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.
Barton AK, Shety T, Klier J, Geis S, Einspanier R, Gehlen H.Inhalation of immunostimulatory bacterial DNA segments (cytosine-phosphate-guanosine-oligodeoxynucleotides, CpG-ODN) normalizes clinical and cytologic parameters in severe equine asthma. We hypothesized that CpG-ODN inhalation also reduces the misbalance of elastinolytic activity in asthmatic horses. Methods: Twenty asthmatic horses diagnosed by clinical examinations using a scoring system were included. All horses inhaled CpG-ODNs for 14 days in 2-day intervals. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2/-9) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP-1/-2) concentrations were measured in tracheal ...
Bannai H, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kokado H.Getah virus causes fever, skin eruptions, and limb edema in horses. For a high-throughput and time-saving method for serodiagnosis, we explored immunogenic antigens of Getah virus, and established an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a recombinant protein. Western blot analysis using sera from infected horses showed strong reaction with viral antigens around 46 kDa corresponding to E1 or E2 glycoproteins. Recombinant E2 (rE2) protein reacted more strongly with infected horse sera than did rE1 protein in both Western blotting and ELISA. In ELISA using rE2 protein (rE2-ELISA), fo...
Marteles D, Verde MT, Conde T, Pereboom D, Casanova Á, Villanueva-Saz S, Ortín A, Fernández A.The aim of this study was to assess the effect of allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) on the immunological responses of horses. Blood samples were taken from thirty-two horses with allergic dermatitis treated with ASIT and 10 healthy control horses at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months to investigate the evolution of the percentage of regulatory T cells (Treg) in the peripheral blood and the serum levels of cytokines and immunoglobulins. Clinical improvement was appreciated by the majority of the horses' owners (56.6%). No effect of ASIT on CD4CD25 Treg cells was found during the one year treatment...
Valença SRFA, Ribeiro-Andrade M, Moré G, Albuquerque PPF, Pinheiro Júnior JW, Mota RA.The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection by Sarcocystis neurona in horses and identify potential risk factors. Were analyzed 427 samples from 36 farms in 21 municipalities in the Alagoas State, Brazil. Presence of anti-S. neurona antibodies was diagnosed by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) and was confirmed using the immunoblot test. Risk factors were assessed through investigative questionnaires on animal management on the farms. The prevalence of anti-S.neurona antibodies was 2.8% (confidence interval, CI: 1.5-4.9%) from IFAT and 1.6% (CI:0.8-3.34%) ...
Fedorka CE, Ball BA, Walker OF, Conley AJ, Corbin CJ, Lu KG, Hanneman JM, Troedsson MHT, Adams AA.Progestins are immunomodulatory in a variety of species. In the horse, the most commonly administered synthetic progestin is altrenogest (ALT), but its effect on the immune system of the non-pregnant mare is unknown. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from diestrous mares were incubated with varying concentrations of progesterone (P4) or ALT to assess intracellular production of IFNγ and the expression of select cytokines. Additionally, ten mares received either ALT or VEH daily utilizing a switchback design beginning on the day of ovulation and continuing for 7 days. Circulating PBM...
Klier J, Bartl C, Geuder S, Geh KJ, Reese S, Goehring LS, Winter G, Gehlen H.Equine asthma represents a naturally occurring animal model for human allergic neutrophilic asthma. Inhalative nanoparticle-bound cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG-GNP) immunotherapy, independent of specific allergens, has already shown promising clinical and immunological results in previous studies and offers the possibility to treat the underlying cause of the disease. This study analyses the relationship between dose and response, and evaluates a possible long-term effect. In the prospective, randomised, double-blind clinical field study, 29 horses suffering from equine asthma received 10 ...
El-Sheikh Ali H, Legacki EL, Loux SC, Esteller-Vico A, Dini P, Scoggin KE, Conley AJ, Stanley SD, Ball BA.The current study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying myometrial activation during equine placentitis related to progestogens and the progesterone receptor signaling pathways. Placentitis was induced via intracervical inoculation with Streptococcus equi ssp zooepidemicus in mares at approximately 290 days of gestation (placentitis group; n = 6) with uninoculated gestationally matched mares as controls (n = 4). Mares in the placentitis and control groups were euthanized, and myometrial samples were collected from two regions: region 1-parallel to active placentitis lesion with plac...
Rogger P, Herrmann N, Ottiger H.The registration of adverse events after the use of immunological veterinary medicinal products (VMP) is the aim of the vaccinovigilance reporting system in Switzerland. Adverse events comprise suspected adverse reactions and lack of expected efficacy. Since the Institute of virology and immunology (IVI) is the competent authority for the regulation of immunological VMP in Switzerland, the reporting system is administrated by the IVI. In 2018, 162 reports concerning authorized immunological VMP were received. While most of the reports were submitted by the marketing authorization holders (79%)...
Holmes CM, Violette N, Miller D, Wagner B, Svansson V, Antczak DF.The Icelandic horse has been maintained as a closed population in its eponymous homeland for many generations, with no recorded introductions of new horses of any breed since the year 1000 CE. Here we determined the diversity of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes in 156 Icelandic horses from two groups, based on a panel of 12 polymorphic intra-MHC microsatellites tested in families of various composition. We identified a total of 79 MHC haplotypes in these two groups, including one documented intra-MHC recombination event from a total of 147 observed meioses. None of these MHC h...
Ledbetter EC, Irby NL.To describe the corneal in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) findings in horses with putative immune-mediated keratitis (IMMK). Methods: Sixty five horses with IMMK. Methods: Horses diagnosed with IMMK were examined with a modified Heidelberg Retina Tomograph II and Rostock Cornea Module. The findings from the IVCM examinations were correlated with clinical details from ophthalmic examination and diagnostic test results. Results: Eighty eyes from 65 horses were examined. Clinical IMMK lesions were categorized as epithelial (n = 17 eyes), superficial stromal (n = 38), midstromal (n = 18), a...
Rockstroh A, Moges B, Berneck BS, Sattler T, Revilla-Fernández S, Schmoll F, Pacenti M, Sinigaglia A, Barzon L, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Nowotny N....Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are important arthropod-borne zoonotic flaviviruses. Due to the emergence of WNV in TBEV-endemic regions co-circulation of both viruses is increasing. Flaviviruses are structurally highly similar, which leads to cross-reacting antibodies upon infection. Currently available serological assays for TBEV and WNV infections are therefore compromised by false-positive results, especially in IgG measurements. In order to discriminate both infections novel diagnostic methods are needed. We describe an ELISA to measure IgG antibodies specif...
Folmar CN, Cywes-Bentley C, Bordin AI, Rocha JN, Bray JM, Kahn SK, Schuckert AE, Pier GB, Cohen ND.The bacterium Rhodococcus equi can cause severe pneumonia in foals. The absence of a licensed vaccine and limited effectiveness of commercial R. equi hyperimmune plasma (RE-HIP) create a great need for improved prevention of this disease. Objective: Plasma hyperimmune to the capsular polysaccharide poly-N-acetyl glucosamine (PNAG) would be significantly more effective than RE-HIP at mediating complement deposition and opsonophagocytic killing (OPK) of R. equi. Methods: Venipuncture was performed on 9 Quarter Horses. Methods: The ability of the following plasma sources to mediate complement com...
Negi NJ, Swanberg JE, Clouser JM, Harmon-Darrow C.The American agricultural industry is heavily reliant on Latina/o workers, yet there is scant understanding regarding the mental health of this population. This gap in the literature is glaring as Latina/o farmworkers are a highly vulnerable group who experience high rates of occupational risks and health hazards. This study is the first, to our knowledge, to examine individual, social and work-related correlates of depression among Latina/o horse workers. Methods: A community survey ( = 225) administered by lay health workers was implemented with Latina/o horse workers who were employed in th...
Xia Y, Qin S, Shen Y.In this study, we isolated four Weissella confusa strains from the healthy horse feces to test their potential as equine probiotics. The identification and characteristics of these isolates were determined as per standard methods. Resistance and susceptibility of the isolated strains were tested to low pHs, different heat treatments, commonly used antibiotics and against the pathogenic strains of Salmonella, Pasteurella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. After 3 h cultural in different pH medium, the 4 strains still had a certain amount of survival above pH 3.0. WH2 and WH4 were s...
Hannan MA, Murase H, Sato F, Tsogtgerel M, Kawate N, Nambo Y.The peripheral blood concentrations of insulin-like peptide 3 (INSL3) have been detected in many mammalian species, but the level of INSL3 in horse remains unknown. The objectives were to develop a time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay (TRFIA) to detect INSL3 concentrations from horse blood as well as to determine the age-related and seasonal changes of plasma concentrations of INSL3 and testosterone from birth to early-puberty in Thoroughbred male horse (n = 11). Monthly blood sample and measurement of body weight, height, chest and cannon bone size were done from birth until 16 mo. Th...
Loux SC, Fernandes CB, Dini P, Wang K, Wu X, Baxter D, Scoggin KE, Troedsson MHT, Squires EL, Ball BA.Intrauterine infection and inflammation remain a major cause of preterm labour in women and mares, with little known about small RNA (sRNA) expression in tissue or circulation. To better characterise placental inflammation (placentitis), we examined sRNA expression in the endometrium, chorioallantois and serum of mares with and without placentitis. Disease was induced in 10 mares via intracervical inoculation of Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus, either with moderate or high levels of inoculum; three uninoculated gestationally matched mares were used as controls. Matched chorioallantois an...
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...
Dam Van P, Desmecht D, Garigliany MM, Bui Tran Anh D, Van Laere AS.Type I/III interferons provide powerful and universal innate intracellular defense mechanisms against viruses. Among the antiviral effectors induced, Mx proteins of some species appear as key components of defense against influenza A viruses. It is expected that such an antiviral protein must display a platform dedicated to the recognition of said viruses. In an attempt to identify such platform in human MxA, an evolution-guided approach capitalizing on the antagonistic arms race between MxA and its viral targets and the genomic signature it left on primate genomes revealed that the surface-ex...
To evaluate the immunological response following vaccination, 40 WNV serologically negative horses were selected and divided in two groups of 20 animals. One group was vaccinated (booster after 28 days) with a whole inactivated viral strain and the second group with a live recombinant canarypox virus expressing the genes coding for the WNV preM/E viral proteins. IgM, IgG and neutralizing antibodies were monitored by class specific ELISAs and serum neutralization assay for 360 days. In both groups, IgM antibodies were first detected 7 days post vaccination (dpv). However, in the group vaccinate...
Pazinato FM, Curcio BDR, Varela Junior AS, Corcini CD, Wendt CG, Moreira F, Schmit RA, Nogueira CEW.Placental tissues from humans, rodents, and farm animal contain leptin and its receptor. Expression of leptin has already been described in horses, although there is no description about immunolocalization of leptin and its receptor. The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence and distribution of leptin and ObR-b in the equine placenta at term by immunofluorescence staining, and the changes on plasma leptin concentrations during late gestation. The present study involved eight Criollo-type mares carrying healthy pregnancies. Blood samples were collected during the third trimes...
Hay AN, Potter A, Kasmark L, Zhu J, Leeth CM.Varying susceptibility exists among mammalian species to the development of potentially fatal endotoxemia due to gram-negative bacteria molecular component, lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is responsible for LPS-associated immune response and is expressed on numerous immune cells including B lymphocytes. TLR4 is expressed in a functional form on mouse B lymphocytes, a species much less susceptible to endotoxemia compared with humans who are highly sensitive to endotoxin. Humans possess B lymphocytes that are not responsive to LPS. Likewise, horses are highly susceptible t...
Perkins G, Babasyan S, Stout AE, Freer H, Rollins A, Wimer CL, Wagner B.Equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) outbreaks continue despite widely used vaccination. We demonstrated previously that an ORF1/ORF71 gene deletion mutant of the EHV-1 strain Ab4 (Ab4ΔORF1/71) is less virulent than its parent Ab4 virus. Here, we describe the Ab4 challenge infection evaluating protection induced by the Ab4ΔORF1/71 vaccine candidate. Susceptible control horses developed respiratory disease, fever, nasal shedding, and viremia. Full protection after challenge infection was observed in 5/5 previously Ab4 infected horses and 3/5 Ab4ΔORF1/71 horses. Two Ab4ΔORF1/71 horses developed short...
de Holanda AGB, da Silva Leite J, Consalter A, da Silva KVGC, Dos Santos Batista BP, Fonseca ABM, Brandão FZ, Ferreira AMR.Endometritis consists of an acute or chronic inflammatory process involving the endometrium and together with endometrosis constitute the main causes of infertility in mares. The aim of this study was to associate the histopathological findings with the immunohistochemical markers interleukins 6 (IL-6) and 10 (IL-10) to evaluate the inflammatory changes and progression of uterine tissue lesions of mares in the diestrus phase and their diagnostic implications. Twelve crossbred cyclic mares were used for endometrial biopsy collection. Samples were collected in the diestrus period (6 ± 1 da...
Longhini ALF, Salazar TE, Vieira C, Trinh T, Duan Y, Pay LM, Li Calzi S, Losh M, Johnston NA, Xie H, Kim M, Hunt RJ, Yoder MC, Santoro D, McCarrel TM....Previously, we showed that mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can be mobilized into peripheral blood using electroacupuncture (EA) at acupoints, LI-4, LI-11, GV-14, and GV-20. The purpose of this study was to determine whether EA-mobilized MSC could be harvested and expanded in vitro to be used as an autologous cell therapy in horses. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from young and aged lame horses (n = 29) showed a marked enrichment for MSCs. MSC were expanded in vitro (n = 25) and administered intravenously at a dose of 50 x 106 (n = 24). Treatment resulted in significant improve...
Cruz I, Vinhas AR, Dubey JP, Cardoso L, Cotovio M, Lopes AP.Neospora spp. are intracellular protozoa with worldwide distribution and closely related to Toxoplasma gondii, which can infect a variety of mammals including horses. From September 2013 to June 2014, 185 horses from northern, central and southern parts of mainland Portugal were randomly sampled and tested for detection of immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies to Neospora spp. using an indirect multi-species enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) commercial test (ID Screen® Neospora caninum Indirect Multi-species; ID.vet Innovative Diagnostics, Grabels, France). Two horses (1.1%; CI: 0.1-3.8%),...
Minato E, Aoshima K, Kobayashi A, Ohnishi N, Sasaki N, Kimura T.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) uses equine major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC class I) as an entry receptor. Exogenous expression of equine MHC class I genes in murine cell lines confers susceptibility to EHV-1 infection. To examine the in vivo role of equine MHC class I as an entry receptor for EHV-1, we generated transgenic (Tg) mice expressing equine MHC class I under the control of the CAG promoter. Equine MHC class I protein was expressed in the liver, spleen, lung, and brain of Tg mice, which was confirmed by Western blot. However, equine MHC class I antigen was only detected in...
Racine T, Denizot M, Pannetier D, Nguyen L, Pasquier A, Raoul H, Saluzzo JF, Kobinger G, Veas F, Herbreteau CH.There is no vaccine or approved therapy against lethal Ebola virus (EBOV). We investigated a proven technology platform to produce polyclonal IgG fragments, F(ab')2, against EBOV. Horses immunized with nanoparticles harboring surface glycoprotein trimers of EBOV-Zaire/Makona produced anti-Ebola IgG polyclonal antibodies with high neutralization activity. Highly purified equine anti-Ebola F(ab')2 showed strong cross-neutralization of 2 Zaire EBOV strains (Gabon 2001 and Makona) and in vivo 3 or 5 daily F(ab')2 intraperitoneal injections provided 100% protection to BALB/c mice against lethal EBO...
Lopez BS, Hurley DJ, Giancola S, Giguère S, Felippe MJB, Hart KA.Neonatal foals are uniquely susceptible to certain infections early in life. Dendritic cells (DC) are vital in the transition between the innate and adaptive immune response to infection, but DC biology in foals is not fully characterized. Monocyte-derived DC represent a suitable in vitro model similar to DC that differentiate from monocytes recruited from circulation. We hypothesized that foal monocyte-derived DC (MoDC) would exhibit age-dependent phenotypic and functional differences compared to adult horse MoDC. MoDC generated from 9 horses (collected once) and from 8 foals (collected at 1,...
Radwanski NE, Morris DO, Boston RC, Cerundolo R, Lee KW.The long-term effects of allergen specific immunotherapy (ASIT) on concentrations of circulating immunoglobulin E (IgE) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) in horses have not been reported. Objective: To document changes in clinical severity of horses with atopic dermatitis (AD) and to monitor allergen-specific IgE and IgG concentrations during a two-year course of ASIT. Methods: Nineteen client-owned horses with a conditional diagnosis of AD. Methods: Three ASIT groups were randomly assigned based upon results obtained by either intradermal testing (IDT) for regional allergens (n = 7); enzyme-linked...
Wise LN, Kappmeyer LS, Silva MG, White SN, Grause JF, Knowles DP.Certain countries including the United States remain non-endemic for particular infectious diseases such as equine piroplasmosis through import restrictions and surveillance. Endemic regions often employ premunition as the primary method to control disease, however in non-endemic countries, chemosterilization combined with methods to confirm parasite elimination are required to maintain disease-free status. The ability of imidocarb diproprionate (ID) to clear persistent Theileria equi infection from infected horses has been shown through the inability of treated horses to transmit via blood tr...
Tomlinson JE, Taberner E, Boston RC, Owens SD, Nolen-Walston RD.There is a markedly reduced half-life of transfused RBCs when donor and recipient cats or humans are cross-match incompatible. Only 10-20% of horses have naturally occurring alloantibodies. Therefore, cross-match testing before blood transfusion is not always performed. Objective: Cross-match incompatibility predicts shortened RBC survival time as compared to that of compatible or autologous blood. Methods: Twenty healthy adult horses. Methods: Prospective trial. Blood type, anti-RBC antibody screen (before and 1 month after transfusion) and major and minor cross-match determined 10 donor-reci...
Fine DL, Jenkins E, Martin SS, Glass P, Parker MD, Grimm B.A multisystem approach was used to assess the efficiency of several methods for inactivation of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) vaccine candidates. A combination of diverse assays (plaque, in vitro cytopathology and mouse neurovirulence) was used to verify virus inactivation, along with the use of a specific ELISA to measure retention of VEEV envelope glycoprotein epitopes in the development of several inactivated VEEV candidate vaccines derived from an attenuated strain of VEEV (V3526). Incubation of V3526 aliquots at temperatures in excess of 64 degrees C for periods >30 min i...
Nakajima H, Ushimi C.Antigenicity of purified equine infectious anemia (EIA) virus was examined by immunodiffusion against sera obtained from horses experimentally infected with EIA virus. The purified virus reacted with the infected horse serum, and virus-specific precipitating antibody was demonstrated. Furthermore, it was found that purified EIA virus reacted against the serum of horses infected with all strains of EIA virus which were antigenically different from one another. From the result, group-specific components of the virus rather than strain-specific ones were considered to be involved in the reaction....
Silver IA, Brown PN, Goodship AE, Lanyon LE, McCullagh KG, Perry GC, Williams IF.This project was carried out over a five year period (1977 to 1981 inclusive) at the University of Bristol following discussion between the British Veterinary Association and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons about the efficacy of, and ethical justification for, the practice of 'firing' (cautery). These discussions had been promoted by parliamentary questions but led to no firm conclusions because previously reported clinical investigations on specific treatments lacked adequate comparisons and controls and thus did not provide scientifically acceptable, statistically valid data. The pr...
Cybinski DH, St George TD, Paull NI.Neutralising antibody to Akabane virus was shown to develop in cattle in northern Australia throughout the year and also on the east coast of New South Wales in the summer during 1975/1976. Other species found to have antibody to Akabane virus were buffaloes, horses, camels and sheep, but no antibody was found in domestic chickens, ducks, wallabies or man. The biting midge Culicoides brevitarsis has been detected in all the major areas where antibody was demonstrated in this study.
Wilkie BN.Effective resistance to respiratory tract infection depends principally on specific immunity on mucosal surfaces of the upper or lower respiratory tract. Respiratory tract immune response comprises antibody and cell-mediated systems and may be induced most readily by surface presentation of replicating agents but can result from parenteral or local presentation of highly immunogenic antigens. Upper and lower respiratory tract systems differ in immunologic competence, with the lungs having a greater inventory of protective mechanisms than the trachea or nose. Several effective vaccines have bee...
McCollum WH, Little TV, Timoney PJ, Swerczek TW.Twelve geldings all became infected when inoculated intranasally with the KY-84 strain of equine arteritis virus (EAV), a strain previously shown to be capable of establishing the carrier state in the stallion. With the exception of one animal that showed no effects other than pyrexia, all of the geldings developed clinical signs characteristic of equine viral arteritis (EVA). The geldings were febrile for varying periods within the range of 2-10 days after inoculation. Viraemia occurred from day 2 onwards, for periods varying from 9 to at least 19 days. Nasal shedding of virus began 2-4 days ...
Schnabel CL, Wemette M, Babasyan S, Freer H, Baldwin C, Wagner B.Chemokines are soluble molecules directing immune cell trafficking and homing, mediating inflammation, and initiating immune responses to infection. In horses, the analysis of chemokines has been limited by the lack of specific antibodies. We generated mAbs specific for the equine C-C motif chemokine ligands (CCL) CCL2 (MCP-1), CCL3 (MIP-1α), CCL5 (RANTES) and CCL11 (eotaxin) using hybridoma technology. Antibody specificity was confirmed by intracellular staining of Chinese Hamster Ovary cells transfected with expression vectors encoding for CCL2, CCL3, CCL5, or CCL11. Transfectants were stai...
Scharrenberg A, Gerber V, Swinburne JE, Wilson AD, Klukowska-Rötzler J, Laumen E, Marti E.Equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a chronic lower airway disease of the horse caused by hypersensitivity reactions to inhaled stable dust, including mould spores such as Aspergillus fumigatus. The goals of this study were to investigate whether total serum IgE levels and allergen-specific IgE and IgG subclasses are influenced by genetic factors and/or RAO and whether quantitative trait loci (QTL) could be identified for these parameters. The offspring of two RAO-affected sires (S1: n=56 and S2: n=65) were grouped by stallion and disease status, and total serum IgE levels and specifi...
Gershwin LJ.Allergic responses occur in humans, rodents, non-human primates, avian species, and all of the domestic animals. These responses are mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies that bind to mast cells and cause release/synthesis of potent mediators. Clinical syndromes include naturally occurring asthma in humans and cats; atopic dermatitis in humans, dogs, horses, and several other species; food allergies; and anaphylactic shock. Experimental induction of asthma in mice, rats, monkeys, sheep, and cats has helped to reveal mechanisms of pathogenesis of asthma in humans. All of these species s...
Magnarelli LA, Flavell RA, Padula SJ, Anderson JF, Fikrig E.Serum samples from dogs and equids suspected of having canine or equine borreliosis, respectively, were analyzed in polyvalent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) with whole-cell or recombinant antigens of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. Purified preparations of recombinant antigens included outer surface protein A (OspA), OspB, OspC, OspE, OspF, and p41-G (a fragment of flagellin). Of the 36 dog sera that reacted positively to whole-cell antigen, 32 (88.9%) contained antibodies to one or more recombinant antigens. Reactivities to OspF (88.9% positive) and p41-G (75% positive) were...
Cvitas I, Oberhänsli S, Leeb T, Dettwiler M, Müller E, Bruggman R, Marti EI.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a Th-2, IgE-mediated dermatitis of horses caused by bites of insects of the genus Culicoides that has common features with human atopic dermatitis. Together with Th-2 cells, the epithelial barrier plays an important role in development of type I hypersensitivities. In order to elucidate the role of the epithelial barrier and of the skin immune response in IBH we studied the transcriptome of lesional whole skin of IBH-horses (IBH-LE; n = 9) in comparison to non-lesional skin (IBH-NL; n = 8) as well as to skin of healthy control horses (H; n = 9). To study t...
Rüegg SR, Heinzmann D, Barbour AD, Torgerson PR.For the evaluation of the epidemiology of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in a herd of 510 horses in SW Mongolia, several mathematical models of the transmission dynamics were constructed. Because the field data contain information on the presence of the parasite (determined by PCR) and the presence of antibodies (determined by IFAT), the models cater for maternal protection with antibodies, susceptible animals, infected animals and animals which have eliminated the parasite and also allow for age-dependent infection in susceptible animals. Maximum likelihood estimation procedures were used...
Ye C, Yan W, Xiang H, He H, Yang M, Ijaz M, Useh N, Hsieh CL, McDonough PL, McDonough SP, Mohamed H, Yang Z, Chang YF.Animal leptospirosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the United States and around the world. In a previous study, we applied four recombinant antigens, rLipL21, rLoa22, rLipL32 and rLigACon4-8 of Leptospira interrogans (L. interrogans) for the serological diagnosis of equine leptospirosis (Ye et al, Serodiagnosis of equine leptospirosis by ELISA using four recombinant protein markers, Clin. Vaccine. Immunol. 21:478-483). In this study, the same four recombinant antigens were evaluated for their potential to diagnose canine leptospirosis by ELISA. A total of 305 canine sera that ...
Claes F, Ilgekbayeva GD, Verloo D, Saidouldin TS, Geerts S, Buscher P, Goddeeris BM.In this study, we compared the complement fixation test (CFT), the horse complement fixation test (HCFT) and a card agglutination test for trypanosomosis (CATT/T. evansi) for the diagnosis of equine trypanosomosis in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Cohen's kappa test was used to evaluate the concordance between the three tests. Kappa scores for CFT versus HCFT and CATT are both 0.6165 (95% Confidence Interval CI 0.414--0.819) indicating a "substantial" agreement between CFT and HCFT or CATT, respectively. Kappa for HCFT versus CATT is 0.395 (CI 0.142--0.648) indicating a "fair" agreement between t...
Höglund J, Ljungström BL, Nilsson O, Uggla A.A scolex antigen of the horse tapeworm Anoplocephala perfoliata containing at least 14 different proteins was employed in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies to A. perfoliata in equine sera. The assay was applied to sera from 426 slaughtered horses with different numbers of worms and with varying degrees of intestinal lesions. As measured by the ELISA, there was a very strong effect on the antibody levels both from the number of tapeworms present and from the intestinal lesion score. However, considerable individual variation was observed between horses wit...
Marchetti B, Gault EA, Cortese MS, Yuan Z, Ellis SA, Nasir L, Campo MS.Bovine papillomavirus type 1 is one of the aetiological agents of equine sarcoids. The viral major oncoprotein E5 is expressed in virtually all sarcoids, sarcoid cell lines and in vitro-transformed equine fibroblasts. To ascertain whether E5 behaves in equine cells as it does in bovine cells, we introduced the E5 open reading frame into fetal equine fibroblasts (EqPalF). As observed in primary bovine fibroblasts (BoPalF), E5 by itself could not immortalize EqPalF and an immortalizing gene, such as human telomerase (hTERT/hT), was required for the cells to survive selection. The EqPalF-hT-1E5 c...
Zucca E, Corsini E, Galbiati V, Lange-Consiglio A, Ferrucci F.Data obtained in both animal models and clinical trials suggest that cell-based therapies represent a potential therapeutic strategy for lung repair and remodeling. Recently, new therapeutic approaches based on the use of stem cell derivatives (e.g., conditioned medium (CM) and microvesicles (MVs)) to regenerate tissues and improve their functions were proposed. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of equine amniotic mesenchymal cell derivatives on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokine production in equine alveolar macrophages, which may be beneficial in lu...
Chung C, Leib SR, Fraser DG, Ellis SA, McGuire TC.Improved typing of horse classical MHC class I is required to more accurately define these molecules and to extend the number identified further than current serological assays. Defining classical MHC class I alleleic polymorphism is important in evaluating cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in horses. In this study, horse classical MHC class I genes were analyzed based on reverse transcription (RT)-PCR amplification of sequences encoding the polymorphic peptide binding region and the more conserved alpha 3, transmembrane and cytoplasmic regions followed by cloning and sequencing. Primer s...
Hoane JS, Yeargan MR, Stamper S, Saville WJ, Morrow JK, Lindsay DS, Howe DK.Neospora hughesi is a recently identified cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. However, the significance of this parasite is poorly understood. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with a recombinant form of the N. hughesi 29-kDa surface antigen (rNhSAG1) was developed for serodiagnosis of equine N. hughesi infections. Parallel ELISA analysis showed that animals immunized or infected with N. hughesi exhibited greater antibody reactivity with rNhSAG1 than with the Neospora caninum homolog, rNcSAG1. The rNhSAG1 ELISA showed 94.4% sensitivity and 95.0% specificity when compared wi...
Bacon SJ, Ellis SA, Antczak DF.In most mammals, the fetus limits its presentation of paternal antigens to the mother by suppressing the cell-surface expression of proteins of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on trophoblast. In the horse, however, functional, polymorphic MHC class I antigens are expressed at high levels on the invasive trophoblast cells of the chorionic girdle between Days 32 and 36 of pregnancy, although not on the adjacent noninvasive trophoblast of the chorion and allantochorion membranes. In this study, the control of MHC class I gene expression was investigated in invasive and noninvasive hors...
Pusterla N, Chae JS, Kimsey RB, Berger Pusterla J, DeRock E, Dumler JS, Madigan JE.Most human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) studies carried out in horses use needle inoculation of infected leucocytes or cell cultures. This route of inoculation does not accurately reflect natural infection of the tick-borne agent. To investigate whether tick transmission influences the course of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in the horse model, experimental transmission through infected laboratory-reared Ixodes scapularis ticks was attempted into two healthy horses. One additional horse served as negative control and was exposed to uninfected ticks. Eleven days after exposure to nymphal or adul...
Schmidt NJ, Melnick JL, Wenner HA, Ho HH, Burkhardt MA.Immune horse sera to 42 enterovirus immunotypes were pooled according to the Lim Benyesh-Melnick and the "intersecting serum" schemes. Each serum was diluted in the pools to contain 50 antibody units. After it was established that the pools correctly neutralized prototype virus strains, they were evaluated in tests against 273 enterovirus field strains representing most of the viral types included in the pools. With test virus doses of 10-100 TCD(50), most of the poliovirus and coxsackievirus field strains were correctly identified in both schemes, but a number of the echoviruses were neutrali...
Waghmare A, Deopurkar RL, Salvi N, Khadilkar M, Kalolikar M, Gade SK.The use of adjuvant is of fundamental importance in vaccines formulations and antisera production. Currently selection and use of adjuvant systems in snake antivenom preparation has become a major issue in terms of animal welfare as well as economics. In order to minimize disadvantages associated with traditionally used Freund's adjuvant (FA) in equines and to produce potent polyvalent antivenom against four Indian snake venoms in minimum possible period, a comparison was made between various commercially available non-emulsion/emulsion based adjuvants like IMS 3012, ISA 206 and ISA 35 with In...
Moore BD, Balasuriya UB, Watson JL, Bosio CM, MacKay RJ, MacLachlan NJ.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) infects endothelial cells (ECs) and macrophages in horses, and many of the clinical manifestations of equine viral arteritis (EVA) reflect vascular injury. To further evaluate the potential role of EAV-induced, macrophage-derived cytokines in the pathogenesis of EVA, we infected cultured equine alveolar macrophages (AMphi), blood monocyte-derived macrophages (BMphi), and pulmonary artery ECs with either a virulent (KY84) or an avirulent (CA95) strain of EAV. EAV infection of equine AMphi, BMphi, and ECs resulted in their activation with increased transcription of g...
Bosler EM, Cohen DP, Schulze TL, Olsen C, Bernard W, Lissman B.By using paired sera the IgM and IgG host responses were analyzed in dogs with ELISA and Western blot techniques. Antibodies in clinical seropositive dogs bound to 4-25 IgM and up to 40 or more IgG antigenic determinants. Early IgM response to the 41-kDa flagellin persisted for at least 9 months and involved as many as seven other peptides. IgG response expanded later in the disease and involved more immunogens than are currently recognized in late human disease. A percentage of asymptomatic dogs that later developed clinical symptoms were seropositive. Immunoblot studies suggested that B. bur...
Larson KR, Heil GL, Chambers TM, Capuano A, White SK, Gray GC.Equine influenza virus (EIV) is considered enzootic in North America and experimental studies have documented human EIV infections. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 94 horse-exposed and 34 non-exposed controls for serological evidence of EIV infection. Sera were evaluated for antibodies against three EIV and two human H3N2 viruses using microneutralization (MN), neuraminidase inhibition (NI), enzyme-linked lectin (ELLA), and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) serological assays. Risk factor analyses were conducted using logistic regression and proportional odds modeling. Results: The...
Curto E, Messenger KM, Salmon JH, Gilger BC.To determine whether horses with clinically diagnosed Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU) and those with Leptospirosis infection have a specific cytokine profile in their aqueous humor (AH) and serum that differs from horses with uveitis secondary to other ocular inflammatory processes and from horses with normal eyes. Methods: Twenty-five client-owned horses with uveitis that were presented to the North Carolina State University Ophthalmology Service, and four University-owned horses without history or clinical signs of ocular disease. Methods: Samples of AH and serum were obtained from horses wit...
