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.
Smith ML, Chapman CB.An acepromazine (ACP) hapten was synthesised, coupled to bovine serum albumin and injected into a horse to produce antibodies to the drug. A competitive ELISA was developed whereby ACP attached to the solid phase via lysozyme competed with free ACP present in phosphate buffered saline, horse serum or horse urine for limiting amounts of antibody. The assay could detect the presence of ACP and, or, some of its metabolites in horse urine for at least 25 hours after intravenous injection of 0.1 mg kg-1 ACP maleate, but because of non-specific interference, horse serum could not be used. As little ...
Hoshino Y, Gorziglia M, Valdesuso J, Askaa J, Glass RI, Kapikian AZ.An equinine rotavirus FI-14 strain, originally isolated from a diarrheic foal in New York state, was shown to belong to serotype 3 by neutralization assay. In addition, it was found to react with both subgroup I and subgroup II monoclonal antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), thus representing the first rotavirus strain to exhibit both subgroup specificities. By using hybridoma technology, we successfully produced monoclonal antibodies directed against the major inner capsid protein VP6 (the sixth gene product) of FI-14 virus. Such monoclonal antibodies reacted specifically ...
Urasawa S, Urasawa T, Ishizawa F, Taniguchi K.Bovine and equine sera were screened for poliovirus-reactive immunoglobulins (PRIgs) by means of neutralization and precipitation reactions with type 1 poliovirus. Bovine serum B1826 and B36 were found to contain such PRIgs from their reactivity to various PRIgs-resistant mutants of type 1 poliovirus origin. Neutralization and precipitation reactions with six mono-specific antibodies obtained by absorbing antiserum with each of the six different PRIgs-resistant virus mutants revealed that three antibodies were active in precipitation reaction while the others were substantially ineffective. On...
Hansen PJ, Asbury AC.The release of opsonins into the uterine lumen of mares susceptible or resistant to endometritis was examined after intrauterine inoculation of a filtrate of Streptococcus culture fluid or vehicle. Uterine flushings were collected at 0.5 hour before and 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 hours after inoculation on day 2 or 3 of estrus and on day 7 or 8 after ovulation. Amounts of opsonins in flushings were quantified as the H2O2 produced by leukocytes incubated with flushings-opsonized bacteria, compared with H2O2 produced by leukocytes incubated with nonopsonized bacteria. Opsonin values in flushings increas...
Derksen FJ, Scott JS, Slocombe RF, Robinson NE.We assessed the effect of aerosol Micropolyspora faeni challenge in two groups of ponies by measuring lung function, airway reactivity to aerosol histamine, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology. One group of ponies was sensitized by subcutaneous injection of M. faeni in complete Freund's adjuvant, and the other group served as control. In both groups of ponies, measurements were made at base line and 5 h after aerosol administration of 30 ml of saline or 30 ml of 1% wt/vol particulate M. faeni antigen in saline. Saline challenge had no effect on any of the measured variables. M. faeni cha...
Jacobs PH, Elsinghorst TA.Endometrial cups in horses are outgrowths appearing in the uterine wall of the pregnant horn between approximately 38 days and 150 of gestation. The cups are structures which vary in shape from oval to irregular and have distinct raised edges, showing an ulcer-like form. The maximum measurements are approximately 5 X 2.5 X 2.5 cm. Microscopic examination shows that they consist of large epithelioid decidual-like cells having large nucleoli. Pregnant Mare Endometrium Gonadotrophin (PMEG) is produced in the endometrial cups. PMEG may be regarded as a precursor of Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotrophi...
Wells M, Gaffin SL.Passive immunotherapy with anti-lipopolysaccharide hyperimmune equine plasma (Anti-LPS) is effective in treating experimental Gram-negative bacterial infections. The bactericidal activity of anti-LPS towards five different Pseudomonas species, including two multiresistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates was tested here, as well as the ability of anti-LPS to inhibit the quantitative chromogenic limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. Anti-LPS caused a mean reduction of 84.4 +/- 3.2% (P less than 0.001) in the number of colony forming units (cfu) of all isolates, whereas saline and complement ina...
Freestone JF, Hietala S, Moulton J, Vivrette S.A 7-year-old horse with no previous history of illness was determined to have a systemic infection of Rhodococcus equi. Rhodococcus equi was isolated from blood, tracheal fluid, and feces. Lymphopenia, failure to respond to concanavalin A and phytohemagglutinin lymphocyte stimulation testing, decreased concentrations of immunoglobulin (Ig)M, IgA, and IgG, low R equi antibody titer, histologic depletion of lymphoid tissue, and a failure to respond to antigenic stimulation led to the conclusion that both humoral and cell-mediated immunity were compromised. No cause for the acquired immunodeficie...
Gummow B, Herr S, Brett OL.A microtitration serum agglutination test, based on that used for brucellosis, has been developed to detect antibodies in the sera of horses exposed to the contagious equine metritis (CEM) organism. Two known positive sera were tested 100 times in 15 separate tests. The results were reproducible to within a twofold range. The test is capable of being carried out within 100 min.
Thompson DL, Wiest JJ, Garza WF, Ashley KB, McNeill DR.Antiserum generated in a horse against testosterone conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) was administered to six lighthorse mares (androgen-immunized mares) 1 to 3 d before a prostaglandin-induced estrus and twice again at 2-d intervals. Six control mares were administered antiserum generated against BSA on the same schedule. Relative to testosterone, cross-reactivities of other steroids with the testosterone antiserum were (%): dihydrotestosterone, 52; 5 alpha-androstane-3 alpha,17 beta-diol, 8.6; androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, 1.2; and all others tested less than .1. Tritiated testosterone bi...
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...
Berti A, Degl'Innocenti D, Stefani M, Liguri G, Ramponi G.A non competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific for horse muscle acylphosphatase (E.C. 3.6.1.7.) has been developed. The purified anti-acylphosphatase antibodies were immobilized by passive absorption to a solid-phase support and incubated with known and unknown amounts of antigen. The antibody-acylphosphatase complex was quantified using the same antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. The assay yields positive reactions with as little as 0.05 ng of antigen, with intra- and interassay coefficients of variation of 5% and 7%, respectively. On the basis of this assay ...
Hietala SK, Ardans AA.This study was undertaken to examine the neutrophil response to Corynebacterium (Rhodococcus) equi, and to assess the possibility of neutrophil immaturity or malfunction in predisposition to C. equi pneumonia in foals. Neutrophil phagocytosis of Corynebacterium (Rhodococcus) equi was studied in foals from birth to 6 months of age. Chemiluminescence (CL) and bactericidal assays were used to assay the phagocytic response of peripheral blood neutrophils to C. equi in vitro. Results of in vitro bactericidal and CL assays indicate that foal neutrophils are able to ingest and kill C. equi, however a...
Leid RW, Grant RF, Suquet CM.Taeniaestatin, a recently isolated Taenia taeniaeformis proteinase inhibitor, was used to inhibit equine neutrophil migration. Taeniaestatin itself was not chemotactic when used as a chemotactic factor but taeniaestatin did inhibit neutrophil chemokinesis when tested in a Zigmond-Hirsch checkerboard assay. A dose-dependent inhibition of both chemokinesis and chemotaxis was observed when zymosan activated bovine sera (ZABS) was used as the chemotactic factor. This inhibition was greater than 95% when 5 mu of taeniaestatin was present on both the cell and chemotactic factor side of the chambers....
Horenstein AL, Glait HM, Koss A.A monoclonal anti-equine infectious anemia virus (anti-EIAV) antibody (1B15) has been generated by fusion of X63 Ag 8.653 myeloma cells and spleen cells from mice hypersensitized with viral antigen p29. Ouchterlony double-diffusion analysis indicated that antibody 1B15 is of the IgG class. The specificity of the immune reaction for p29 was confirmed by cross-over immunoelectrophoresis and disc-gel electrophoresis. MAb 1B15 was used to devise a solid-phase 'capture' RIA for EIAV-p29 antigen. The antigen, bound by 1B15 adsorbed onto wells of flexible microtitre plates, was detected using a rabbi...
Bousquet D, Guillomot M, Betteridge KJ.The capsule which surrounds the pre-attachment equine embryo has been compared with the zona pellucida (zp) that it replaces, as well as with the rabbit blastocyst coverings, by means of physicochemical and immunological methods. Trypsin solution at pH varying between 7.5 and 9.0 completely solubilized the capsule, as did Na borohydride. However, solutions of pH 2.0 or 12.0, urea, high temperature (65 degrees C, 60 min or 80 degrees C, 30 min), mercaptoethanol and dithiothreitol were able to solubilize the zp but not the capsule at the concentrations used. Indirect immunofluorescence on cryost...
Parma AE, Fernández AS, Santisteban CG, Bowden RA, Cerone SI.An antigenic relationship between Leptospira interrogans and equine cornea was previously described by us. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed in the present work to investigate the existence of anti-leptospira and anti-cornea antibodies in tears, aqueous humor and serum from horses inoculated i.m. with those antigens. Ten days after a booster by the same route, antibodies that bind to microtiter plates, coated with an homogenate of either equine cornea or leptospira, were detected in those fluids and in the sera. At the same time, the corneas of the horses began to develop a dif...
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...
Kay BH, Pollitt CC, Fanning ID, Hall RA.Eleven weanling horses were inoculated with Murray Valley encephalitis and Ross River viruses either by intravenous injection or by the bite of Culex annulirostris or Aedes vigilax mosquitoes infected orally. Five of the 11 horses circulated trace amounts of MVE virus for 1 to 5d and they infected 7/408 Cx annulirostris which subsequently fed on them. Haemagglutination-inhibiting antibody persisted at detectable levels for the 24-week observation period. With Ross River virus, only one of 11 horses inoculated developed a viraemia detectable by inoculation of suckling mice but 5 horses containe...
Amann JF, Smith RM, Ganjam VK, Paull WK, McClure RC, Green EM, Garner HE.The distribution of cells that stain positive for beta-endorphin and ACTH immunoreactivity was studied in the pars intermedia (PI) of the hypophysis in 3 healthy horses and 2 healthy ponies. Serial sections treated with commercial antibodies generated against beta-endorphin or ACTH were processed for immunocytochemical studies, using the avidin biotin immunoperoxidase-complex method. Distribution patterns of cells reacting with antibodies were similar in cells from all equids. Cells immunostained for ACTH were numerous and widely distributed in the PI. Cells immunopositive for ACTH probably co...
Hansen PJ, Hoggard MP, Rathwell AC.The ability of stallion seminal plasma to modify phagocytosis of spermatozoa and Streptococcus zooepidemicus was examined. Phagocytosis was monitored indirectly as the H2O2 produced by peripheral blood leukocytes after addition of spermatozoa or bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide production after addition of ejaculated spermatozoa was greater (P less than 0.01) than after addition of epididymal sperm. Furthermore, pre-incubation of epididymal sperm with 6.25-50% seminal plasma caused a dose-dependent increase in subsequent H2O2 production by leukocytes (P less than 0.05). In addition, equine serum wa...
Byrns G, Crump AL, Lalonde G, Bernoco D, Antczak DF.The ELY-1 locus controls the expression of a polymorphic cell surface antigen of equine lymphocytes which was detected using antibodies generated by alloimmunization with peripheral blood lymphocytes. The ELY-1 antigens were not detected on erythrocytes or platelets by absorption experiments. The two alleles, which have been designated ELY-1.1 and ELY-1.2, are expressed codominantly and appear to constitute a closed system at the population level. In family studies, the ELY-1 antigens segregated as products of an autosomal locus not linked to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the h...
Scott DW.Pemphigoid (from the Greek “resembling pemphigus”) has been recognized in humans for many years. The occurence of pemphigoid in domestic animals is a much more recent observation. In the dog, bullous pemphigoid was first documented in 1978.1 Equine bullous pemphigoid was originally reported in 1981.2 The purpose of this article is to review pemphigoid in domestic animals, compare the disease with its human counterpart, and alert the physician to an exciting area for comparative dermatologic research.
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.
Safir JM, Loy RG, Fitzgerald BP.To investigate the hypothesis that the onset of the breeding season in the mare may be due to a daylength-induced seasonal increase in LHRH pulse frequency, 5 mares were immunized against LHRH. Beginning 1 December, 5 immunized and 5 untreated control mares were exposed to an abrupt, artificial increase in daylength (16L:8D) to advance the onset of the breeding season. In control mares ovulation occurred 49.6 +/- 3.5 (s.e.m.) days later (18 January), whereas in 3/5 immunized mares ovulation had not occurred by 1 April. In the remaining 2 mares, although ovulation occurred once (Mare 79) or twi...
Rosskopf U, Noeske K, Werner E.This paper describes a double antigen ELISA (DAE) for rapid, specific and reliable assessment of the antitetanus immune status of horses and sheep. Compared with the indirect ELISA, the double antigen ELISA has the advantage of species-independent testing of sera. Thanks to its test design, it is more specific since the detected antibodies are forced to bind tetanus toxoid twice. In addition, it is very sensitive to tetanus antibodies, enabling the detection of low antibody titres, in range which is relevant for the assessment of the protective status (tetanus toxin neutralising antibodies). T...
Rosypal AC, Lindsay DS, Duncan R, Ahmed SA, Zajac AM, Dubey JP.Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a neurologic syndrome in horses from the Americas and is usually caused by infection with the apicomplexan parasite, Sarcocystis neurona. Little is known about the role of immunobiological mediators to this parasite. Nitric oxide (NO) is important in resistance to many intracellular parasites. We, therefore, investigated the role of inducible and endothelial NO in resistance to clinical disease caused by S. neurona in mice. Groups of interferon-gamma gene knockout (IFN-gamma-KO) mice, inducible nitric oxide synthase gene knockout (iNOS-KO) mice, endo...
Thougaard AV, Jaliashvili I, Christiansen M.The glycoprotein tetranectin (TN) found in human serum is a 90-kDa homotrimeric C-type lectin binding Ca2+, heparin and plasminogen kringle 4. TN is suggested as being implicated in tissue remodelling. The antigenic reactivity of putative TN was examined in serum from 14 different animal species using three sandwich enzyme immunoassays for human TN. Crab-eating macaque serum showed the strongest reaction, followed by horse and cat. Serum from cow, goat, pig, mouse and chicken reacted weakly, while dog, trout, and the amphibian and the reptile species did not react. The TN-like protein from mac...
Thomas RJ.An antigen for the gel diffusion test for equine infectious anaemia (EIA) was prepared from the spleen of a horse experimentally infected with the CQ strain of the virus. The antigen produced a single, distinct line of precipitation when tested against a range of known positive serums, and did not react with pre-inoculation and known negative serums. Extracts prepared from uninfected spleens displayed no reaction when similarly tested. Serum from 34 of 451 Queensland horses contained detectable levels of antibody to EIA virus. The positive serums were from horses in widely separated areas of t...
Diaz-Méndez A, Viel L, Shewen P, Nagy E.Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) is an ubiquitous virus, routinely identified in equine respiratory infections; however, its role in disease and genetic features are not well defined due to a lack of genomic characterization of the recovered isolates. Therefore, we sequenced the full-length genome of a Canadian ERAV (ERAV/ON/05) and compared it with other ERAV sequences currently available in GenBank. The ERAV/ON/05 genome is 7,839 nucleotides (nts) in length with a variable 5'UTR and a more conserved 3'UTR. When ERAV/ON/05 was compared to other reported ERAV isolates, an insertion of 13 nt in t...
Zhang CH, Donaldson WL, Antczak DF.A surface antigen of equine B lymphocytes was identified using the Equine Leucocyte Antigen Workshop antibody WS 65. This marker was expressed on almost all equine B cells, but not on T cells, granulocytes or thymocytes. WS 65 strongly stained cells in the follicular areas of lymph nodes and cells in the splenic nodules when tested on frozen tissue sections by immunohistochemistry. Equine leukemic T cells were not labeled by WS 65, and neither were the cells from a horse with B cell leukemia, although these latter cells carried surface immunoglobulin. Immunoprecipitation of lymphocyte membrane...
Holowka DA, Cathou RE.IgM antibodies specific for the fluorophore epsiolon-1-dimethylamino-5-naphthalenesulfonyl-L-lysine(DNS-lysine) were elicited in the horse and nurse shark by immunization with a DNS-lysine streptococcal conjugate; the antibodies were purified by specific adsorption with an immunoadsorbent followed by gel filtration to select the IgM class (molecular weight 900 000). About 90% of the equine anti-DNS was IgM.DNS-Lysine, when bound in the combining sites of a population of these anti-DNS IgM antigodies from horse and nurse shark, as well as from pig, exhibited a marked fluorescence enhancement an...
Fodor L, Szenci O, Peters M, Varga J, Szemerédi G, Wyszoczky F.A total of seven Bacteroides ureolyticus strains were isolated from the cervix and the clitoral fossa of mares with vaginal discharge. No other bacteria capable of causing metritis or vaginitis were isolated from the samples. The isolated strains resembled Taylorella equigenitalis. Both species are catalase, oxidase and alkaline phosphatase positive, but, in addition to these characteristics, B. ureolyticus strains produced urease and they could not tolerate 10% O2. They also failed to be agglutinated in a hyperimmune serum raised against T. equigenitalis; however, B. ureolyticus and T. equige...
Lopez BS, Hurley DJ, Giancola S, Giguère S, Hart KA.Immunological and endocrine immaturity in foals increases foal morbidity and mortality from bacterial sepsis. Dendritic cells (DC) are critical in activating the adaptive immune response, but foal DC are phenotypically and functionally different than those of adult horses. Age-related variations in availability of some soluble plasma factors, such as hormones, might govern some age-related differences in DC function. Effects of exposure to plasma factors on equine DC phenotype and function have not been described. We hypothesized that exposure to plasma from foals or adult horses would differe...
Menzer C, Schams D.A double-antibody radioimmunoassay for PMSG, especially for meauring PMSG in cattle blood after exogenous application, has been developed. A rabbit antiserum against PMSG and pure PMSG for radioiodination were used. There was a strong cross-reaction against equine LH and FSH, but the slight cross-reaction against bovine LH and FSH could be eliminated by adding bovine LH to each tube during the assay. Unspecific, interfering influences of equine or cow serum could be eliminated by adding a constant amount of PMSG-free serum to each tube. PMSG added to 200 microliter of serum could be recovered ...
Mar Htun Z, Laikul A, Pathomsakulwong W, Yurayart C, Lohnoo T, Yingyong W, Kumsang Y, Payattikul P, Sae-Chew P, Rujirawat T, Jaturapaktrarak C....Pythium insidiosum causes a life-threatening infection termed pythiosis in humans and other animals. The organism has been identified in tropical and subtropical environments worldwide. Since 1985, human pythiosis has been increasingly reported from Thailand. Seroprevalence studies estimated that 32,000 Thai people had been exposed to the pathogen. In 2018, the first animal pythiosis case in Thailand was diagnosed in a horse. Here, we investigated the seroprevalence of anti-P. insidiosum antibodies in the Thai equine population. Methods: We surveyed serum anti-P. insidiosum antibodies in 15...
Suter M, Fey H.An enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring horse IgE specific to ovalbumin, bencylpenicilloic acid and odinitrocarboxyphenol is described. We used a sandwich type of ELISA by which horse serum was incubated in antigen-coated tubes containing one additional polystyrene ball, followed by rabbit anti horse IgE serum. The tubes were then incubated with biotinylated goat anti rabbit globulin followed by avidin coupled to phosphatase. Endpoint titrations were compared. The ELISA is highly reproducible due to the pretreatment of the polystyrene with glutaraldehyde. The increased anti...
Cocco R, Rizzo M, Carta C, Arfuso F, Piccione G, Luridiana S, Crovace A, Passino ES, Sechi S.Among infection diseases transmitted by arthropods, the equine vector-borne diseases transmitted by ticks represent an emerging problem worldwide due to their morbidity and mortality and, in some cases, to their zoonotic relevance. Understanding the host immune/inflammatory response to the pathogens is crucial to develop effective methods of diagnosis, control and treatment. This study aimed to evaluate red blood cells (RBC), hematocrit (Hct), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin content (MCH), mean cell hemoglobin (MCHC), platelets (PLT), white blood cel...
Amselgruber WM, Sinowatz F, Erhard M.The present study deals with the immunohistochemical localization of S-100 protein in the testes of seven mammalian species including rat, cat, dog, pig, sheep, cattle and horse. Significant differences are demonstrated in the cellular distribution and intensity of immunoreaction for the protein. In bull, ram, boar and cat testes S-100 protein was localized in the cytoplasm and nuclei of Sertoli cells. A particularly intense staining was seen in the modified Sertoli cells of the terminal tubular segment. With the exception of the cat and horse S-100 protein immunoreactivity was additionally fo...
Hu WG, Chau D, Wong C, Masri SA, Fulton RE, Nagata LP.The genes encoding envelope proteins E1 and E2 of western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) were respectively cloned into a prokaryotic T7 RNA polymerase-regulated expression vector. The recombinant C-terminal 6xHis-tagged WEEV E1 and E2 were expressed in bacteria as inclusion bodies that were subsequently solubilized with 8M urea, purified by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography and finally refolded using an arginine system. The purified 6xHis-tagged proteins showed 50kDa bands as revealed by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, consistent with the expected size...
Hornyák A, Dénes B, Szeredi L, Dencsö L, Rusvai M.Two monoclonal antibodies against the Bucyrus strain of equine arteritis virus (EAV) were produced, and according to immunoperoxidase reaction following Western blot of electrophoresed EAV structural proteins, they recognized the nucleocapsid (N) protein antigen (14-kDa protein). Besides reacting with the blotted polypeptide, the antibodies of the two clones (designated 1H1 and 4G6) selected from 576 have shown high affinity and specificity to intracellular virus antigen as well. Both antibodies reacted with the representatives of the different subtypes of equine arteritis virus providing a su...
van Maanen C, Vreeswijk J, Moonen P, Brinkhof J, de Boer-Luijtze E, Terpstra C.Ten monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced against equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV1). Two appeared type-specific, while the other eight were directed against epitopes common to both EHV1 and EHV4. Two MAbs directed against the glycoprotein gp2 recognized linear epitopes, as demonstrated by Western blotting. With pools of type-specific MAbs, 282 field isolates were typed in an immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (IPMA). From a total of 254 fetal or neonatal isolates, 244 (96%) were typed as EHV1, whereas 14 out of 15 (93%) respiratory tract isolates were typed as EHV4. Surprisingly, 3 out of 1...
Scott P, Witonsky S, Robertson J, Daft B.Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), caused by Sarcocystis neurona infection in the central nervous system (CNS), affects up to 1% of all horses during their lifetimes. Neither the protective immune response nor the immunopathology associated with the disease is well understood. To begin to clarify the pathogenesis of the disease, immunohistochemical staining for B and T lymphocytes was performed on spinal cord sections obtained from 17 horses, all of which were all positive for S. neurona based on immunohistochemical staining. Fifteen of the 17 horses included in the study were killed du...
Gnanesh Kumar BS, Rawal A.Secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) is the major antibody present in the human milk where it confers passive immunity to neonates. Other than human, non-ruminants such as equine, swine etc., also possess sIgA in milk but detailed characterization is limited. In the present study, we characterized sIgA from donkey milk for amino acid sequence and N-glycosylation through LC-MS/MS analysis. The complete amino acid sequence of alpha chain constant region (C) was elucidated. The sequence analysis of variable regions (V and V) and light chain constant region (C) showed several amino acid substitutions...
Lucken R, Daas A, Behr-Gross ME.The European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines (EDQM) has organised an international collaborative study, divided in two phases, aimed at producing and establishing a suitable reference serum for serological potency testing of clostridial vaccines for batch consistency demonstration. In phase 1 a series of pools produced from sera provided by each manufacturer and raised against the broadest range of antigens possible were blended to obtain TN titres which were representative of the range normally elicited by the vaccines under test. Detailed statistical analysis of the data was not pos...
Reimann HA.It is conceivable that a change from the virulent, non-phagocytable S form of Pneumococcus to the avirulent phagocytable R form may take place in pneumococcus disease, but the experiments here reported do not settle the question whether or not this is an important factor in determining the outcome in natural infection. It has been shown experimentally that the degradation from the S form to the R form actually does take place in cultures of Pneumococcus growing in agar subcutaneously embedded in guinea pigs, in agar enclosed in vials subcutaneously embedded in rabbits, and spontaneously in the...
Jemmerson R, Margoliash E.Of the antigenic determinants so far identified for cytochrome c, only one involves more than a single amino acid substitution between the immunogen and host proteins. Both a threonine at position 89 and a glutamic acid at position 92 control one of the three antigenic sites identified in horse cytochrome c, as expressed in rabbits. Three antibody subpopulations, all directed against this region of the molecule, were isolated from the serum of a single rabbit by adsorption on a series of insolubilized cytochromes c. Antibody fluorescence quenching titrations with a variety of cytochromes c wer...
Teijeiro JM, Marini PE.The oviduct is a dynamic organ in which final gamete maturation, fertilization and early embryo development take place. It is considered to be a sterile site; however the mechanism for sterility maintenance is still unknown. S100A7 is an anti-microbial peptide that has been reported in human reproductive tissues such as prostate, testicle, ovary, normal cervical epithelium and sperm. The current work reports the presence of S100A7 in the Fallopian tube and its localization at the apical surface of epithelial cells. For comparison, porcine S100A7 was used for antibody development and search for...
Peters GJ, Oosterhof A, Veerkamp JH.1. Activity of uridine kinase was very low in ovine lymphocytes and in those of some pigs. Lymphocytes of other pigs showed a significantly higher activity of this enzyme. Activity of uridine kinase in lymphocytes of man, horse and cattle was intermediate. 2. Activity of uridine phosphorylase was higher than that of uridine kinase with lymphocytes of all species. 3. Activity of uridine kinase in equine lymphocytes increases at PHA-stimulation and also in porcine lymphocytes with a low activity at the start of the culture. Activity of uridine kinase decreased in porcine lymphocytes with a high ...
Sellers RS, Toribio RE, Blomme EA.Idiopathic systemic granulomatous disease, which has been reported in horses, cattle and human beings, is characterized by perivascular granulomatous and lymphoplasmacytic inflammation in many organ systems. Diagnosis is based on the exclusion of possible viral, fungal or bacterial causes. The disease was identified in a miniature pony with widespread lymphoplasmacytic and granulomatous inflammation, special staining techniques having revealed no evidence of any aetiological agent. Skin lesions, which were severe, consisted of hyperkeratosis and serocellular crust formation, with inflammatory ...
Delatour P, Garnier F, Maire R.After administration of the racemic drug, the stereoselective quantification of the enantiomers of free and conjugated carprofen was performed in human plasma and in plasma, urine and bile of dogs and horses. In humans, the plasma profile of free carprofen and its glucuronides is not stereoselective and the glucuronides excreted in urine are close to a racemate. In dogs and horses on the contrary, the R(-) enantiomer of the free drug is predominant in plasma, while urine and/or bile concentrations of the glucuronides are high in comparison to plasma with a strong selectivity for the S(+) enant...
Foster AP, McKelvie J, Cunningham FM.A whole-body extract of Culicoides impunctatus induced a biphasic increase in oedema formation in ponies with insect hypersensitivity, with maxima after one and eight hours. The Culicoides antigen did not induce similar responses in ponies with no previous history of the disease. In insect-hypersensitive ponies the local administration of chlorpheniramine (12 micrograms) completely inhibited oedema formation in response to histamine (0.04 microgram) and to Culicoides antigen (0.5 microgram) at one hour, and the response to Culicoides antigen at eight hours was inhibited by 63 per cent. Chlorph...
Liu M, Lei B.The secreted Mac protein made by group A Streptococcus (GAS) inhibits opsonophagocytosis of GAS by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). This protein also has the endopeptidase activity against human immunoglobulin G (IgG), and the Cys94, His262 and Asp284 are critical for the enzymatic activity. The horse pathogen Streptococcus equi subspecies equi produces a homologue of Mac (SeMac). SeMac was characterized to determine whether SeMac has IgG endopeptidase activity and inhibits opsonophagocytosis of S. equi by horse PMNs. The gene was cloned and recombinant SeMac was overexpressed in Esc...
Guillot J, Sarfati J, Ribot X, Jensen HE, Latgé JP.To detect antibodies against Aspergillus fumigatus antigens in serum samples from horses and to evaluate the relevance of this method as an alternative approach to the diagnosis of mycosis of the auditory tube diverticulum (guttural pouch mycosis [GPM]). Methods: Twelve clinically normal horses (controls) and 12 horses with GPM diagnosed by endoscopic observation of characteristic mycotic plaques. Methods: Antibodies to A fumigatus antigens were detected in serum by use of an ELISA and immunoblot analysis with extracellular antigens. Results: Antibodies against A fumigatus antigens were found ...
Hammond SA, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.Equine immunological research is hindered by the lack of a simple yet reliable general protocol by which to assay CTL activity specific for viral or parasitic antigens. We present here the first comprehensive analysis of the parameters necessary to reliably culture equine T cells and to analyze the antigen specific cytolytic activity of T lymphocytes utilizing the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) infection of outbred ponies as a source for in vivo primed T lymphocytes. Effective long-term in vitro culture of equine T cells was determined to require minimally 200 U/ml of recombinant human ...
