The equine immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, and organs that work collaboratively to defend against pathogens and maintain homeostasis. It consists of innate and adaptive components, each with distinct functions and mechanisms. The innate immune system provides the first line of defense through physical barriers, phagocytic cells, and the complement system. The adaptive immune system involves lymphocytes, such as B cells and T cells, which generate specific responses to antigens and provide immunological memory. Research in equine immunology explores the interactions between these components, the impact of genetic and environmental factors on immune function, and the development of vaccines and therapeutics. This page gathers peer-reviewed studies and scholarly articles focusing on the mechanisms, regulation, and clinical applications of the equine immune system in health and disease.
Fadok VA, Greiner EC.Forty-four seasonally pruritic horses and 21 asymptomatic horses in Florida, USA, were tested for insect, grass and mould hypersensitivity by intradermal injection of allergenic extracts. The affected horses ranged in age from 10 months to over 30 years and included a variety of breeds. Affected horses reacted to varying dilutions of extracts made from Culicoides, mosquitoes, horse flies and black flies. Reactions to Culicoides were more intense than those caused by injection of antigens from other arthropods. Mild pruritus existed from the end of February until the end of June when the condit...
Grünig G, Hulliger C, Hermann M, Winder C, von Fellenberg R.Bronchopulmonary lavage was performed in 10 healthy horses and in 39 horses with chronic pulmonary disease. The predominant cell types were macrophages in healthy horses and neutrophils in severely diseased horses. Procoagulant activity (PCA) was detected in all 32 cell-free supernatants examined and in all 49 unpurified cell suspensions. Cells were separated by centrifugation on discontinuous gradients prepared either with Percoll or with Metrizamide. Macrophages were enriched in subpopulations of low density. Neutrophils could not be purified by density gradient centrifugation using either g...
Lindner A, Will Y, Wilkniss E, Chrispeels J.The influence of duration and temperature of storage on hormone levels of whole blood, plasma and serum of horses was investigated. Using FPIAs cortisol, T4 and T-uptake could be measured while the T3-FPIA did not work appropriately. Serum and Plasma stored under the same conditions did not show any difference in cortisol, T4 and T-uptake values. In frozen heparinized plasma samples analysed on different days the cortisol and T4 concentrations fluctuated markedly. The T-uptake values were rather stable. The smallest day by day changes of cortisol and T4 in plasma were found when storing the sa...
Barbet JL, Bevier D, Greiner EC.Fourteen privately owned horses completed a six month, controlled, double-blind trial to assess the efficacy of immunotherapy using an aqueous extract of whole, unfed Culicoides variipennis in the treatment of Culicoides hypersensitivity. Selected horses had a history of a seasonal, pruritic dermatitis, clinical signs and distribution compatible with Culicoides hypersensitivity, failed to improve in response to ivermectin therapy, and reacted to several dilutions of Culicoides extracts without significant reactivity to other possible allergens including insects, moulds and feeds. One horse fro...
Anestad G, Maagaard O.During an epizootic of equine influenza in Norway caused by influenza A/equine (H3N8) virus the efficacy of rapid virus diagnosis by the indirect immunofluorescence technique was evaluated. The antiserum used in the test was a polyclonal influenza A virus antiserum with reactivity directed mainly against the common nucleoprotein and matrix protein. This antiserum possessed sufficient reactivity for the detection of virus-infected exfoliated nasopharyngeal cells. Nasopharyngeal smear samples from 92 horses were examined and a positive diagnosis was obtained for 57 (62 per cent). Paired serum sa...
Sanada Y, Noda H, Nagahata H.A fluorometric assay was applied to evaluate blastogenesis of equine lymphocytes. Optimal culture conditions were as follows; concentrations of phytohaemagglutinin-P (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM) were 1 microgram/ml, 40 micrograms/ml and 10 micrograms/ml, respectively, when 5 X 10(5) lymphocytes were incubated with culture medium containing 20% pooled horse serum (PHS) for 120 hours. The relative mean stimulation index of healthy non-pregnant mares were 5.107 +/- 0.323 (M +/- SE) with PHA, 4.019 +/- 0.183 with Con A and 3.610 +/- 0.131 with PWM. Sequentially the blas...
Truax RE, Powell MD, Montelaro RC, Issel CJ, Newman MJ.A rapid and simple technique for the cryopreservation and recovery of equine mononuclear cells was developed. Buffy-coat leukocytes were frozen in autologous plasma containing 10% DMSO and mononuclear cells were recovered by gradient sedimentation using a standard Ficoll-Hypaque purification procedure. The total numbers of mononuclear cells recovered from cryopreserved samples were 94%-82% of those recovered from fresh blood samples. The functional capabilities of the mononuclear cells from cryopreserved buffy coat preparations were compared with those of mononuclear cells from fresh samples b...
Cullor JS, Mannis MJ, Murphy CJ, Smith WL, Selsted ME, Reid TW.New approaches to antimicrobial therapy for ocular pathogens must overcome organisms that are resistant to current therapeutic modalities. This investigation examined the antimicrobial activity of novel antimicrobial neutrophil peptides (defensins NP-1 and NP-5) against isolates from clinical ocular microbial infections in humans and horses. The test panel of human clinical isolates included Candida albicans, an alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Morganella morganii. The test panel of equine pathogens included three clinical isolates of P aerug...
Adolf GR, Traxler E, Maurer-Fogy I.Equine interferon-beta 1 (EqIFN-beta 1) was purified from extracts of recombinant Escherichia coli by sequential chromatography on hydroxylapatite, anion-, and cation-exchangers. The resulting protein was greater than 98% pure as determined by sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis, gel permeation HPLC, and reverse-phase HPLC. Amino-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed that essentially all molecules contained an additional amino-terminal methionine. The specific antiviral activity of EqIFN-beta 1 determined on equine dermal fibroblasts challenged with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was...
Bell CW, Boyle DB, Whalley JM.Transcript mapping of the equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) glycoprotein B (gB) gene homologue by Northern blot, S1 nuclease and primer extension analyses indicated that two overlapping transcripts of 3.4 and 4.6 kb originated from the same strand and were transcribed from left to right between coordinates 0.40 and 0.43 of the EHV-1 genome. The 3.4 kb transcript encoded EHV-1 gB and the 5' RNA terminus was located approximately 30 bases downstream from a probable TATA element. The coding region of the gB gene homologue was reconstructed from two subclones using oligonucleotide mutagenesis and inser...
Knight DA, Tyznik WJ.Fifteen Shetland ponies were used in a 7-wk trial to study the effect of supplemental Se on humoral antibody production. Four 3-yr-old, five 2-yr-old and six yearling ponies were depleted of Se before being assigned randomly to either a low Se (.02 ppm) or higher Se (.22 ppm) diet. Each pony was challenged antigenically with 2 ml of sheep packed red blood cells upon receiving its respective diet and again 2 wk post-treatment. Blood samples were drawn weekly and assayed for glutathione peroxidase activity, Se and immunoglobulin concentration and antibody titers. Compared with those ponies recei...
Hamada M, Oyamada T, Yoshikawa H, Yoshikawa T, Itakura C.Keratin expressions in normal equine epidermis and experimentally induced equine papillomas were studied by immunohistochemical methods with three different human cytokeratin monoclonal antibodies, 34 beta B4 (directed against component 1), 34 beta E12 (directed against components 1, 5, 10, 11) and 35 beta H11 (directed against component 8). Staining patterns with 34 beta B4 and 34 beta E12 in the normal equine epidermis did not differ from those in the normal human epidermis. In the early developing papilloma, keratinocytes showed an abnormal suprabasal staining pattern and expressed an addit...
Brumbaugh GW, Davis LE, Thurmon JC, Savage DC.Opsonized Rhodococcus equi activated the respiratory burst of resident alveolar macrophages (AM) from adult horses in a logarithmic-linear, mass-related manner. The effect of R equi was not significantly different from that of equal masses of opsonized zymosan A. Therefore, R equi does not appear to attenuate the respiratory burst of equine AM. The stimulatory effect of R equi was not reflected by increased production of superoxide anion (O2-), but increased activity of the hexose monophosphate shunt was observed. These results suggest a similarity between the respiratory burst of AM from hors...
Ruiz Silva BE, Burtnick LD.Gelsolin can be purified from horse blood plasma by treating the plasma sequentially with an anion-exchange medium in the presence and then the absence of free Ca2+. The purified gelsolin migrates as a 90-kilodalton protein on electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. It has an absorption coefficient of 1.4 mL/(mg.cm) and is similar in amino acid composition to other plasma gelsolins. Horse plasma gelsolin has an intrinsic sedimentation coefficient of 4.8S and a Stokes' radius of 3.8 nm. Hydrodynamic calculations suggest it to be a rather globular protei...
Ripatti T, Koskela P, Kotimaa M, Koskinen E, Mäenpää PH.Over periods of 22 and 14 months, IgG antibody concentrations in serum samples obtained monthly from 14 mares and 19 foals, respectively, were measured by use of ELISA against antigens of the following environmental microbes: Aspergillus umbrosus, Penicillium brevicompactum, Rhodotorula glutinis, Absidia corymbifera, Aspergillus fumigatus, Humicola grisea, Micropolyspora faeni, and Thermoactinomyces vulgaris. The mares and foals were on pasture from early June until early October, then were stabled during the winter season until the following June. In the mares, increased antibody concentratio...
Papa FO, Alvarenga MA, Lopes MD, Campos Filho EP.THE immunogenicity of mammalian sperm has been recognised since the beginning of this century. In 1909, Adler induced autoantibodies in the serum of guinea pigs by injecting them with their own spermatozoa. Nowadays, the concept of
immunologically privileged sites is well understood and any disruption which allows antigenic contact with the immune system may give rise to an immune response. For example, failure
of the blood/testes barrier following infection, trauma or surgery can lead to the production of antisperm antibodies as a result of spermatozoa coming in contact with the immune syst...
Kotze SH, Van Aswegen G.The ileocaecal junctions of 5 horses and 2 donkeys were examined by using antisera to the following peptides: somatostatin, glucagon, gastrin, neurotensin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY). Antisera to somatostatin, neurotensin and NPY demonstrated endocrine cells in the ileal- and caecal parts of the ileocaecal junction, while immunoreactivity for glucagon was demonstrated in endocrine cells of the ileal part only. Nerve cell bodies showing immunoreactivity to SP, VIP, CGR...
Morris DD, Moore JN, Fischer K, Tarleton RL.A study was performed to determine whether equine macrophages produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity in vitro in response to endotoxin and to study the effects of endotoxin concentration and incubation time on the amount of TNF produced. Equine peritoneal macrophages were isolated and cultured in vitro for 2, 6, 12, or 24 hr in tissue culture media containing 1) no additive (nonstimulated control), 2) endotoxin (0.5 ng/ml, 5 ng/ml, or 5 micrograms/ml), or 3) the calcium ionophore A23187 (0.95 microM). The supernatant media concentrations of TNF activity were determined by an in vitro cyt...
Edington N, Bridges CG.Two groups each of six sibling ponies were exposed to sequential infections with equid herpesvirus 1 or 4 (EHV-1 or EHV-4) at four or five month intervals. Two exposures to EHV-4 did not significantly reduce virus shedding or pyrexia when the ponies were subsequently exposed to EHV-1. However, two sequential infections with EHV-1 completely protected against challenge with EHV-4. Virus neutralising antibody in each group did not increase until 21 days after primary exposure and was subtype specific. However, complement fixing antibody rose within seven days after inoculation with EHV-1, and 14...
Egberink HF, Ederveen J, Montelaro RC, Pedersen NC, Horzinek MC, Koolen MJ.Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) grown in cat lymphocyte and thymocyte cultures was labelled with L-[35S]methionine or [3H]glucosamine and virus-coded proteins were identified using immunoprecipitation. Polypeptides with apparent Mr values of 15K, 24K, 43K, 50K, 120K and 160K were detected. An additional polypeptide of 10K was detected by Western blot analysis. The two highest Mr species sometimes appeared as one band, of which only the 120K polypeptide was glycosylated. In the presence of tunicamycin gp120 was no longer detectable and a non-glycosylated precursor of 75K was found instead. ...
Mair TS, Taylor FG, Harbour DA, Pearson GR.Combined immunodeficiency syndrome is an inherited disorder of the Arabian breed of horses. Affected foals usually die of infectious disease within the first few months of life, and the respiratory tract is the commonest site of infection. This report describes the clinical and pathological features of a case which showed signs of alimentary and respiratory infections. Intestinal infection by coronavirus (not previously recorded in cases of the syndrome) and cryptosporidia was identified. Histopathological evidence also suggested the presence of an adenovirus infection.
Francqueville M, Sabbah A.The responsibility of the artificial environment in the development of respiratory allergy in horses is well known as the most important factor for the development of asthma, chronic dry cough and pulmonary emphysema. One case of allergy to the natural environment could be observed. One allergic rhinitis with asthma could be explored. Pathology, cause, tests and specific immuno-therapy are presented.
May SA, Hooke RE, Lees P.Equine interleukin-1 has been produced from peripheral blood monocytes by stimulation with E. coli lipopolysaccharide. Sephacryl S200 gel filtration revealed a molecular weight of 17-18 kD. Chromatofocusing of the 17-18 kD peak identified four active fractions. Two major peaks were detected at pH 6.7 and pH 7, with smaller peaks at pH 6.3 and pH 5.9. The pI 7 molecule is probably the equine form of IL-1 beta.
Mollerach-Gobbi B, Retegui LA, Peña C.The immunochemical behavior of several fragments of equine growth hormone (eGH) was examined using competitive binding assays with antibodies (Abs) to eGH obtained from different sources. Antigenicity was detected within the sequences 5-72 and 73-123 by rabbit Abs to eGH and by three mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) produced by using bovine growth hormone as immunogen, but showing heteroclitic properties towards eGH. The polyclonal Abs to eGH also recognized as immunoreactive two smaller peptides corresponding to the amino acid residues 52-72 and 110-123. By contrast, the heteroclitic Abs to...
Ungar-Waron H, Braverman Y, Gluckman A, Trainin Z.Summer seasonal recurrent dermatitis (SSRD) or "sweet itch" is a seasonally occurring allergic dermatitis of horses provoked by biting midges. The allergic skin reactions have been attributed to allergens present in various Culicoides species. C. imicola is the suspected etiological agent of SSRD in Israel. Whole body extracts of this midge induced hypersensitivity reactions upon injection into susceptible horses and in this study attempts were made to define components of C. imicola which have immunogenic and allergenic properties. Immunogenic potency was evaluated by raising antisera to whol...
Schmid DO, Ek N, Braend M.A silent allele in the transferrin locus (Tf) was observed in a Thoroughbred mare and in five of her offspring from three different matings. Evidence for the silent allele was obtained by quantitative immunodiffusion studies.
Seide RK, Jacobs RM, Dobblestein TN, Kehoe JM.A novel myeloma paraprotein has been isolated from a horse with a lymphoid tumor. The protein was a euglobulin and consequently was readily isolated from serum in pure form and high yield by simple dilution in distilled water. The purified intact protein had a molecular weight of 150,000 and was composed of heavy and light chains, both of which had blocked amino-termini and were thus not susceptible to amino-terminal sequence analysis. The amino acid compositions of these respective chains corresponded to those of comparable chains from immunoglobulins of other species. Peptide maps of parapro...
Zerbe H, Castilho LF, Engelke F, Mattos RC, Schuberth HJ, Klug E, Leibold W.Sufficient numbers of functionally competent polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes (PMN) seem to be of major importance during the course of equine endometritis. In this study, we wanted to establish a method for cryopreservation of functionally competent neutrophils for an intended local endometritis therapy in mares. The separation of leucocytes by hypotonic lysis of whole blood from clinically healthy mares was superior to the separation by dextrose sedimentation. After suspension of the cells in the cryoprotective solution [equine plasma with 5% (v/v) dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO)], the l...
Maurel MC, Ban E, Bidart JM, Combarnous Y.In the present study we have established an immunochemical mapping of equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG/PMSG) using three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), namely the antibodies ECG01, E10 and D7, raised against the native hormone. These antibodies do not bind to reduced, alkylated hormone, suggesting that they recognize discontinuous rather than continuous epitopes. We have also assessed the reactivity of mAbs towards human CG, and ovine, porcine, equine and bovine LH and FSH. The antigenic determinant recognized by ECG01 is localized on the alpha-subunit of equine gonadotropins and of human CG ...
Birch-Machin I, Ryder S, Taylor L, Iniguez P, Marault M, Ceglie L, Zientara S, Cruciere C, Cancellotti F, Koptopoulos G, Mumford J, Binns M....Three filamentous phage random peptide display libraries were used in biopanning experiments with purified IgG from the serum of a gnotobiotic foal infected with equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) to enrich for epitopes binding to anti-EHV-1 antibodies. The sequences of the amino acids displayed were aligned with protein sequences of EHV-1, thereby identifying a number of potential antibody binding regions. Presumptive epitopes were identified within the proteins encoded by genes 7 (DNA helicase/primase complex protein), 11 (tegument protein), 16 (glycoprotein C), 41 (integral membrane protein), 70 ...
Simonin EM, Babasyan S, Tarsillo J, Wagner B.IgE+ plasmablasts develop following allergen exposure and B cell activation. They secrete IgE and therefore are directly linked to maintain the mechanisms of IgE-mediated allergies. Here, we show that the presence of IgE+ plasmablasts in peripheral blood not only coincides with clinical allergy, but also predicts the upcoming development of clinical disease. Using an equine model of naturally occurring allergy, we compared the timing of allergen exposure, arrival of IgE+ plasmablasts in peripheral blood, and onset of clinical disease. We found that IgE+ plasmablasts predict the development of ...
Grau-Roma L, Peckham R, Paton J, Stahel A, de Brot S.The postmortem examination of a 14-y-old Appaloosa gelding with clinically diagnosed pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction showed a unique finding of moderate multifocal lymphocytic hypophysitis (LH). The pituitary glands of 24 horses submitted for postmortem examination were examined grossly and examined histologically for the presence of lymphocytes. Of these 23 horses, 1 additional case suffered from moderate LH. The 2 cases with LH tested negative for Equid herpesvirus 1 and 4 by polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry (IHC), and no viral particles were observed by electron micr...
Ruiz Silva BE, Burtnick LD.Gelsolin can be purified from horse blood plasma by treating the plasma sequentially with an anion-exchange medium in the presence and then the absence of free Ca2+. The purified gelsolin migrates as a 90-kilodalton protein on electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. It has an absorption coefficient of 1.4 mL/(mg.cm) and is similar in amino acid composition to other plasma gelsolins. Horse plasma gelsolin has an intrinsic sedimentation coefficient of 4.8S and a Stokes' radius of 3.8 nm. Hydrodynamic calculations suggest it to be a rather globular protei...
Kirkpatrick JF, Liu IM, Turner JW, Bernoco M.Twenty-six free-roaming feral mares were immunized against porcine zonae pellucidae (PZP) between February and May, 1988. Eight sexually mature mares received 2 inoculations 2 weeks apart, and 18 mares received 3 inoculations at intervals of 2 and 4 weeks. Analysis of urinary oestrone conjugates (E1C) and non-specific progesterone metabolites (iPdG) in samples collected in October, 1988, revealed that none of the 18 mares that received 3 and only 1 of the 6 mares that received two inoculations were pregnant, whereas 3 of 6 sham-injected control mares and 5 of 11 untreated mares were pregnant. ...
Hamm D, Willeford KO, White G, Reed SM, Hamm J.Suppurative lower airway disease is a common debilitating disease in performance horses and, while rarely fatal, is often recalcitrant to conventional therapy. A variety of treatments have been used to combat this condition and we conducted two types of studies to determine if caprine serum fraction--immunomodulator (CSFI), a nonspecific immunomodulator, improved recovery from lower respiratory disease. Two dose response studies were performed to ascertain the efficacy of CSFI. Horses were maintained daily on conventional antibiotic therapy. Respiratory tract exudate, nasal discharge, dyspnoea...
Sellon DC.FPT of immunoglobulin in foals is the commonest form of acquired immunodeficiency in horses. FPT predisposes foals to bacterial infections and septicemia and easily is preventable and treatable if breeding farms and veterinarians are attentive to optimum foaling management practices. Other forms of acquired immunodeficiencies are uncommon in horses, although immune function may be transiently suppressed by a wide variety of drugs, infections, or other conditions. As immunologic testing becomes more sophisticated and more readily available to equine practitioners, acquired immunodeficiencies ar...
Paweska JT, Gerdes T, Van Heerden J.Rabbit hyperimmune serum prepared against a donkey alphaherpesvirus isolate (M7/91), and against EHV-1 and EHV-4 was used to characterise the antigenic relationship between these 3 viruses. Serum from immunised rabbits was always more specific for homologous virus and showed different cross reactivity for heterologous virus. It was concluded that the immunologic relationship between the M7/91 isolate and EHV-1, was closer than that between this isolate and EHV-4. A serological survey of donkeys (n = 116) and horses (n = 57) revealed evidence of the presence of neutralising antibody to M7/91 in...
Monos DS, Wolf B, Radka SF, Rifat S, Donawick WJ, Soma LR, Zmijewski CM, Kamoun M.Six mouse and 13 rat monoclonal antibodies (mAb) recognizing HLA-DR, DQ and DP antigens were used for the detection of cell surface class II MHC antigens of equine lymphocytes. The monoclonal antibodies were tested against peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from a panel of thoroughbred horses, using two-color fluorescence flow cytometry. Seven of these mAbs reacted with both surface immunoglobulin positive (sIg+) and surface immunoglobulin negative (sIg-) lymphocytes. sIg+ cells stained consistently brighter than sIg- cells. The fluorescence pattern did not vary from donor to donor for each of...
Brosnahan MM, Silvela EJ, Crumb J, Miller DC, Erb HN, Antczak DF.Invasive trophoblast from Day 34 horse conceptuses survives in extrauterine sites in allogeneic recipients that are immunologically naive to donor major histocompatibility complex class I antigens. The ectopic trophoblast retains its in utero characteristics, including similar lifespan, physiologic effect of its secreted product (equine chorionic gonadotropin) upon the recipient's ovaries, and induction of host immune responses. Immunologic memory has not been considered previously in this experimental system. We hypothesized that primary exposure to ectopic trophoblast would affect the recipi...
Kato H, Ohashi T, Nakamura N, Nishimura Y, Watari T, Goitsuka R, Tsujimoto H, Hasegawa A.Equine interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) and IL-1 beta were molecularly cloned to establish a basis for research on inflammatory and immune responses in the horse. Equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and cDNA clones of equine IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta covering the whole coding sequences were isolated from them. These equine IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta clones contained open reading frames encoding 271 and 269 amino acids, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence of equine IL-1 alpha showed 71.6% and 60.2% similarity with that of human ...
Ripatti T, Koskela P, Kotimaa M, Koskinen E, Mäenpää PH.Over periods of 22 and 14 months, IgG antibody concentrations in serum samples obtained monthly from 14 mares and 19 foals, respectively, were measured by use of ELISA against antigens of the following environmental microbes: Aspergillus umbrosus, Penicillium brevicompactum, Rhodotorula glutinis, Absidia corymbifera, Aspergillus fumigatus, Humicola grisea, Micropolyspora faeni, and Thermoactinomyces vulgaris. The mares and foals were on pasture from early June until early October, then were stabled during the winter season until the following June. In the mares, increased antibody concentratio...
Sasaki K, Igarashi S, Amasaki T, Amasaki H, Nishita T, Kano Y, Asari M.Immunohistochemical localizations of carbonic anhydrase isozymes (CA-I, CA-II and CA-III) in equine and bovine digestive tracts were studied. In the horse, epithelial cells in both the oesophagus and non-glandular part of the stomach lacked all three isozymes. In contrast, surface epithelial and parietal cells in the glandular region of the stomach showed reactivity for CA-II. In the small intestine, absorptive columnar cells covering the villi in the duodenum were positive for CA-II. The epithelium of the jejunum and ileum lacked all three isozymes. In the large intestine, CA-II was detected ...
Frayne J, Stokes CR.The use of tetanus toxoid as a recall antigen to investigate equine immune responses would be, in theory, a useful and cost-effective model in vitro. However, by using various regimens for culturing peripheral blood mononuclear cells from horses previously immunised with toxoid no proliferative response to the antigen was obtained in vitro, whereas lymph node mononuclear cells from the same animals proliferated significantly in response to it. The lack of response by the peripheral blood mononuclear cells was not due to the presence of a suppressive factor but to a lack of recognition of the a...
Wu H, Chen S, Liu M, Xu X, Ji X, Gao K, Tian A, Ke Z, Zhang J, Zhao B, Zhang S.B-cell survival depends on signals induced by B-cell activating factor (BAFF) that binds to the BAFF receptor (BAFF-R). Herein, a BAFF-R homolog was identified in a horse (Equus caballus). The horse BAFF-R gene, located on chromosome 28, spans 1444 base pairs and encodes a 183-amino acid protein. The protein is structurally conserved, in which the DxL motif plays an important role in binding to BAFF. Furthermore, the horse BAFF-R extracellular domain was expressed and purified, which specifically bound to His6-sBAFF and had the capability of blocking the function of His6-sBAFF in vitro. Finall...
van den Heuvel LP, van den Born J, Veerkamp JH, Janssen GH, van de Velden TJ, Monnens LA, Schröder CH, Berden JH.1. Proteoglycans extracted from human and equine glomerular basement membranes (GBM) were purified by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. 2. The glycoconjugates had an apparent molecular mass of 200-400 kDa and consisted of 75% protein and 25% glycosaminoglycan. Glycosidase and HNO2 treatment and the amino sugar and sulfate composition of both proteoglycan preparations identified heparan sulfate (HS) as the predominant saccharide chain. 3. Hydrolysis with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid yielded comparable core proteins with molecular masses of ca 160 and 120 kDa. 4. The HS chains had...
Lee HS, Heo EJ, Jeoung HY, Ko HR, Kweon CH, Youn HJ, Ko YJ.In this study, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using glycoprotein and a monoclonal antibody (MAb) was developed for the detection of antibodies to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) serotype New Jersey (NJ). The glycoprotein to be used as a diagnostic antigen was extracted from partially purified VSV-NJ, and a neutralizing MAb specific to VSV-NJ was incorporated to compete with antibodies in a blocking ELISA using glycoprotein (GP ELISA). The cutoff of the GP ELISA was set at 40% inhibition, which corresponded to a virus neutralization test (VNT) titer of 32. With this threshold, th...
Connelly C, Norton NA, Hurley DJ, Hart KA, Meichner K, Gogal RM.Peripheral blood is commonly sampled to assess the health status of human and veterinary patients. Venous blood collection is a minimally invasive procedure, and in the horse, the common collection site is the jugular vein. Post blood collection, sample processing for leukocyte enrichment can vary by research laboratory with the potential to yield different effects on the enriched cells and their function. The focus of the present study was to compare a common blood dilution-leukocyte enrichment technique using a Histopaque gradient medium (His) to a modified leukocyte buffy coat syringe-lymph...
Stewart AJ, Wright JC, Behrend EN, Martin LG, Kemppainen RJ, Busch KA.To determine the lowest ACTH dose that would induce a significant increase in serum cortisol concentration and identify the time to peak cortisol concentration in healthy neonatal foals. Methods: Prospective randomized crossover study. Methods: 11 healthy neonatal foals. Methods: Saline (0.9% NaCl) solution or 1 of 4 doses (0.02, 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 μg/kg [0.009, 0.045, 0.114, and 0.227 μg/lb]) of cosyntropin (synthetic ACTH) was administered IV. Serum cortisol concentrations were measured before and 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 240 minutes after administration of cosyntropin or saline s...
Faber E, Tshilwane SI, Van Kleef M, Pretorius A.Expanding on our previous work, this study used transcriptome analysis of RNA sequences to investigate the various factors that contributed to either inducing apoptosis that resulted in cell death or promoting the survival of African horse sickness virus serotype 4 (AHSV4)-infected horse peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) after 24 h. Apoptosis is a host defense mechanism that prevents virus replication, accumulation and spread of progeny viruses. AHSV4-infected PBMC were killed via the intrinsic and the perforin/granzyme pathways of apoptosis during the attenuated AHSV4 (attAHSV4) in v...
Mérant C, Messouak A, Cadoré JL, Monier JC.In mammals, the binding of peanut agglutinin (PNA) on the plasma membrane defines subpopulations among lymphocytes from peripheral blood and lymphoid organs. PNA binds Galbeta 1,3GalNAc residues provided that they are not sialylated. Here, we studied the expression of PNA-binding glycans on healthy horse peripheral blood, thymus, lymph node and spleen lymphocytes. We first demonstrated the binding specificity of PNA for galactose residues by competition experiments and the inhibitory role of sialic acids in PNA binding by sialidase digestion. Unlike human and murine lymphocytes, all equine lym...
Wauters J, Pille F, Martens A, Franck T, Serteyn D, Gasthuys F, Meyer E.Equine joint infection is a life-threatening disorder, and confirmation of the diagnosis can be difficult. Synovial fluid biomarkers may assist the discrimination between infectious and noninfectious joint disease. Objective: This study investigates whether the immunological detection of total and enzymatically active myeloperoxidase (MPO) assists the diagnosis of joint infection in horses. Methods: The following 4 sample groups were included: healthy; osteochondritis dissecans (OCD); traumatic synovitis; and culture-confirmed infected joints. Synovial fluid was analysed for total MPO by a hor...
Michlik KM, Biazik AK, Henklewski RZ, Szmigielska MA, Nicpoń JM, Pasławska U.Quadricuspid aortic valve (QAV) and ventricular septal defect (VSD) are congenital heart defects and have been described in both human and veterinary medical literature. Methods: A 5-year-old half-bred bay stallion was referred for surgical castration. Cardiac murmurs were heard on the presurgical clinical examination and the cardiac examination revealed subcutaneous oedema, tachycardia with a precodrial thrill and a grade 5/6 pansystolic murmur, which was heard on auscultation of the right and left side of the chest. Examination of the B-mode echocardiograms revealed the presence of a QAV (on...
Matczuk AK, Chodaczek G, Ugorski M.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is a prototype member of the Arterivirus family, comprising important pathogens of domestic animals. Minor glycoproteins of Arteriviruses are responsible for virus entry and cellular tropism. The experimental methods for studying minor Arterivirus proteins are limited because of the lack of antibodies and nested open reading frames (ORFs). In this study, we generated recombinant EAV with separated ORFs 3 and 4, and Gp3 carrying HA-tag (Gp3-HA). The recombinant viruses were stable on passaging and replicated in titers similar to the wild-type EAV. Gp3-HA was incorpo...
LeBlanc MM, McLaurin BI, Boswell R.Postpartum, presuckle, colostrum samples were collected from 100 mares. Colostral specific gravities significantly correlated (r = 0.9) with colostral immunoglobulin (Ig)G concentrations. Foal serum IgG concentrations highly correlated (r = 0.82) with specific gravities of the colostrum each foal ingested. Eight of 48 foals (17%) had serum IgG concentrations less than 400 mg/dl. The dams of these 8 foals had colostral sp gr less than 1.06 and colostral IgG concentrations less than 3,000 mg/dl. Foals had serum IgG concentrations greater than 520 mg/dl 24 hours after parturition, when the colost...
Kent JE.The concentrations of haptoglobin, immunoglobin (Ig)G(T) and IgG were measured in the serum of four previously parasite-free pony yearlings following a single dose of 700 (Group H) or 200 (Group L) stage three Strongylus vulgaris larvae (L3) and following a reinfection with the same doses 34 weeks later. The results are compared with an uninfected control pony. The haptoglobin concentration increased during Weeks 1 to 6 and 14 to 17 after infection in the serum of the ponies receiving 200 L3, but in only one pony dosed with 700 L3 (during Weeks 1 to 16). The serum haptoglobin also increased du...
Sato F, Yamashita S, Kugo T, Hasegawa T, Mitsui I, Kijima-Suda I.To determine the full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence of equine erythropoietin (EPO) and to develop region-specific antibodies to differentiate equine EPO (eEPO) and human EPO (hEPO). Methods: RNA and lysate extracted from renal tissues of an adult Thoroughbred. Methods: Full-length cDNA was determined by use of a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay and a rapid amplification of cDNA ends method. The deduced amino acid sequence was compared with sequences of EPO reported for other species. Furthermore, 4 synthetic peptides were designed in 2 distinctive parts of the e...
