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.
Ungri AM, Dos Santos Sabatke BF, Rossi IV, das Neves GB, Marques J, Ribeiro BG, Borges GK, Moreira RS, Ramírez MI, Miletti LC.Trypanosoma evansi is a unicellular protozoan responsible for causing a disease known as "surra," which is found in different regions of the world and primarily affects horses and camels. Few information is known about virulence factors released from the parasite within the animals. The organism can secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs), which transport a variety of molecules, including proteins. Before being considered exclusively as a means for eliminating unwanted substances, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as key players in intercellular communication, facilitating interactions be...
Woodrow JS, Hopster K, Palmisano M, Payette F, Kulp J, Stefanovski D, Nolen-Walston R.Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a common procedure for evaluation of the equine lower airways. Time to resolution of post-BAL inflammation has not been clearly defined. Objective: Residual inflammation, evident by changes in immune cell populations and inflammatory cytokines, will resolve by 72 hours after BAL. Methods: Six adult, healthy, institution-owned horses. Methods: Randomized, complete cross-over design. Each horse underwent 3 paired BALs, including a baseline and then 48, 72, and 96 hours later, with a 7-day washout between paired BALs. Each sample underwent cytological evaluatio...
Żak-Bochenek A, Żebrowska-Różańska P, Bajzert J, Siwińska N, Madej JP, Kaleta-Kuratewicz K, Bochen P, Łaczmański Ł, Chełmońska-Soyta A.In the gastrointestinal mucosa, there is a close cooperation between secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and the composition of the microbiota, which aims to maintain homeostasis as well as act as a protective barrier. The purpose of this study was to determine the composition of microbiota and SIgA production in different parts of the digestive tract (small intestine, cecum, colon and rectum) of nine healthy horses and its reflection in the feces. For this purpose, we determined: the composition of the microbiome (by next-generation Sequencing of Hypervariable Regions V3-V4 and V7-V9 of the 16...
Terpeluk ER, Schäfer J, Finkler-Schade C, Rauch E, Rohn K, Schuberth HJ.The quality of equine colostrum is typically defined by refractometry or the concentration of maternal antibodies. However, the activity of other equine colostral bioactive molecules has not yet been investigated. This study analyzed whether the administration of a fermentation product (SCFP) influences the biological activity of mare colostrum and whether the biological activity of colostrum has a lasting immunomodulating effect for foals. A total of fourteen pregnant mares received 20 g/day of a SCFP for a period of twelve weeks prior to the calculated date of birth (SCFP-group). Twelve pre...
Holmes CM, Babasyan S, Eady N, Schnabel CL, Wagner B.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is one of the most prevalent respiratory pathogens in horses with a high impact on animal health worldwide. Entry of the virus into epithelial cells of the upper respiratory tract and rapid local viral replication is followed by infection of local lymphoid tissues leading to cell-associated viremia and disease progression. Pre-existing mucosal immunity has previously been shown to reduce viral shedding and prevent viremia, consequently limiting severe disease manifestations. Here, nasopharyngeal transcriptomic profiling was used to identify differentially expr...
Wjst VF, Lübke S, Wagner B, Rhyner C, Jentsch MC, Arnold C, Lohmann KL, Schnabel CL.Equine asthma (EA) is a common disease of adult horses with chronic respiratory pathology and common neutrophilic airway inflammation. It presents with hyperreactivity to hay dust components such as molds, and underlying dysregulated T cell responses have been suggested. Thus far, T cells have been analysed in EA with conflicting results and the antigen reactivity of T cells has not been demonstrated. Serological and epidemiological data point to the relevance of as an antigen source in EA. Here, we aimed to identify and characterise antigen-reactive T cells in EA. Unassigned: Cryopreserved ...
Jia Q, Ren H, Zhang S, Yang H, Gao S, Fan R.All subtypes of () produce the alpha toxin (CPA), which can cause enteritis or enterotoxemia in lambs, cattle, pigs, and horses, as well as traumatic clostridial myonecrosis in humans and animals. CPA acts on cell membranes, ultimately leading to endocytosis and cell death. Therefore, the neutralization of CPA is crucial for the prevention and treatment of diseases caused by . In this study, utilizing CPA as an antigen, a nanobody (CPA-VHH) with a half-life of 2.9 h, an affinity constant (KD) of 0.9 nmol/L, and good stability below 60 °C was prepared from a natural nanobody library from alpa...
Zhong D, Zheng J, Ma Z, Wang Y, Wei J.The prevalence and impact of Getah virus (GETV) are significant concerns in China. GETV can infect a wide range of animals, including horses, pigs, sheep, cattle, birds, and humans, resulting in substantial losses in the livestock and agricultural industries. GETV infection can cause the development of ulcers and inflammation in the mouth and gums of horses, which result in pain and discomfort and lead to symptoms such as reduced appetite, drooling, and difficulty chewing. As a result, there is a pressing need for efficient and rapid disease diagnosis methods. However, the currently available ...
Yaneselli K, Ávila G, Rossi A, Rial A, Castro S, Estradé MJ, Suárez G, Algorta A.Platelet lysate (PL) is investigated as a potential replacement for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell culture. However, there is limited research on its impact on the immune profile of equine mesenchymal stromal cells (eMSCs). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different PL formulations on the proliferative capacity, multipotentiality, and immune profile of equine adipose tissue-derived MSCs (eAD-MSCs). growth kinetics and trilineage differentiation of eAD-MSCs ( = 7) were assessed under three culture conditions: medium-concentration PL (MPL), high-concentration PL (HPL), and FBS ...
Bourebaba L, Bourebaba N, Galuppo L, Marycz K.Nowadays, regenerative medicine techniques are usually based on the application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for the repair or restoration of injured damaged tissues. However, the effectiveness of autologous therapy is limited as therapeutic potential of MSCs declines due to patient's age, health condition and prolonged in vitro cultivation as a result of decreased growth rate. For that reason, there is an urgent need to develop strategies enabling the in vitro rejuvenation of MSCs prior transplantation in order to enhance their in vivo therapeutic efficiency. In presented study, we attemp...
Ringo RS, Choonnasard A, Okabayashi T, Saito A. can establish persistent infections in animals such as equids, pigs, nonhuman primates, rodents, and possums. Some can even cause overt and severe diseases such as Equine Arteritis in horses and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome in pigs, leading to huge economic losses. have evolved viral proteins to antagonize the host cell's innate immune responses by inhibiting type I interferon (IFN) signaling, assisting viral evasion and persistent infection. So far, the role of the glycoprotein 5 (GP5) protein in IFN signaling inhibition remains unclear. Here, we investigated the inhibito...
Duysens J, Graide H, Niesten A, Mouithys-Mickalad A, Deby-Dupont G, Franck T, Ceusters J, Serteyn D.Muscle-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (mdMSCs) hold great promise in regenerative medicine due to their immunomodulatory properties, multipotent differentiation capacity and ease of collection. However, traditional in vitro expansion methods use fetal bovine serum (FBS) and have numerous limitations including ethical concerns, batch-to-batch variability, immunogenicity, xenogenic contamination and regulatory compliance issues. This study investigates the use of 10% equine platelet lysate (ePL) obtained by plasmapheresis as a substitute for FBS in the culture of mdMSCs in innovative 2D and 3...
Feijo LS, Wolfsdorf KE, Canisso IF, Parry S, Felippe MJB.Placental infection is an important cause of late-term pregnancy loss and neonatal diseases in horses. Detection of changes in blood parameters especially during early placentitis could improve the diagnostic accuracy, treatment decision, and potential outcomes. The objectives of this 2-part study were to identify differences in circulating immunological, inflammatory, and hormonal parameters between mares with natural ascending placentitis and control mares; evaluate each and combination of parameters as predictors of placentitis; and determine how these parameters indicate severity of placen...
Fedorka CE, Scoggin KE, El-Sheikh Ali H, Troedsson MHT.The interleukin (IL)-6 family of cytokines is grouped by a common receptor subunit (gp130), but functions in distinct but overlapping physiological activities, including regulation of acute phase reaction and the balance between effector and regulatory T cell populations-both of which play a role in successful pregnancy maturation. Methods: Here, we aim to assess the expression profiles of members of the IL-6 cytokine family throughout equine gestation. To do so, RNA Sequencing was performed on chorioallantois and endometrium of mares at 120, 180, 300, and 330 days of gestation (n = 4/stage), ...
Portaels J, Van Crombrugge E, Van Den Broeck W, Lagrou K, Laval K, Nauwynck H.Numerous Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) airborne spores are inhaled daily by humans and animals due to their ubiquitous presence. The interaction between the spores and the respiratory epithelium, as well as its impact on the epithelial barrier function, remains largely unknown. The epithelial barrier protects the respiratory epithelium against viral infections. However, it can be compromised by environmental contaminants such as pollen, thereby increasing susceptibility to respiratory viral infections, including alphaherpesvirus equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1). To determine whether Af spores di...
Maeda M, Abe M, Aoshima K, Kobayashi A, Fukushi H, Kimura T.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory diseases, abortion, and encephalomyelitis in horses. The EHV-1 immediate-early (IE) protein, essential for viral replication, is transactivated by the binding of a multiprotein complex including the open reading frame 12 (ORF12) and some host factors to the IE promoter region. Promoter-associated non-coding RNAs (pancRNAs), which are transcribed from bidirectional promoters, regulate the transcription of neighboring genes in mammals and pathogens. In this study, we identified a novel pancRNA transcribed from across the areas of the 5'-untranslate...
Shams F, Jokar M, Abdous A, Mohammadi P, Abbassioun A, Seuberlich T, Rahmanian V.Neospora spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are two closely related protozoan parasites that are widely distributed throughout the world. Horses can act as intermediate hosts for both parasites and can acquire disease. Blood samples were taken from 487 clinically healthy horses from 17 different mechanized stables in Tehran, the capital of Iran, during September and November of 2022. IFAT and ELISA were employed to detect antibodies directed against Neospora spp. and T. gondii. The anti-N. caninum antibodies were detected in 52 of the horses (10.67%) based on IFAT and in 86 of the 487 horses (17.65%) ...
Ding W, Gong W, Liu H, Hu H, Shi L, Ren X, Cao Y, Zhang A, Shi X, Li Z, Bou T, Dugarjaviin M, Bai D.The growth and development of myofibers, as the fundamental units comprising muscle tissue, and their composition type are indeed among the most crucial factors influencing skeletal muscle types. Muscle fiber adaptation is closely associated with alterations in physiological conditions. Muscle fiber types undergo dynamic changes in fetus and adult horses. Our aim is to investigate the mechanisms influencing the differences in muscle fiber types between fetal and adult stages of Mongolian horses. The study investigated the distribution of muscle fiber types within longissimus dorsi muscle of fe...
Jebbawi F, Chemnitzer A, Dietrich M, Pantelyushin S, Lam J, Rhiner T, Keller G, Waldern N, Canonica F, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is the most frequent skin allergy of horses and is highly debilitating, especially in the chronic phase. IBH is caused by IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions to culicoides midge bites and an imbalanced immune response that reduces the welfare of affected horses. Unassigned: In the present study, we investigated the pathological mechanisms of IBH, aiming to understand the immune cell modulation in acute allergic skin lesions of IBH horses with the goal of finding possible biomarkers for a diagnostic approach to monitor treatment success. Unassigned: By qPC...
Pihl TH, Engelhart KE, Houen G.Polyclonal antibodies are relatively easy to produce and may supplement monoclonal antibodies for some applications or even have some advantages.The choice of species for production of (peptide) antisera is based on practical considerations, including availability of immunogen (vaccine) and animals. Two major factors govern the production of antisera: the nature of adaptive immune responses, which take place over days/weeks and ethical guidelines for animal welfare.Here, simple procedures for immunization of mice, rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and chickens are presented.
Schramm A, Ackermann M, Eichwald C, Aguilar C, Fraefel C, Lechmann J.Equid alphaherpesviruses 1 (EHV-1) and 4 (EHV-4) are closely related and both endemic in horses worldwide. Both viruses replicate in the upper respiratory tract, but EHV-1 may additionally lead to abortion and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). We focused on antibody responses in horses against the receptor-binding glycoprotein D of EHV-1 (gD1), which shares a 77% amino acid identity with its counterpart in EHV-4 (gD4). Both antigens give rise to cross-reacting antibodies, including neutralizing antibodies. However, immunity against EHV-4 is not considered protective against EHM. Wh...
Arrigo F, Aragona F, Faggio C, Giudice E, Giannetto C, Piccione G, Rizzo M, Arfuso F.The aim of this study was to assess the changes of pro-inflammatory interleukins in 10 horses subjected to road transport practices (distance of 150 km) from the training site (Messina, Sicily) to the competition centre in Syracuse (Sicily). Blood sampling and interleukins analysis were performed during a round trip transportation (transport 1 and transport 2). In particular, blood samples were collected before the transport took place (Pre), five minutes later (Post) and one hour later (Post 1 h), for each transport, in order to assess the serum concentration of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2 and IL-...
Babasyan S, Rollins A, Wagner B.Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is one of the key mediators of inflammation during innate immune responses. Mature bioactive IL-1β mediates essential host defense mechanisms but also has a mechanistic role in several autoinflammatory and degenerative diseases. In horses, specific and sensitive assays for IL-1β are crucial for immunological research on inflammatory processes and diseases. In this article, we describe the development of four monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against equine IL-1β. The specificity of the new IL-1β mAbs was confirmed using a panel of equine recombinant cytokines and chemok...
Sobral GG, Neto OCG, Lima TC, Carneiro GF.Providing plasma with immunoglobulins is essential for the health of foals with failure of passive transfer of immunity. The use of lyophilized plasma (LP) offers a simple and affordable option in terms of transportation and storage. This study aimed to measure the concentrations of immunoglobulin G (IgG), total protein (TP), and total solids (TS) in fresh equine plasma before and after lyophilization. Plasma was collected from six healthy male horses. The samples underwent freeze-drying and were reconstituted in deionized water to their original volume. The concentrations of IgG in both fresh...
Pimenta J, Prada J, Pires I, Cotovio M.Sarcoids and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are the most concerning equine oncological diseases. Both tumors are challenging to manage due to their invasive behavior and high prevalence of recurrences. Furthermore, SCCs have a propensity to metastasize. Programed cell-death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has been one of the main therapeutic targets for immunotherapy in various human tumors. PD-L1 research in equine tumors is scarce and more efforts are necessary to understand the potential of this biomarker as a therapeutical target. Unassigned: Evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 in equin...
Höglund N, Rossi H, Javela HM, Oikari S, Nieminen P, Mustonen AM, Airas N, Kärjä V, Mykkänen A.Equine asthma (EA) is a chronic lower airway inflammation that leads to structural and functional changes. Hyaluronic acid (HA) has crucial functions in the extracellular matrix homeostasis and inflammatory mediator activity. HA concentration in the lungs increases in several human airway diseases. However, its associations with naturally occurring EA and airway remodelling have not been previously studied. Our aim was to investigate the association of equine neutrophilic airway inflammation (NAI) severity, airway remodelling, and HA concentration in horses with naturally occurring EA. We hypo...
Animal welfare has become an increasingly important concern regarding equids working as carriage animals. In the present study, the changes in the markers of stress and inflammatory responses as a result of the work performed by tourism carriage horses under real working conditions in Sicily (Italy) were investigated. Twenty-two Standardbreds performed a normal working day in the carriage tourism business during the months of May, June and July 2022, consisting of one day of work for each month. Blood samples were collected in the stables at rest before the tour route (Pre; 07.00 AM) and withi...
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 being investigated for the treatment of equine joint diseases because of their regenerative potential. Recently, the focus mainly has addressed to their immunomodulatory capacities. Inflammation plays a central role in joint pathologies, since the release of proinflammatory mediators to the synovial fluid (SF) leads to the activation of enzymatic degradation of the cartilage. MSCs can modulate the local immune environment through direct or paracrine interaction with immune cells, suppressing their proliferation and re-addressing their functions. Proinflammator...
Kelly C, Bugg M, Robinson C, Mitchell Z, Davis-Poynter N, Newton JR, Jolley KA, Maiden MC, Waller AS.Improved understanding of the epidemiology of Streptococcus equi transmission requires sensitive and portable subtyping methods that can rationally discriminate between strains. S. equi is highly homogeneous and cannot be distinguished by multilocus enzyme electrophoretic or multilocus sequence-typing methods that utilize housekeeping genes. However, on sequence analysis of the N-terminal region of the SeM genes of 60 S. equi isolates from 27 strangles outbreaks, we identified 21 DNA codon changes. These resulted in the nonsynonymous substitution of 18 amino acids and allowed the assignment of...
Lu J, Guo Z, Pan X, Wang G, Zhang D, Li Y, Tan B, Ouyang L, Yu X.Avian influenza virus H5N1 has demonstrated considerable pandemic potential. Currently, no effective vaccines for H5N1 infection are available, so passive immunotherapy may be an alternative strategy. To investigate the possible therapeutic effect of antibody against highly pathogenic H5N1 virus on a mammal host, we prepared specific equine anti-H5N1 IgGs from horses vaccinated with inactivated H5N1 virus, and then obtained the F(ab')2 fragments by pepsin digestion of IgGs. Methods: The horses were vaccinated with inactivated H5N1 vaccine to prepare anti-H5N1 IgGs. The F(ab')2 fragments were p...
Collins PJ, Vachieri SG, Haire LF, Ogrodowicz RW, Martin SR, Walker PA, Xiong X, Gamblin SJ, Skehel JJ.In 2004 an hemagglutinin 3 neuraminidase 8 (H3N8) equine influenza virus was transmitted from horses to dogs in Florida and subsequently spread throughout the United States and to Europe. To understand the molecular basis of changes in the antigenicity of H3 hemagglutinins (HAs) that have occurred during virus evolution in horses, and to investigate the role of HA in the equine to canine cross-species transfer, we used X-ray crystallography to determine the structures of the HAs from two antigenically distinct equine viruses and from a canine virus. Structurally all three are very similar with...
Paillot R.Equine influenza (EI) is a major respiratory disease of horses, which is still causing substantial outbreaks worldwide despite several decades of surveillance and prevention. Alongside quarantine procedures, vaccination is widely used to prevent or limit spread of the disease. The panel of EI vaccines commercially available is probably one of the most varied, including whole inactivated virus vaccines, Immuno-Stimulating Complex adjuvanted vaccines (ISCOM and ISCOM-Matrix), a live attenuated equine influenza virus (EIV) vaccine and a recombinant poxvirus-vectored vaccine. Several other strateg...
Westhoff D, Kamp G.Evidence is provided that the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase is covalently linked to the fibrous sheath. The fibrous sheath is a typical structure of mammalian spermatozoa surrounding the axoneme in the principal piece of the flagellum. More than 90% of boar sperm glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase activity is sedimented after cell disintegration by centrifugation. Detergents, different salt concentrations or short term incubation with chymotrypsin do not solubilize the enzyme, whereas digestion with trypsin or elastase does. Short term incubation with trypsin...
Scepek S, Lindau M.We have investigated the granule fusion events during exocytosis in horse eosinophils by time-resolved patch-clamp capacitance measurements. Stimulation with intracellular GTP gamma S leads to a stepwise capacitance increase by 4.0 +/- 0.9 pF. At GTP gamma S concentrations < 20 microM the step size distribution is in agreement with the granule size distribution in resting cells. Above 80 microM the number of steps is reduced and very large steps occur. The total capacitance increase, however, is unaffected. These results show that at high GTP gamma S concentrations granule--granule fusion o...
Slater JD, Borchers K, Thackray AM, Field HJ.Four specific pathogen-free ponies were infected intranasally with equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and two were similarly infected with an EHV-1 thymidine kinase deletion mutant. The primary infections were characterized by a transient fever accompanied by virus shedding into nasal mucus and viraemia. No virus was detected in clinical specimens after 15 days post-infection. Two months later a reactivation stimulus was administered to all six ponies and only the four that had been previously inoculated with wild-type EHV-1 shed virus into nasal mucus (for 10 days), proving the presence of a latent...
Knowles DP, Kappmeyer LS, Stiller D, Hennager SG, Perryman LE.Horses infected with Babesia equi were previously identified by the presence of antibodies reactive with a merozoite surface protein epitope (D. P. Knowles, Jr., L. E. Perryman, L. S. Kappmeyer, and S. G. Hennager. J. Clin. Microbiol. 29:2056-2058, 1991). The antibodies were detected in a competitive inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CI ELISA) by using monoclonal antibody 36/133.97, which defines a protein epitope on the merozoite surface. The gene encoding this B. equi merozoite epitope was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant merozoite protein, designated equ...
Kono Y, Hirasawa K, Fukunaga Y, Taniguchi T.Horses which had passed a few months to a few years asymptomatically after the last recurrence of equine infectious anemia (EIA) showed a typical febrile response after treatment with the immunosuppressive agent, dexamethasone (DM) or cyclophosphamide (CY). In horses showing a febrile response, EIA virus which had not been neutralized by neutralizing antibody previously produced was propagated. In DM-treated horses it disappeared from the blood soon after pyretolysis and antibody against the virus was produced promptly. In contrast, detectable viremia persisted in CY-treated horses for 10 to 8...
Smit H, Gaastra W, Kamerling JP, Vliegenthart JF, de Graaf FK.The erythrocyte receptor for Escherichia coli K99 fimbrial adhesin was isolated from equine erythrocytes and characterized as Neu5Gc-alpha(2----3)-Galp-beta(1----4)-GLcp-beta(1----1)-Ceramide. This glycolipid acted as the receptor for K99 by four different experimental approaches: inhibition of equine erythrocyte hemagglutination by preincubation of K99-positive bacteria or purified K99 fimbriae with the isolated glycolipid; inhibition of attachment of K99-positive bacteria to porcine intestinal epithelial cells in the presence of the isolated glycolipid; induction of binding of K99-positive b...
Ledizet M, Kar K, Foellmer HG, Wang T, Bushmich SL, Anderson JF, Fikrig E, Koski RA.West Nile (WN) virus is a flavivirus that first appeared in North America in 1999. Since then, more than 600 human deaths and 22,000 equine infections have been attributed to the virus in the United States. We expressed a truncated form of WN virus envelope (E) protein in Drosophila S2 cells. This soluble recombinant E protein was recognized by antibodies from naturally infected horses, indicating that it contains native epitopes. Mice and horses produced high-titer antibodies when immunized with recombinant E protein combined with aluminum hydroxide. Immunized mice were resistant to challenge...
Nikiforov TT, Rendle RB, Goelet P, Rogers YH, Kotewicz ML, Anderson S, Trainor GL, Knapp MR.A new method for typing single nucleotide polymorphisms in DNA is described. In this method, specific fragments of genomic DNA containing the polymorphic site(s) are first amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using one regular and one phosphorothioate-modified primer. The double-stranded PCR product is rendered single-stranded by treatment with the enzyme T7 gene 6 exonuclease, and captured onto individual wells of a 96 well polystyrene plate by hybridization to an immobilized oligonucleotide primer. This primer is designed to hybridize to the single-stranded target DNA immediately...
Bogerd HP, Tallmadge RL, Oaks JL, Carpenter S, Cullen BR.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), uniquely among lentiviruses, does not encode a vif gene product. Other lentiviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), use Vif to neutralize members of the APOBEC3 (A3) family of intrinsic immunity factors that would otherwise inhibit viral infectivity. This suggests either that equine cells infected by EIAV in vivo do not express active A3 proteins or that EIAV has developed a novel mechanism to avoid inhibition by equine A3 (eA3). Here, we demonstrate that horses encode six distinct A3 proteins, four of which contain a single copy o...
Di Gennaro A, Lorusso A, Casaccia C, Conte A, Monaco F, Savini G.A serum neutralization assay (SN) was compared with the official plaque reduction neutralization test for the quantitation of West Nile virus antibodies. A total of 1,348 samples from equid sera and 38 from human sera were tested by these two methods. Statistically significant differences were not observed, thus supporting the use of SN for routine purposes.
Paebst F, Piehler D, Brehm W, Heller S, Schroeck C, Tárnok A, Burk J.Horses are an approved large animal model for therapies of the musculoskeletal system. Especially for tendon disease where cell-based therapy is commonly used in equine patients, the translation of achieved results to human medicine would be a great accomplishment. Immunophenotyping of equine mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) remains the last obstacle to meet the criteria of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) definition of human MSCs. Therefore, the surface antigen expression of CD 29, CD 44, CD 73, CD 90, CD 105, CD 14, CD 34, CD 45, CD 79α, and MHC II in equine MSCs from a...
Lindenberg F, Krych L, Kot W, Fielden J, Frøkiær H, van Galen G, Nielsen DS, Hansen AK.Shortly after birth the mammalian gut is colonized, by a transient microbiota, highly susceptible to environment and diet, that eventually stabilizes and becomes the resident gut microbiota. In a window of opportunity during the colonization, oral tolerance is established towards resident bacteria. In this study, the development of the equine gut microbiota was investigated in ten foals from parturition until post weaning. We found great differences in the core species of the gut microbiota composition between time-matched samples on Day 7 and 20 post-partum. Between day 20 and Day 50 post-par...
Scepek S, Coorssen JR, Lindau M.Using the patch-clamp technique, we studied the role of protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation on the exocytotic fusion of secretory granules with the plasma membrane in horse eosinophils. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) had no effect on the amplitude and dynamics of degranulation, indicating that the formation of fusion pores is insensitive to activation of protein kinase C (PKC). Fusion pore expansion, however, was accelerated approximately 2-fold by PMA, and this effect was abolished by staurosporine. Elevating intracellular Ca2+ to 1.5 microM also resulted in a 2-fold accelera...
Lewis MJ, Wagner B, Woof JM.Recombinant versions of the seven equine IgG subclasses were expressed in CHO cells. All assembled into intact immunoglobulins stabilised by disulphide bridges, although, reminiscent of human IgG4, a small proportion of equine IgG4 and IgG7 were held together by non-covalent bonds alone. All seven IgGs were N-glycosylated. In addition IgG3 appeared to be O-glycosylated and could bind the lectin jacalin. Staphylococcal protein A displayed weak binding for the equine IgGs in the order: IgG1>IgG3>IgG4>IgG7>IgG2=IgG5>IgG6. Streptococcal protein G bound strongly to IgG1, IgG4 and IgG7, moderately t...
Sheoran AS, Timoney JF, Holmes MA, Karzenski SS, Crisman MV.To determine concentrations of IgA and IgG subclasses in serum, colostrum, milk, and nasal wash samples of adult horses and foals. Methods: Seven 2-year-old Welsh ponies, 27 adult mixed-breed horses, and 5 Quarter Horse mares and their foals. Methods: Serum was obtained from ponies and adult horses. Colostrum and milk were obtained from mares and serum and nasal wash samples from their foals immediately after parturition and on days 1, 7, 14, 28, 42, and 63. Nasal wash samples were also obtained from 23 adult horses. Concentrations of immunoglobulins were determined by use of inhibition ELISA....
Theoret CL, Wilmink JM.Impaired wound healing represents an enormous clinical and financial problem for companion animals and humans alike. Unfortunately, most models used to study healing rely on rodents, which have significant differences in the healing and scarring process and rarely develop complications. In order to better simulate impaired healing, the model should strive to reproduce the natural processes of healing and delayed healing. Wounds on the limbs of horses display similarities to wounds in humans in their epithelialization/contraction ratio, genetic influence as well as dysregulated cytokine profile...
Ball JM, Rushlow KE, Issel CJ, Montelaro RC.We describe here a detailed analysis of the antigenic determinants of the surface unit glycoprotein (gp90) of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), using a comprehensive panel of synthetic peptides in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with immune serum from naturally and experimentally infected horses and with a panel of gp90-specific neutralizing and nonneutralizing monoclonal antibodies. The results of these studies identify immunoreactive segments throughout the conserved and variable domains of gp90 but localize immunodominant (100% reactivity) determinants to the amino and carboxyl term...
Iyer U, Kadambi VJ.Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) consist of an antibody attached to a cytotoxic drug by means of a linker. ADCs provide a way to couple the specificity of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to the cytotoxicity of a small-molecule drug and, therefore, are promising new therapies for cancer. ADCs are prodrugs that are inactive in circulation but exert their cytotoxicity upon binding to the target cancer cell. Earlier unsuccessful attempts to generate ADCs with therapeutic value have emphasized the important role each component plays in determining the efficacy and safety of the final ADC. Scientific adv...
Hatheway CH, Snyder JD, Seals JE, Edell TA, Lewis GE.Serum levels of equine-botulism antitoxin to toxin types A, B, and E were measured in four type-A botulism patients who had received equine-botulism antitoxin. High circulating levels capable of neutralizing in excess of 1 X 10(8), 9 X 10(7), and 6 X 10(6) 50% mouse lethal doses of toxin of types A, B, and E, respectively, were detected. There was little depletion of type-A antitoxin even though two of the patients had circulating type-A toxin before treatment. The half-life for antitoxin persistence for one patient was calculated as being 6.5, 7.6, and 5.3 days for antitoxin types A, B, and E...
McGuire TC, Tumas DB, Byrne KM, Hines MT, Leib SR, Brassfield AL, O'Rourke KI, Perryman LE.Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) can control some viral infections and may be important in the control of lentiviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Since there is limited evidence for an in vivo role of CTL in control of lentiviruses, dissection of immune mechanisms in animal lentiviral infections may provide needed information. Horses infected with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) a lentivirus, have acute plasma viremia which is terminated in immunocompetent horses. Viremic episodes may recur, but most horses ultimately control infection and become asymptomatic carriers. ...
Yuki N, Shimazaki T, Kushiro A, Watanabe K, Uchida K, Yuyama T, Morotomi M.Selective adhesion to only certain epithelia is particularly common among the bacterial members of the indigenous microflora of mammals. We have found that the stratified squamous epithelium of the nonsecreting area of horse stomach is colonized by gram-positive rods. The microscopic features of a dense layer of these bacteria on the epithelium were found to be similar to those reported in mice, rats, and swine. Adhering microorganisms were isolated and identified as Lactobacillus salivarius, L. crispatus, L. reuteri, and L. agilis by DNA-DNA hybridization and 16S rRNA gene sequencing techniqu...
Mancuso VA, Hope TJ, Zhu L, Derse D, Phillips T, Parslow TG.By systematically dissecting the Rev proteins of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), we have identified within each a short peptide that is functionally interchangeable with the effector domains found in Rev-like proteins from other retroviruses. The active sequences from FIV and EIAV differ in several respects from other known effectors and may represent a distinct class of effector domain.
Maury W.In vivo, equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) replicates in tissues rich in macrophages, and it is widely believed that the tissue macrophage is the principal, if not sole, cell within the host that replicates virus. No viral replication has been detected in circulating peripheral blood monocytes. However, proviral DNA can be detected in these cells, and monocytes may serve as a reservoir for the virus. In this study, an in vitro model was developed to clarify the role of monocyte maturation in regulating EIAV expression. Freshly isolated, nonadherent equine peripheral blood monocytes were in...
Naskou MC, Sumner SM, Chocallo A, Kemelmakher H, Thoresen M, Copland I, Galipeau J, Peroni JF.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) produced for clinical purposes rely on culture media containing fetal bovine serum (FBS) which is xenogeneic and has the potential to significantly alter the MSC phenotype, rendering these cells immunogenic. As a result of bovine-derived exogenous proteins expressed on the cell surface, MSCs may be recognized by the host immune system as non-self and be rejected. Platelet lysate (PL) may obviate some of these concerns and shows promising results in human medicine as a possible alternative to FBS. Our goal was to evaluate the use of equine platelet lysate (ePL) poo...
