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.
KAMINSKI M, GAJOS E.TWENTY-THREE fresh and 28 frozen (1–11 years old) samples of horse sera, 62 frozen donkey sera (3–11 years old), 24 frozen mule sera (2–10 years old), and 1 frozen 2-year-old serum sample of a hinny (offspring of a she-ass by a stallion) were studied by starch- and agar-gel electrophoresis (starch gel: horizontal migration, discontinued buffer system; tris-citrate pH 8.7 and borate 0.3 M, pH 8.2; 2 V/cm for 14 h; 10 samples analysed simultaneously; 0.1 ml. serum mixed with soluble starch Merck; agar gel: 0.8 per cent agar in veronal buffer 0.025 M, pH 8.2; 4.5 V/cm; 2½ h; 10 samples on ...
Marois P, Pavilanis V, Boudreault A, Di Franco E.The clinical diagnosis of equine influenza was first based on the spectacular contagiousness of the disease, the general clinical resemblances to human influenza and the almost complete absence of complications usually observed in infectious viral arteritis, viral rhinopneumonitis or in other respiratory infections of the horses. The specific viral etiology of the epizootic was ascertained through the isolation of a type A influenza virus and further substantiated by evaluation of the immunological response of the sick horses, as demonstrated by complement fixation and hemagglutination-inhibit...
WIDE M, WIDE L.THE use of a hæmagglutination inhibition reaction for the diagnosis of pregnancy in women was reported by Wide and Gemzell1 and Wide2. In this reaction human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) inhibited the agglutination of stable HCG-coated blood cells. The same immunological technique was applied for the assay of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMS) and was used as a pregnancy diagnosis test in mares. Sera from pregnant mares containing elevated levels of gonadotrophin inhibited an agglutination reaction of PMS-coated formalinized erythrocytes in the presence of PMS anti-serum, while sera fro...
INGRAM DG.A method is described for the quantitative measurement of the reactions between sensitized cells and horse complement and between alexinated cells and conglutinin. The method is laborious but its application has allowed the determination of the optimal times of the reactions at various temperatures. The results obtained in these experiments indicate that the alexinated configuration with which conglutinin and immuno-conglutinin react is not one of the recognized intermediates formed during the process of immune haemolysis.
Wu D, Murakami K, Liu N, Inoshima Y, Yokoyama T, Kokuho T, Inumaru S, Matsumura T, Kondo T, Nakano K, Sentsui H.The full-length equine interferon-gamma (eIFN-gamma) cDNA, including the secretion signal peptide coding region, was recloned into baculovirus transfer vector pAcYM1. This vector was co-transfected with Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus DNA or hybrid nuclear polyhedrosis virus DNA into Spodoptera frugiperda cells. The recombinant viruses, named AcEIFN-gamma and HyEIFN-gamma, were then recovered. Recombinant eIFN-gamma (reIFN-gamma) was accumulated in the culture fluid of the AcEIFN-gamma or HyEIFN-gamma infected Tricoplusia ni -derived cell line, BTI TN 5B1-4, and hemolymph of ...
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...
Word TA, Larsen RW.Treatment of horse heart Cytochrome-c (Cc) with N-chloro-4-toluosulfonamide (Chloramine-t, CT) results in the oxidation of methionine (Met) residues to the corresponding sulfoxide including the distal heme ligand, Met80. The resulting Fe-sulfoxide coordination is sufficiently labile in the ferrous form to be displaced by gaseous ligands, including CO. Photolysis of the CO-CT-Cc complex provides an opportunity to examine ligand binding dynamics that are associated with a relatively rigid distal heme pocket. In this work, photoacoustic calorimetry (PAC) was utilized to obtain the kinetics as wel...
Adeyefa CA, McCauley JW, Tomori O.The complete amino acid sequences of the hemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein of three equine-2 influenza viruses from tropical Africa are presented in comparison with that of a well characterized European equine-2 virus (Suffolk/89) and a consensus sequence from the database. The sequences of the tropical African viruses were deduced from the complete nucleotide sequences of their HA genes reported earlier. Mutational changes in the nucleotide sequences resulted in amino acid changes in the HA which led to the introduction of a new asparagine-linked (N-linked) glycosylation site in two viruses. Th...
Bowling AT, Ewalt-Evans R.Family data are presented for a new allele (Aabdg) in the A system of horse erythrocyte alloantigens which includes factors Aa and Ab traditionally thought to be products of allelic genes. Evidence for incorrect assignment of the codominant factor Ae in the presence of Ab and Ac and the absence of Aa is discussed.
Li Z, He Y, Ge L, Quan R, Chen J, Hu Y, Sa R, Liu J, Ran D, Fu Q, Shi H.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) poses a global threat to equines. The anticancer agent berbamine (BBM), a bioactive alkaloid, has been shown to inhibit viral infection. However, whether BBM can inhibit EHV-1 infection remains unclear. This study investigated the effect of BBM treatment on EHV-1 infection. Quantitative PCR (qPCR), immunoblotting, the Reed-Muench method, and pathological examination were employed to study the ability of BBM to inhibit EHV-1 infection, viral DNA replication, viral protein production, virion secretion, and cytopathogenesis in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro stud...
Wang LF, Gould AR, Selleck PW.Full-length cDNA clones coding for the matrix (M) and fusion (F) proteins of equine morbillivirus (EMV) were isolated by RT-PCR, and expressed in Escherichia coli using two different expression systems. Western blot analysis indicated that the M and F proteins, expressed either by itself or as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST), were insoluble and degraded after expression. Analysis of the degradation pattern of recombinant M protein suggested that the N-terminus of the matrix protein might be more stable and antigenic than the C-terminal region. Therefore a third system was ...
Deeg CA, Hauck SM, Amann B, Kremmer E, Stangassinger M, Ueffing M.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a valuable model for autoimmune diseases, since it develops frequently and occurs spontaneously. We investigated the overall expression level of three major retinal autoantigens in normal retinas and various ERU stages. Analysis of retinal proteomes of both, healthy and diseased retinas revealed an almost unaffected expression of IRBP, S-antigen and cRALBP in ERU cases. Validation of these findings with western blots and immunohistochemistry confirmed constant to increased expression of these autoantigens, although loss of their physiological expression sites ...
Cross AR, Higson FK, Jones OT, Harper AM, Segal AW.1. The absorption coefficient of human neutrophil plasma-membrane reduced-minus-oxidized cytochrome b-245 was determined [delta epsilon (mM; 559-540 nm) = 21.6 cm-1]. 2. Neutrophil polymorphonuclear leucocytes (neutrophils) were prepared from human, ox, horse and pig blood. In each case plasma-membrane fractions were found to contain low-potential cytochrome b. When membranes from horse neutrophils were incubated anaerobically with either NADH or NADPH the cytochrome b became reduced. Prior stimulation of the cells with phorbol myristate acetate did not increase the rate or extent of cytochrom...
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...
Hiemstra PS, Maassen RJ, Stolk J, Heinzel-Wieland R, Steffens GJ, Dijkman JH.Antileukoprotease (ALP), or secretory leukocyte proteinase inhibitor, is an endogenous inhibitor of serine proteinases that is present in various external secretions. ALP, one of the major inhibitors of serine proteinases present in the human lung, is a potent reversible inhibitor of elastase and, to a lesser extent, of cathepsin G. In equine neutrophils, an antimicrobial polypeptide that has some of the characteristics of ALP has been identified (M. A. Couto, S. S. L. Harwig, J. S. Cullor, J. P. Hughes, and R. I. Lehrer, Infect. Immun. 60:5042-5047, 1992). This report, together with the catio...
Kummer LL, Govaere J, Egri B.Twenty-eight warmblood mares were monitored during their late pregnancy in the Teaching Hospital of Ghent University. The reliability of two commercial assays (enzyme immunoassay and glutaraldehyde coagulation test) used for determining the IgG concentrations of their newborn foals was tested. Mammary secretions were examined at the time of foaling (T0), and then 4 (T1) and 8 (T2) hours after foaling by refractometry and electrophoresis. The foals' blood IgG levels were measured at T1 and T2 as a routine clinical diagnostic examination using two different commercial test kits (SNAP Foal Ig and...
Hamblin C, Salt JS, Mellor PS, Graham SD, Smith PR, Wohlsein P.Investigations have been carried out to elucidate the possible role of the donkey in the epidemiology of African horse sickness (AHS). These studies have shown that despite the absence of pyrexia or other observable clinical signs, donkeys become infected with virulent AHS virus serotype 4 (AHSV 4) and that they develop a viraemia which can persist for at least 12 days, albeit at a comparatively lower titre than that recorded for similarly infected ponies. AHSV 4 showed a similar tissue tropism in the pony and donkey but the virus appeared to replicate less efficiently in donkey tissues. The o...
Moriyama H, Kasashima Y, Kuwano A, Wada S.To identify morphologically the locations of equine corneal epithelial stem cells (CESCs) and to culture these cells. Methods: We studied the eyes of 12 adult thoroughbred horses. Methods: Eye tissues were immunostained for two positive stem cell markers (p63, CK14) and one negative marker (CK3) to identify the locations of CESCs, so we could compare their immunostaining patterns with those of human stem cells previously reported. We compared the proliferation rates and morphological features of epithelial cells isolated from the corneal limbus and central cornea. Results: Undifferentiated cel...
Uhl PB, Amann B, Hauck SM, Deeg CA.Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) builds the outer blood-retinal barrier of the eye. Since one typical feature of the autoimmune disease, equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), is the breakdown of this barrier, we recently performed comparative analysis of healthy and uveitic RPE. We identified for the first time peripherin 2, which is responsible for visual perception and retina development, to be localized in RPE. The purpose of this study was therefore to validate our findings by characterizing the expression patterns of peripherin 2 in RPE and retina. We also investigated whether peripherin 2 expr...
Yan W, Saleem MH, McDonough P, McDonough SP, Divers TJ, Chang YF.Leptospira immunoglobulin (Ig)-like (Lig) proteins are a novel family of surface-associated proteins in which the N-terminal 630 amino acids are conserved. In this study, we truncated the LigA conserved region into 7 fragments comprising the 1st to 3rd (LigACon1-3), 4th to 7.5th (LigACon4-7.5), 4th (LigACon4), 4.5th to 5.5th (LigACon4.5-5.5), 5.5th to 6.5th (LigACon5.5-6.5), 4th to 5th (LigACon4-5), and 6th to 7.5th (LigACon6-7.5) repeat domains. All 7 recombinant Lig proteins were screened using a slot-shaped dot blot assay for the diagnosis of equine leptospirosis. Our results showed that Li...
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 ...
Neubauer H, Sprague LD, Zacharia R, Tomaso H, Al Dahouk S, Wernery R, Wernery U, Scholz HC.Burkholderia mallei causes glanders or farcy in solipeds, a disease that must be reported to the OIE (Office International des Epizooties, Paris, France). The number of reported outbreaks has increased steadily during the last decade. Serodiagnosis is hampered by the considerable number of false-positives and -negatives of the internationally prescribed tests. The major problem leading to low sensitivity and specificity of complement fixation test (CFT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been linked to the test antigens currently used, i.e. crude preparations of whole cells. Fut...
McKenzie HC, Funk RA, Trager L, Werre SR, Crisman M.Potomac horse fever (PHF) is a potentially fatal enterocolitis of horses caused by Neorickettsia risticii. The disease was originally recognised almost 40 years ago in the state of Maryland in the US. It is now known to occur in many areas of North America, as well as having been described in South America and Europe. Monocomponent PHF vaccines are available, but clinical protection with vaccination has been reported to be inconsistent. Objective: This study was designed to assess the immunogenicity of a commercially available Potomac Horse Fever (PHF) vaccine when administered as either a mo...
Dutkiewicz J, Mackiewicz B, Kinga Lemieszek M, Golec M, Milanowski J.Pantoea agglomerans, a bacterium associated with plants, is not an obligate infectious agent in humans. However, it could be a cause of opportunistic human infections, mostly by wound infection with plant material, or as a hospital-acquired infection, mostly in immunocompromised individuals. Wound infection with P. agglomerans usually follow piercing or laceration of skin with a plant thorn, wooden splinter or other plant material and subsequent inoculation of the plant-residing bacteria, mostly during performing of agricultural occupations and gardening, or children playing. Septic arthritis ...
Newton JR, Geraghty RJ, Castillo-Olivares J, Cardwell JM, Mumford JA.Several laboratories worldwide have recently experienced problems related to serum cytotoxicity with the equine arteritis virus (EAV) neutralisation test (VN) when using Office International des Epizooties (OIE) reference laboratory prescribed rabbit kidney (RK-13) indicator cells. Cytotoxicity can be mistaken for viral cytopathic effect and has led to increasing difficulties in test interpretation, consequently causing disruption to both equine breeding and disease surveillance. Results from experimental and field-derived data suggest that this serum cytotoxicity is associated with use of a t...
Pérez-Castrillo S, González-Fernández ML, Gutiérrez-Velasco L, Villar-Suárez V.To characterize the ultrastructure of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that were harvested from the adipose tissue (AT-MSCs) and bone marrow (BM-MSCs) of horses and transfected with green fluorescent protein. Methods: MSCs from adipose tissue and bone marrow of 6 adult female Hispano-Bretón horses. Methods: Harvested equine MSCs were cultivated and transfected with green fluorescent protein, and the immunophenotypes of the MSCs were characterized by use of anti-CD90 and anti-CD105 monoclonal antibodies. When stable transfection of MSCs was achieved, the morphological and ultrastructural characte...
Chen H, Wang L, Zeller M, Hornshaw M, Wu Y, Zhou M, Li J, Hang X, Cai J, Chen T, Shaw C.From defensive skin secretions acquired from two species of African hyperoliid frogs, Kassina maculata and Kassina senegalensis, we have isolated two structurally related, C-terminally amidated tridecapeptides of novel primary structure that exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activity. In reflection of their structural novelty and species of origin, we named the peptides kassorin M (FLEGLLNTVTGLLamide; 1387.8 Da) and kassorin S (FLGGILNTITGLLamide; 1329.8 Da), respectively. The primary structure and organisation of the biosynthetic precursors of kassorins M and S were deduced from cloned s...
Rodgerson DH, Belknap JK, Moore JN, Fontaine GL.To determine messenger RNA expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and interleukin- (IL)-1beta from cultured equine smooth muscle cells (SMC). Methods: Segments of palmar digital artery harvested from 6 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: Explants were collected from the tunica media of arteries for primary culture of SMC. Equine mononuclear cells were used as control cells. Subcultured vascular SMC and control cells were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (20 microg/ml and 100 ng/ml, respectively). Northern blot analysis with equine-specific probes for COX-2, ...
Rossi SL, Guerbois M, Gorchakov R, Plante KS, Forrester NL, Weaver SC.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an arbovirus that causes periodic outbreaks that impact equine and human populations in the Americas. One of the VEEV subtypes located in Mexico and Central America (IE) has recently been recognized as an important cause of equine disease and death, and human exposure also appears to be widespread. Here, we describe the use of an Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES) from encephalomyocarditis virus to stably attenuate VEEV, creating a vaccine candidate independent of unstable point mutations. Mice infected with this virus produced antibodies and wer...
Dürrwald R, Kolodziejek J, Oh DY, Herzog S, Liebermann H, Osterrieder N, Nowotny N.(1) Background: Vaccination of horses and sheep against Borna disease (BD) was common in endemic areas of Germany in the 20th century but was abandoned in the early 1990s. The recent occurrence of fatal cases of human encephalitis due to Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) has rekindled the interest in vaccination. (2) Methods: The full genomes of the BD live vaccine viruses "Dessau" and "Giessen" were sequenced and analyzed for the first time. All vaccination experiments followed a proof-of-concept approach. Dose-titration infection experiments were performed in rabbits, based on both cell culture...
Dyson DA, Smith GR.When incorporated in solid medium at a concentration of 15 per cent, the defibrinated blood of certain horses strongly suppressed the growth of some, but not all, strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp mycoides so that many colonies failed to develop to a visible size. Blood from a single rabbit was tested and found to exert a similar effect. There was striking variation in the degree of inhibition produced by different samples of horse blood and, of five strains of the organism examined, the T1 vaccine strain was the most susceptible. The results suggested that the effect was not due to antibod...
The Journal of hygieneDecember 1, 1982
Volume 89, Issue 3 529-538 doi: 10.1017/s0022172400071102
Corbel MJ, Brewer RA.Immunoelectrophoresis of ultrasonically disrupted Haemophilus equigenitalis (contagious equine metritis organism) cells against rabbit and equine antisera disclosed at least 11 precipitating antigens. Two of these, a polysaccharide and a lipopolysaccharide-protein complex, were of high molecular weight and located on the cell surface. The remaining antigens were intracellular and were small- to medium-sized proteins. The surface antigens were the most significant in relation to the serological response in infected horses. They also reacted with sera from apparently healthy cattle, but the reas...
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 ...
Tatarov G, Martinov S, Panova M.It was established that the complement binding reaction (CBR) is a suitable and very fast method for horse rhino-pneumonitis diagnostics. Cell cultural virus produced in cell cultures of pig kidneys was used as antigen. The antigen lots tested have no anticomplementary properties. Highest complement binding activity was evident in the non-diluted antigen, which discovered specific antibodies in immune serums. The CBR specificity was tested by the aid of homologous and heterologous serums and antigens. The titers of complement binding antibodies in the serums of 255 horses recovered from the di...
