethality as high as ~30%, which is caused by the New World arenavirus, Junín virus (JUNV). It was once a major epidemic in South America and puts millions of people in Argentina at risk. Here, we aimed to develop horse antibodies or antibody fragments against JUNV. Before preparing the horse antibodies, a strategy to efficiently generate horse antisera was established based on comparisons among immunogens and immunization methods in both mice and horses. Antisera against JUNV were finally obtained by vaccinating horses with ...
Schnabel CL, Babasyan S, Freer H, Wagner B.Only few quantitative reports exist about the concentrations and induction of immunoglobulin A (IgA) in mucosal secretions of horses. Despite this, it is widely assumed that IgA is the predominant immunoglobulin on mucosal surfaces in the horse. Here, two new monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against equine IgA, clones 84-1 and 161-1, were developed and characterized in detail. Both IgA mAbs specifically bound monomeric and dimeric equine IgA in different applications, such as Western blots and fluorescent bead-based assays. Cross-reactivity with other equine immunoglobulin isotypes was not observe...
Krakowski L, Krzyzanowski J, Wrona Z, Siwicki AK.The objectives of the studies were to evaluate the effect of levamisole and 1,3/1,6 glucan applied in pregnant mares on parameters of non-specific cellular and humoral immunity of foals. Eighteen mares in three experimental groups (six animals in each) and their progeny were examined. Multiparous mares, crossbreed of Polish, full-blood and Hannover lines (400-500 kg), 4-9 years old, originated from four different farms. They were kept under identical zoohygienic and nutritional conditions. The animals were randomly chosen in experimental groups. None of mares had been previously vaccinated. In...
Deregt D, de Vries AA, Raamsman MJ, Elmgren LD, Rottier PJ.Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to equine arteritis virus (EAV) proteins were produced and characterized. The protein specificities of eight MAbs were determined definitively by immunoprecipitation of EAV proteins expressed from vaccinia virus recombinants (VVRs). Included were two new VVRs produced for this study, expressing the M and the GL proteins, respectively. Three MAbs were determined to be N-specific and five MAbs recognized the GL protein. One GL-specific MAb, 17F5, of the IgA class, efficiently neutralized EAV infectivity. In competitive binding assays (CBAs), the N-specific MAbs defin...
Matthews AG.Distribution of the immunoglobulin (Ig) classes G, A and M within the anterior uvea of eight clinically normal equine eyes was examined using indirect immunoperoxidase labelling. Increased staining intensity of stromal IgG and IgA was observed within the ciliary processes, the iris stroma being relatively free of immunoglobulin. This may reflect anatomical variation in the permeability of the uveal microvasculature to lipid insoluble plasma macro-molecules. Intracellular IgG and IgA were observed within the non-pigmented ciliary epithelium in seven and four of the eight eyes respectively, alth...
Numata M, Kondo T, Nambo Y, Yoshikawa Y, Watanabe K, Orino K.Antibody (immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM or IgA) levels relative to ferritin in six foal sera (three male and three female) after birth (day 0 and 2, 6, 10, 20, 28, 36, 40, 52 and 56 weeks of age) were semi-quantitatively measured with normalization with antibody activity to ferritin in one adult horse serum. After addition of horse spleen ferritin to the serum sample, the complex formed between antibodies to ferritin in the serum and ferritin was co-immunoprecipitated using antibody to horse spleen ferritin. Antibody classes of the co-immnoprecipitate were detected with antibodies specific for h...
Perryman LE, McGuire TC.Between January 1973 and September 1979, 2,092 horses and ponies were evaluated for immunologic disorders. A total of 418 abnormalities were detected in 416 (20%) of the animals tested. Disorders encountered were failure or partial failure of colostral immunoglobulin transfer from mare to foal (228 cases), combined immunodeficiency (159 cases), selective immunoglobulin M deficiency (19 cases), agammaglobulinemia (3 cases), transient hypogammaglobulinemia (2 cases), and lymphosarcoma (7 cases). Four conclusions were drawn from the study. (1) Immunologic abnormalities occur commonly in horses an...
