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.
Schnabel CL, Fletemeyer B, Lübke S, Marti E, Wagner B, Alber G.Despite the relevance of adaptive immunity against equine pathogens antigen-specific T cell responses of horses are not well characterized and the lack of insight into T cell responses hampers the understanding of the pathogeneses of important diseases. In this study we used tetanus toxoid (TT) as a well-defined antigen to characterize antigen-reactive T cells. Six healthy adult horses received a routine booster against tetanus with an immune stimulating complex (ISCOM)-based vaccine and were followed for 28 days. TT-specific serum antibodies were quantified by ELISA and increased in all horse...
Villa L, Gazzonis AL, Allievi C, De Maria C, Persichetti MF, Caracappa G, Zanzani SA, Manfredi MT.Tick-borne diseases in horses are considered an emergent problem worldwide; the geographical redistribution of ticks, due to climatic and ecological changes, and the movements of infected horses between different nations play important roles in the spread of tick-borne diseases affecting these hosts. In this study, a survey was planned to estimate the seroprevalence of the Gram-negative bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum and the piroplasmid protozoa Babesia caballi and Theileria equi in Italian horses, as well as to evaluate possible risk factors associated with seropositive cases. Serum samp...
Cequier A, Romero A, Vázquez FJ, Vitoria A, Bernad E, Fuente S, Zaragoza P, Rodellar C, Barrachina L.Immunomodulation and immunogenicity are pivotal aspects for the therapeutic use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Since the horse is highly valuable as both a patient and translational model, further knowledge on equine MSC immune properties is required. This study analysed how inflammation, chondrogenic differentiation and compatibility for the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) influence the MSC immunomodulatory-immunogenicity balance. Equine MSCs in basal conditions, pro-inflammatory primed (MSC-primed) or chondrogenically differentiated (MSC-chondro) were co-cultured with either autolo...
Greenberg CB, Javsicas LH, Clauson RM, Suckow MA, Kalinauskas AE, Lucroy MD.Autologous cancer vaccines (ACV) are an emerging option for adjuvant cancer treatment in veterinary medicine. With this form of active immunotherapy, the patient's tumor cells are processed ex vivo and returned to the patient with the goal of stimulating an immune response to unique, patient-specific antigens. The case accession database at Torigen was queried to identify horses that underwent biopsy or surgical resection of their primary tumor and received at least one subcutaneous dose of an adjuvanted whole-cell autologous cancer vaccine. The records were then reviewed for any reported adve...
Hussey GS, Giessler KS.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) myeloencephalopathy (EHM) is a devastating consequence of EHV-1 infection that has significant economic consequences. However, clinical EHM is relatively rare and occurs in only approximately 10% of infected horses. While there is a positive correlation between the duration and magnitude of viremia and incidence of EHM, it is likely that a combination of host and viral factors determine whether EHM occurs. The identification of these factors is of high interest for the equine community and has been the topic of much research for vaccine development and to predict w...
Knott LE, Fonseca-Martinez BA, O'Connor AM, Goodrich LR, McIlwraith CW, Colbath AC.To evaluate the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), autologous conditioned serum (ACS), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and autologous protein solution (APS) for the treatment of equine musculoskeletal disease by diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Surgery (ACVS), and American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR). Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Diplomates (n = 423). Methods: An email link was sent to ACVS and ACVMR diplomates. A survey contained 59 questions regarding demographics, as well as indications, frequency, adverse effects, and limit...
Matczuk AK, Zhang M, Veit M, Ugorski M.Equine arteritis virus (EAV), an enveloped positive-strand RNA virus, is an important pathogen of horses and the prototype member of the Arteiviridae family. Unlike many other enveloped viruses, which possess homotrimeric spikes, the spike responsible for cellular tropism in Arteriviruses is a heterotrimer composed of 3 glycoproteins: GP2, GP3, and GP4. Together with the hydrophobic protein E they are the minor components of virus particles. We describe the expression of all 3 minor glycoproteins, each equipped with a different tag, from a multi-cassette system in mammalian BHK-21 cells. Copre...
Airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) are pivotal characteristics of equine asthma. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may have a central role in modulating airway inflammation and dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to match the inflammatory and contractile profile in LPS-challenged equine isolated bronchi to identify molecular targets potentially suitable to counteract AHR in asthmatic horses. Equine isolated bronchi were incubated overnight with LPS (0.1-100 ng/ml). The contractile response to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and the levels of cytokines, chemokines...
Cohen ND, Kahn SK, Bordin AI, Gonzales GM, da Silveira BP, Bray JM, Legere RM, Ramirez-Cortez SC.Intragastric administration of virulent Rhodococcus equi protects foals against subsequent experimental intrabronchial (IB) infection, but it is unknown whether R. equi naturally ingested by foals contributes to their susceptibility to pneumonia. Objective: Fecal concentration of virulent R. equi before IB infection with R. equi is positively associated with protection from pneumonia in foals. Methods: Twenty-one university-owned foals. Methods: Samples were collected from experimental studies. Five foals were gavaged with live, virulent R. equi (LVRE) at age 2 and 4 days; the remaining 16 f...
Sreenivasan CC, Uprety T, Reedy SE, Temeeyasen G, Hause BM, Wang D, Li F, Chambers TM.Antibodies to influenza D virus (IDV) have been detected in horses, but no evidence of disease in the field has been reported. To determine whether IDV is infectious, immunogenic, and pathogenic in horses, four 2-year-old horses seronegative for both influenza A (H3N8) and D viruses were intranasally inoculated with 6.25 × 107 TCID50/animal of D/bovine/California/0363/2019 (D/CA2019) virus, using a portable equine nebulizer system. Horses were observed daily for clinical signs including rectal temperature, nasal discharge, coughing, lung sounds, tachycardia, and tachypnea. No horses exhibited...
Onzere CK, Fry LM, Bishop RP, Da Silva M, Madsen-Bouterse SA, Bastos RG, Knowles DP, Suarez CE.Theileria equi is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that causes severe hemolytic anaemia in most equid species. Similar to other apicomplexan parasites, T. equi contains rhoptries whose contents have been implicated in host cell invasion and formation of the parasitophorous vacuole that is crucial for survival of the species within cells. Despite their importance, the composition of T. equi rhoptries and their role(s) in host cell invasion remain unexplored. To gain insight into these issues, we evaluated the expression, immunogenicity, and functional roles of two T. equi rhoptry-as...
Simões J, Batista M, Tilley P.Severe equine asthma is a chronic respiratory disease of adult horses, occurring when genetically susceptible individuals are exposed to environmental aeroallergens. This results in airway inflammation, mucus accumulation and bronchial constriction. Although several studies aimed at evaluating the genetic and immune pathways associated with the disease, the results reported are inconsistent. Furthermore, the complexity and heterogeneity of this disease bears great similarity to what is described for human asthma. Currently available studies identified two chromosome regions (ECA13 and ECA15) a...
Lee GKC, Kang H, Beeler-Marfisi J, Sears W, Lillie BN, Bienzle D.Salivary scavenger and agglutinin (SALSA) is a secreted protein with various immunomodulatory roles. In humans, the protein agglutinates and inactivates microorganisms, and inhibits the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Saliva, which is rich in SALSA, accelerates bacterial phagocytosis, but SALSA's contribution is unclear. In horses, the functions of SALSA in inflammation remain undetermined, so they were investigated through phagocytosis and cytokine assays. Equine SALSA was purified from duodenal tissue, which contains abundant SALSA. To assess phagocytosis, fluorescently-labelled bacte...
Salinas-Estrella E, Ueti MW, Lobanov VA, Castillo-Payró E, Lizcano-Mata A, Badilla C, Martínez-Ibáñez F, Mosqueda J.Equine piroplasmosis is a disease of horses, mules and donkeys, caused by the hemoprotozoans Babesia caballi and Theileria equi and transmitted by ticks of tropical and subtropical regions. Because the clinical signs are not specific, the diagnosis of equine piroplasmosis is difficult. In Mexico, where the environmental factors are conducive to the persistence of these pathogens, there is a lack of molecular studies to evaluate the occurrence of both parasites in horses. In the present study, matching serum and whole blood samples were obtained from 269 horses residing in 24 locations with tro...
Russi RC, Garcia L, Cámara MS, Soutullo AR.Equine infectious anaemia (EIA) is controlled by the identification of seropositive animals. The official diagnostic method is the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test, which detects antibodies against a viral core protein (p26). Although AGID is inexpensive and specific, the report of results takes considerable time and the test has low analytical sensitivity. Objective: To validate our in-house indirect ELISA , following the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) criteria. Methods: Test validation. Methods: Synthetic peptides gp90 and gp45 were used as antigens in ELISA . Tests used for v...
Depuydt E, Broeckx SY, Chiers K, Patruno M, Da Dalt L, Duchateau L, Saunders J, Pille F, Martens A, Van Hecke L, Spaas JH.The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the treatment of equine tendon disease is widely investigated because of their regenerative and immunomodulatory potential. However, questions have been raised concerning the immunogenic properties of allogeneic MSCs. Therefore, two studies were conducted to assess the safety of equine allogeneic peripheral blood-derived tenogenic primed MSCs (tpMSCs). The objective was to evaluate if a single and repeated tpMSC administration induced a cellular and humoral immune response in horses suffering from tendon injuries. Horses enrolled in the first study ...
Yang G, Chen K, Guo W, Hu Z, Qi T, Liu D, Wang Y, Du C, Wang X.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a serious problem in the horse industry, and controlling EP is critical for international horse trading. EP is caused by two apicomplexan protozoan parasites, Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. Rapid and accurate methods that are suitable for detecting these parasites in the field are crucial to control the infection and spread of EP. In this study, we developed a card to detect antibodies against T. equi and B. caballi based on two colloidal gold immunochromatographic strips according to the principle of the double-antigen sandwich. The proteins equi merozoite an...
Rivolta AA, Pittman DC, Kappes AJ, Stancil RK, Kogan C, Sanz MG.The efficacy of Rhodococcus equi-specific hyperimmune plasma (HIP) is usually evaluated in vitro. Anticoagulants (AC) used for plasma collection can negatively impact bacterial replication but their effect on R. equi growth has not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to establish the effect that AC routinely used in veterinary medicine (ACD, KEDTA, Li Heparin, and Na Citrate) have on in vitro R. equi growth. To assess this, in vitro assays commonly used to test HIP efficacy (direct effect on microorganism and macrophage infection), were performed using each AC and non-treated bacteria. R...
Focková V, Styková E, Simonová MP, Maďar M, Kačírová J, Lauková A.Bacteriocin-producing bacteria with probiotic character are known as nutritional supplements mainly for livestock. Among those beneficial bacteria we also found enterococci. Because the species strains Enterococcus mundtii also can produce bacteriocins, this study was focused on fecal strains E. mundtii from horses and their bioactivity with a view to their possible future use in breeding. Rectal removal from 47 horses (40 mares and 7 stallions), the Norik breed from Muráň were sampled in eastern Slovakia during November 2019 year. Horses age ranged from five months up to 23 years. Using MAL...
Thomson K, Eskola K, Eklund M, Suominen K, Määttä M, Junnila J, Nykäsenoja S, Niinistö K, Grönthal T, Rantala M.Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) are important causative agents for infections in humans and animals. At the Equine Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University of Helsinki, the first infections caused by ESBL-E were observed at the end of 2011 leading to enhanced infection surveillance. Contact patients were screened for ESBL-E by culturing infection sites and rectal screening. This study was focused on describing the epidemiology and microbiological characteristics of ESBL-E from equine patients of the EVTH during 2011-2014, and analysing putative risk fac...
Steuer AE, Anderson HP, Shepherd T, Clark M, Scare JA, Gravatte HS, Nielsen MK.Horses are host to a plethora of parasites. Knowledge of the seasonality of parasite egg shedding and transmission is important for constructing parasite control programs. However, studies describing these patterns are sparse, and have largely been conducted only in the United Kingdom. This study evaluated strongylid egg shedding patterns and transmission dynamics of Strongylus vulgaris in naturally infected and untreated mares and foals through one calendar year in Kentucky, USA. The study also investigated the existence of a peri-parturient rise (PPR) in strongylid egg counts in foaling mare...
Moore T, Williams JM, Becerra-Rodriguez MA, Dunne M, Kammerer R, Dveksler G.Pregnancy-specific glycoproteins (PSGs) are members of the immunoglobulin superfamily and are closely related to the predominantly membrane-bound CEACAM proteins. PSGs are produced by placental trophoblasts and secreted into the maternal bloodstream at high levels where they may regulate maternal immune and vascular functions through receptor binding and modulation of cytokine and chemokine expression and activity. PSGs may have autocrine and paracrine functions in the placental bed, and PSGs can activate soluble and extracellular matrix bound TGF-β, with potentially diverse effects on multip...
Middlebrooks BT, Cowles B, Pusterla N.The objective of this study was to investigate the use of serum amyloid A (SAA) as an early indicator of subclinical inflammation in recently imported horses. Archived serum samples from 143 adult horses imported from Europe over 12 months were available for SAA testing. Based on clinical and hematological assessment performed shortly after arrival to a quarantine facility, the horses were characterized as healthy horses, horses with subclinical inflammation, and sick horses with and without hematological abnormalities. The majority of the horses (n = 109) were deemed healthy, 30 horses had ...
Verney M, Gautron M, Lemans C, Rincé A, Hans A, Hébert L.Trypanozoon infections in equids are caused by three parasite species in the Trypanozoon subgenus: Trypanosoma equiperdum, T. brucei and T. evansi. They are respectively responsible for infectious diseases dourine, nagana and surra. Due to the threat that Trypanozoon infection represents for international horse trading, accurate diagnostic tests are crucial. Current tests suffer from poor sensitivity and specificity, due in the first case to the transient presence of parasites in the blood and in the second, to antigenic cross-reactivity among Trypanozoon subspecies. This study was designed to...
Radcliffe RM, Bookbinder LC, Liu SY, Tomlinson JE, Cook VL, Hurcombe SDA, Divers TJ.Blood transfusion is a lifesaving treatment for horses with acute hemorrhage and other causes of anemia. Transfusions improve oxygen delivery to the tissues via increased blood volume and hemoglobin concentration. Certain aspects of equine blood transfusion are challenging, especially in the field situation, and practitioners may be unfamiliar or feel overwhelmed with the process. An understanding of the indications, materials, methods, and techniques as well as donor selection and possible complications will help practitioners successfully implement blood transfusion in clinical practice. Met...
Sharma D, Gupta S, Sethi K, Kumar S, Kumar R.Trypanosoma evansi, a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite, causes wasting disease called surra in wide range of animals. Although the organism has been reported from various parts of India, data generated from organized epidemiological study is still in infancy in majority states of India. In the present study, livestock of Himachal Pradesh, India, was targeted for epidemiological investigation of T. evansi infections. A total of 440 equines and 444 cattle serum samples were collected from four agro-climatic zones. Furthermore, serum samples of 280 buffaloes from three different agro-climatic zo...
Ohta M, Bannai H, Kambayashi Y, Tsujimura K, Tamura N, Iwamoto Y, Wakuno A, Yamayoshi S, Kawaoka Y, Nemoto M.Updating vaccine strains is important to control equine influenza (EI). Previously, we reported that a monovalent inactivated EI vaccine derived from a virus generated by reverse genetics (RG) elicited immunogenicity in horses. In the present study, we compared antibody responses to a bivalent inactivated EI vaccine generated by RG and a commercially available bivalent inactivated EI (CO) vaccine derived from wild-type equine influenza viruses in Thoroughbred horses. The CO vaccine contained A/equine/Ibaraki/1/2007 (Florida sub-lineage clade 1) and A/equine/Yokohama/aq13/2010 (Florida sub-line...
Wernery U, Chan E, Raghavan R, Teng JLL, Syriac G, Siu SY, Joseph M, Yeung ML, Jia L, Cai JP, Chiu TH, Lau SKP, Woo PCY.Glanders is a highly contagious and potentially serious disease caused by Burkholderia mallei, a Tier 1 select agent. In this study, we raised a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of B. mallei and developed a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for B. mallei infection. Using the titrated optimal conditions of B. mallei-LPS (2 ng) for microtiter plate coating, sample serum dilution at 1:20 and 3.5 ng/μL anti-LPS mAb B5, the cutoff value of the cELISA was determined using serum samples from 136 glanders-free seronegative horses in Hong Kong. All ca...
Amat JAR, Patton V, Chauché C, Goldfarb D, Crispell J, Gu Q, Coburn AM, Gonzalez G, Mair D, Tong L, Martinez-Sobrido L, Marshall JF, Marchesi F....The mechanisms and consequences of genome evolution on viral fitness following host shifts are poorly understood. In addition, viral fitness -the ability of an organism to reproduce and survive- is multifactorial and thus difficult to quantify. Influenza A viruses (IAVs) circulate broadly among wild birds and have jumped into and become endemic in multiple mammalian hosts, including humans, pigs, dogs, seals, and horses. H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV) is an endemic virus of horses that originated in birds and has been circulating uninterruptedly in equine populations since the early 1960s. ...
Cullinane A, Weld J, Osborne M, Nelly M, Mcbride C, Walsh C.The purpose of these studies was to examine the response of Thoroughbred foals and yearlings to different influenza vaccines and vaccination regimes. The horses' antibody levels against haemagglutinin, an established correlate of protection were measured by haemagglutination inhibition. The first study investigated the extent to which maternal antibodies interfered with the humoral response to a subunit vaccine. The findings suggest that repeat vaccination in the face of maternal antibodies may induce tolerance as defined by serological testing. The second study compared the immune response el...
van Der Meulen KM, Nauwynck HJ, Bí¶®rt W, Pensaert MB.In the present study, the outcome of an inoculation of equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) was studied in vitro. Cytoplasmic and plasma membrane expression of viral antigens, intra- and extracellular virus titres, and plaque formation in co-culture were determined. EHV-1 replicated in monocytes, although in a highly restricted way. Viral antigens were found at maximum levels (8.7% of the monocytes) at 12 h post-infection. The infection was productive in 0.16% of the monocytes. The virus yield was 10(0.7) TCID(50) per productive cell. In a pop...
Hulting G, Flock M, Frykberg L, Lannergård J, Flock JI, Guss B.Streptococcus equi ssp. equi causes strangles, a highly contagious and serious disease in the upper respiratory tract of horses. Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus, another subspecies of this genus, is regarded as an opportunistic commensal in horses. The present study describes the characterization of two novel immunoglobulin G (IgG) endopeptidases of these subspecies, IdeE2 and IdeZ2. Both enzymes display sequence similarities with two previously characterized IgG endopeptidases, IdeE of S. equi ssp. equi and IdeZ of S. equi ssp. zooepidemicus. IdeE2 and IdeZ2 display high substrate-speci...
Atta EH, de Sousa AM, Schirmer MR, Bouzas LF, Nucci M, Abdelhay E.The standard regimen for HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplant (BMT) in severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is cyclophosphamide (Cy) and horse antithymocyte globulin (ATG). Horse ATG has been replaced by rabbit ATG in many countries due to the unavailability of the former product. This study was designed to assess if these ATG preparations are interchangeable in the preparative regimen for matched related BMT in SAA. Forty consecutive BMTs were retrospectively analyzed: 20 received Cy plus horse ATG and 20 received Cy plus rabbit ATG as the preparative regimen. Conditioning with rabbit ATG was...
Meredith DM, Stocks JM, Whittaker GR, Halliburton IW, Snowden BW, Killington RA.Equine herpesvirus types 1 and 4 (EHV-1 and EHV-4) labelled with [14C]glucosamine were purified from infected cell culture medium and profiles of their structural proteins were obtained that enabled identification of the major glycoproteins. Nine glycosylated polypeptides were identified for each virus. Preparations of the purified viruses each contained a glycoprotein which was linked by disulphide bonds, as determined by diagonal gel electrophoresis under reducing/non-reducing conditions. High Mr forms of this glycoprotein were detected for EHV-1 when the sample was not heated. The EHV-1 pro...
Salama AA, Aboulaila M, Moussa AA, Nayel MA, El-Sify A, Terkawi MA, Hassan HY, Yokoyama N, Igarashi I.Fusidic acid known to has antibacterial, antifungal, and antimalarial activities. Fusidic acid blocks translation elongation factor G gene in Plasmodium falciparum. In the present study, the inhibitory effects of fusidic acid on the in vitro growth of bovine and equine Babesia parasites were evaluated. The inhibitory effect of fusidic acid on the in vivo growth of Babesia microti was also assessed. The in vitro growth of four Babesia species that were tested was significantly inhibited (P<0.05) by micromolar concentrations of fusidic acid (IC(50) values=144.8, 17.3, 33.3, and 56.25 μM for ...
Messick JB, Rikihisa Y.The binding, internalization, and proliferation of Ehrlichia risticii in P388D1 cells and equine polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes were studied by immunofluorescent staining and flow cytometric analysis. The binding of ehrlichiae to P388D1 cells at 4 degrees C was dose dependent, and the antigens of bound organisms were susceptible to pronase treatment. Additionally, the binding of ehrlichiae to P388D1 cells was diminished when either P388D1 cells or ehrlichiae were treated with 1% paraformaldehyde for 30 min or 0.25% trypsin for 15 min. These results indicate that the ehrlichial ligand and h...
Rutkowska DA, Mokoena NB, Tsekoa TL, Dibakwane VS, O'Kennedy MM.African horse sickness (AHS) is a severe arthropod-borne viral disease of equids, with a mortality rate of up to 95% in susceptible naïve horses. Due to safety concerns with the current live, attenuated AHS vaccine, alternate safe and effective vaccination strategies such as virus-like particles (VLPs) are being investigated. Transient plant-based expression systems are a rapid and highly scalable means of producing such African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VLPs for vaccine purposes. Results: In this study, we demonstrated that transient co-expression of the four AHSV capsid proteins in agroin...
Taube R, Fujinaga K, Irwin D, Wimmer J, Geyer M, Peterlin BM.Transcriptional transactivators (Tat) from human immunodeficiency and equine infectious anemia viruses (HIV and EIAV) interact with their transactivation response elements (TAR) to increase the rates of viral transcription. Whereas the human cyclin T1 is required for the binding of Tat to TAR from HIV, it is unknown how Tat from EIAV interacts with its TAR. Furthermore, Tat from EIAV functions in equine and canine cells but not in human cells. In this study, we present sequences of cyclins T1 from horse and dog and demonstrate that their N-terminal 300 residues rescue the transactivation of Ta...
Defang GN, Khetawat D, Broder CC, Quinnan GV.The emergence of Hendra Virus (HeV) and Nipah Virus (NiV) which can cause fatal infections in both animals and humans has triggered a search for an effective vaccine. Here, we have explored the potential for generating an effective humoral immune response to these zoonotic pathogens using an alphavirus-based vaccine platform. Groups of mice were immunized with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicon particles (VRPs) encoding the attachment or fusion glycoproteins of either HeV or NiV. We demonstrate the induction of highly potent cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies to both viruses usi...
Parera M, Martrus G, Franco S, Clotet B, Martinez MA.Canine hepacivirus (CHV) was recently identified in domestic dogs and horses. The finding that CHV is genetically the virus most closely related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) has raised the question of whether HCV might have evolved as the result of close contact between dogs and/or horses and humans. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the NS3/4A serine protease of CHV specifically cleaves human mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) and Toll-IL-1 receptor domain-containing adaptor inducing interferon-beta (TRIF). The proteolytic activity of CHV NS3/4A was evaluated using ...
Sevigny LM, Booth BJ, Rowley KJ, Leav BA, Cheslock PS, Garrity KA, Sloan SE, Thomas W, Babcock GJ, Wang Y.Diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) has been the cornerstone of the treatment of Corynebacterium diphtheriae infection for more than 100 years. Although the global incidence of diphtheria has declined steadily over the last quarter of the 20th century, the disease remains endemic in many parts of the world, and significant outbreaks still occur. DAT is an equine polyclonal antibody that is not commercially available in the United States and is in short supply globally. A safer, more readily available alternative to DAT would be desirable. In the current study, we obtained human monoclonal antibodies (h...
Tumova B, Easterday BC.This study demonstrates relationships in envelope antigens of 4 human influenza A2 strains isolated during the period 1957-68 (including A2/Hong Kong/68), 2 strains of A/Equi-2/63 and 7 avian influenza viruses isolated in Europe, North America, and the Ukraine in the years 1960-67.Antigenic relationships among the strains were determined on the basis of haemagglutination-inhibition, virus-neutralization, strain-specific complement-fixation, and neuraminidase-inhibition tests.North American avian influenza strains, Turkey/California/64, Turkey/Massachusetts/65, Turkey/Wisconsin/66, Turkey/Ontar...
Troedsson MH, Desvousges A, Alghamdi AS, Dahms B, Dow CA, Hayna J, Valesco R, Collahan PT, Macpherson ML, Pozor M, Buhi WC.Seminal plasma has been suggested to be involved in sperm transport, and as a modulator of sperm-induced inflammation, which is thought to be an important part of sperm elimination from the female reproductive tract. This article reports on recent experiments on the importance of seminal plasma components in sperm transport and elimination. In Experiment 1, hysteroscopic insemination in the presence (n = 3) or absence (n = 3) of 2 ng/mL PGE showed an increased portion of spermatozoa crossing the utero-tubal junction in the presence of PGE in two mares, while no difference was observed between ...
Saldinger LK, Nelson SG, Bellone RR, Lassaline M, Mack M, Walker NJ, Borjesson DL.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is an immune-mediated disease causing repeated or persistent inflammatory episodes which can lead to blindness. Currently, there is no cure for horses with this disease. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are effective at reducing immune cell activation in vitro in many species, making them a potential therapeutic option for ERU. The objectives of this study were to define the lymphocyte phenotype of horses with ERU and to determine how MSCs alter T-cell phenotype in vitro. Whole blood was taken from 7 horses with ERU and 10 healthy horses and peripheral blood mononuc...
Porter MB, Long MT, Getman LM, Giguère S, MacKay RJ, Lester GD, Alleman AR, Wamsley HL, Franklin RP, Jacks S, Buergelt CD, Detrisac CJ.To determine signalment, clinical findings, results of diagnostic testing, outcome, and postmortem findings in horses with West Nile virus (WNV) encephalomyelitis. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 46 horses with WNV encephalomyelitis. Methods: Clinical data were extracted from medical records of affected horses. Results: On the basis of clinical signs and results of serologic testing, WNV encephalomyelitis was diagnosed in 46 of 56 horses with CNS signs. Significantly more males than females were affected. Increased rectal temperature, weakness or ataxia, and muscle fasciculations were t...
Barrachina L, Remacha AR, Romero A, Vázquez FJ, Albareda J, Prades M, Ranera B, Zaragoza P, Martín-Burriel I, Rodellar C.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are gaining relevance for treating equine joint injuries because of their ability to limit inflammation and stimulate regeneration. Because inflammation activates MSC immunoregulatory function, proinflammatory priming could improve MSC efficacy. However, inflammatory molecules present in synovial fluid or added to the culture medium might have deleterious effects on MSCs. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of inflammatory synovial fluid and proinflammatory cytokines priming on viability and plasticity of equine MSCs. Equine bone marrow ...
Mealey RH, Fraser DG, Oaks JL, Cantor GH, McGuire TC.Acute infection with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), a lentivirus of horses, results in a persistent high-level viremia in Arabian foals affected with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). This observation argues against the idea that the transient nature of acute lentiviral viremia is solely a function of viral population dynamics. To extend these studies, EIAV-specific immune reconstitution was attempted prior to EIAV challenge in two SCID foals, using adoptively transferred virus-stimulated lymphocytes derived from persistently EIAV-infected half sibling donors. Following transfer...
Jeremiasse B, Matta C, Fellows CR, Boocock DJ, Smith JR, Liddell S, Lafeber F, van Spil WE, Mobasheri A.Chondrocytes are exposed to an inflammatory micro-environment in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of articular cartilage in joint diseases such as osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In OA, degenerative changes and low-grade inflammation within the joint transform the behaviour and metabolism of chondrocytes, disturb the balance between ECM synthesis and degradation, and alter the osmolality and ionic composition of the micro-environment. We hypothesize that chondrocytes adjust their physiology to the inflammatory microenvironment by modulating the expression of cell surface prote...
Yoon MJ, Berger T, Roser JF.The insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a key regulator of reproductive functions. IGF-I actions are primarily mediated by IGF-IR. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the presence of IGF-I and IGF-I Receptor (IGF-IR) in stallion testicular tissue. The hypotheses of this study were (i) IGF-I and IGF-IR are present in stallion testicular cells including Leydig, Sertoli, and developing germ cells, and (ii) the immunolabelling of IGF-I and IGF-IR varies with age. Testicular tissues from groups of 4 stallions in different developmental ages were used. Rabbit anti-human polyclona...
Beck C, Leparc-Goffart I, Desoutter D, Debergé E, Bichet H, Lowenski S, Dumarest M, Gonzalez G, Migné C, Vanhomwegen J, Zientara S, Durand B....New Caledonia and French Polynesia are areas in which arboviruses circulate extensively. A large serological survey among horses from New Caledonia and French Polynesia was carried out to investigate the seroprevalence of flaviviruses in the horse population. Here, 293 equine sera samples were screened for flaviviruses using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). The positive sera were then confirmed using a flavivirus-specific microsphere immunoassay (MIA) and seroneutralization tests. This serosurvey showed that 16.6% (27/163) and 30.8% (40/130) of horses were positive for...
Deeg CA, Amann B, Raith AJ, Kaspers B.To test the hypothesis that inter- and intramolecular spreading to S-antigen (S-Ag) and interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (IRBP)-derived epitopes occurs in a spontaneous model of recurrent uveitis in the horse. Methods: The immune response of eight horses with equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) was compared with that of five control horses with healthy eyes. Lymphocytes derived from peripheral blood (PBLs) were tested every 8 weeks for their reactivity against S-Ag and various S-Ag and IRBP-derived peptides for 12 to 39 months (median, 22 months). During uveitic episodes, additional bloo...
Lacombe VA.Glucose uptake is the rate-limiting step in glucose utilization in mammalians and is tightly regulated by a family of specialized proteins, called the facilitated glucose transporters (GLUTs/SLC2). GLUT4, the major isoform in insulin-responsive tissue, translocates from an intracellular pool to the cell surface and as such determines insulin-stimulated glucose uptake. However, despite intensive research over 50 years, the insulin-dependent and -independent pathways that mediate GLUT4 translocation are not fully elucidated in any species. Insulin resistance (IR) is one of the hallmarks of equin...
Glikin GC, Finocchiaro LM.Despite the important progress obtained in the treatment of some pets' malignancies, new treatments need to be developed. Being critical in cancer control and progression, the immune system's appropriate modulation may provide effective therapeutic options. In this review we summarize the outcomes of published immunogene therapy veterinary clinical trials reported by many research centers. A variety of tumors such as canine melanoma, soft tissue sarcomas, osteosarcoma and lymphoma, feline fibrosarcoma, and equine melanoma were subjected to different treatment approaches. Both viral and mainly ...
Kydd JH, Smith KC, Hannant D, Livesay GJ, Mumford JA.Twelve adult ponies and 2 conventional foals were exposed to 10(6.6) TCID50 of Equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), strain Ab4 and samples of respiratory tract tissues were recovered. Infectious virus in tissue homogenates was detected using susceptible cell monolayers and expression of viral antigens was monitored using indirect immunoperoxidase histochemistry of paraffin sections. The results illustrated the rapid dissemination of EHV-1 throughout the respiratory tract, with early replication in the lungs one day after exposure. Endothelial cell infection was prominent in all areas of the nasopharyn...
Zheng YH, Nakaya T, Sentsui H, Kameoka M, Kishi M, Hagiwara K, Takahashi H, Kono Y, Ikuta K.We have studied a horse which exhibited typical clinical signs of disease when experimentally infected with a non-adapted virulent strain of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), designated V70. Five viruses (F1V, F2V, F3V, F4V and F5V) were recovered during periodic febrile episodes. Cross-neutralization tests revealed that all of these variants and the parental V70 were antigenically distinct. Sequencing of their full-length env gp90 genes and gp45 5' sequences revealed novel mutations at a limited number of nucleotide positions, consisting of insertions and duplications in the gp90 princi...
Yolanda H, Krajaejun T.The fungus-like microorganism causes pythiosis, a life-threatening infectious disease increasingly reported worldwide. Antimicrobial drugs are ineffective. Radical surgery is an essential treatment. Pythiosis can resume post-surgically. Immunotherapy using antigens (PIA) has emerged as an alternative treatment. This review aims at providing up-to-date information of the immunotherapeutic PIA, with the focus on its history, preparation, clinical application, outcome, mechanism, and recent advances, in order to promote the proper use and future development of this treatment modality. crude ex...
Wilson WD.Influenza continues to be one of the most important diseases of horses despite the availability and widespread use of equine influenza vaccines for almost 30 years. In recent years, infection with the influenza A/equine/2 subtype has become endemic in the equine populations of North America, Europe, and Scandinavia. Continued antigenic drift of field virus has compromised the efficacy of vaccines, most of which contain antigens prepared from influenza viruses isolated more than 10 years ago. This article reviews the history, virology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, immunology, clinical presentati...
Edington N, Bridges CG, Huckle A.Eight ponies were experimentally infected with equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV 1) (subtype 1). All animals showed clinical and serological evidence of infection and virus was isolated from nasal swabs and leucocytes. These ponies were kept in isolation for a further three months during which time complement fixing antibody decreased at least four-fold. Following immunosuppression with dexamethasone and prednisolone subtype 1 virus was recovered from six of the eight animals within 14 days. Five of these six ponies were viraemic and three of them shed virus in nasal secretions; only four displayed sig...
