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.
Jennings SH, Wise AG, Nickeleit V, Maes RK, Cianciolo RE, Del Piero F, Law JM, Kim Y, McCalla AC, Breuhaus BA, Roberts MC, Linder KE.Polyomaviruses produce latent and asymptomatic infections in many species, but productive and lytic infections are rare. In immunocompromised humans, polyomaviruses can cause tubulointerstitial nephritis, demyelination, or meningoencephalitis in the central nervous system and interstitial pneumonia. This report describes 2 Standardbred horses with tubular necrosis and tubulointerstitial nephritis associated with productive equine polyomavirus infection that resembles BK polyomavirus nephropathy in immunocompromised humans.
Andoh K, Takasugi M, Mahmoud HY, Hattori S, Terada Y, Noguchi K, Shimoda H, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Matsumura T, Kondo T, Maeda K.A major immunogenic region of equine herpesvirus (EHV)-1 glycoprotein E (gE) was identified. Firstly, the various fragments of EHV-1 gE were expressed as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST) in Escherichia coli and their antigenicities were compared by immunoblot analysis using sera from horses experimentally infected with EHV-1. Thirty-three amino acids of gE (a.a. 169-201) specifically and sensitively reacted with the antibodies induced by EHV-1 but not EHV-4 infection. The corresponding region of EHV-4 gE (a.a. 169-199) did not react with antibodies to EHV-1, indicating that...
Ramos-Vara JA, Frank CB, DuSold D, Miller MA.The immunoreactivity of PNL2, Melan A, and protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 was compared with that of S100 protein in 50 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded equine melanocytic neoplasms. PNL2, PGP 9.5, and S100 protein were detected in all 50 neoplasms; none expressed Melan A. PNL2 was not expressed in 62 nonmelanocytic tumors (equine sarcoids, schwannomas, carcinomas, sarcomas, endocrine tumors, sex-cord stromal tumors, germ cell tumors, and leukocytic tumors) or in normal tissues other than epidermis. In summary, antibody PNL2 is a sensitive marker of equine melanocytic neoplasms and is more spe...
Zerpa H, Crawford C, Knight GE, Fordham AF, Janska SE, Peppiatt-Wildman CM, Elliott J, Burnstock G, Wildman SS.The functional distribution of ATP-activated P2 receptors is well characterized for many blood vessels, but not in the equine digital vasculature, which is a superficial vascular bed that displays thermoregulatory functions and has been implicated in ischemia-reperfusion injuries of the hoof. Isolated equine digital arteries (EDA) and veins (EDV) were submitted to isometric tension studies, whereby electric field stimulation (EFS) and concentration-response curves to exogenously applied agonists were constructed under low tone conditions. Additionally, immunofluorescent localization of P2X and...
Romantsov MG, Galimzianov KhM, Lokteva OM, Kovalenko AL, Stepanov AV.Search for drugs efficient in prophylaxis and treatment of dangerous infections (especially arboviral ones) is rather actual, since no specific therapy is available. Many-year investigations of interferon inductors showed that they had immunomodulating, antiviral and antiinflammatory effects and were low toxic. The present study demonstrated that the protective effect was the following: Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE)--cycloferon > amixin = ridostin, Rift Valley fever (RVF)--cycloferon > amixin > ridostin, predator pox (PP)--cycloferon > amixin = ridostin, that was obvious tha...
Winfield LD, White SD, Affolter VK, Renier AC, Dawson D, Olivry T, Outerbridge CA, Wang YH, Iyori K, Nishifuji K.To describe the clinical, histological and immunological findings of an equine case of pemphigus vulgaris, including the demonstration of antidesmoglein (anti-Dsg) autoantibodies. Methods: The diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris was confirmed in a 9-year-old Welsh pony stallion with both direct and indirect immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation studies, the latter identifying circulating anti-Dsg3 IgG. Treatment with immunosuppressive medications was initiated. Lesions were seen in the perineal area, sheath, mane, tail, eyelids, coronary bands and mucosa of the mouth and oesophagus. Initial c...
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...
Shin SH, Yoon JH, Yahng SA, Lee SE, Cho BS, Eom KS, Kim YJ, Lee S, Min CK, Kim HJ, Cho SG, Kim DW, Min WS, Park CW, Lee JW.Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is the drug of choice for immunosuppressive therapy (IST) in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) ineligible for allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Recently, rabbit ATG with cyclosporine A has been used as a first-line IST regimen in patients with SAA because of unavailability of horse ATG. We retrospectively analyzed adult SAA patients who were treated with horse ATG (n=46) or rabbit ATG (n=53) between Feb 2001 and May 2010 to compare hematologic response and survival. Overall response rates at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months were similar in both the horse and ra...
Gutiérrez JM, Tsai WC, Pla D, Solano G, Lomonte B, Sanz L, Angulo Y, Calvete JJ.A polyspecific antivenom is used in Central America for the treatment of envenomings by viperid snakes. This antivenom is generated in horses hyperimmunized with a mixture of venoms from Bothrops asper, Crotalus simus and Lachesis stenophrys. The present study analyzed the ability of this antivenom to neutralize the venoms of three Central American viperid species of the 'Porthidium group', i.e. Porthidium nasutum, Porthidium ophryomegas and Cerrophidion sasai, formerly classified as Cerrophidion godmani. In addition, the immunorecognition of the components of these venoms was assessed by immu...
Crafford JE, Lourens CW, Gardner IA, Maclachlan NJ, Guthrie AJ.African horse sickness is an insect-transmitted, noncontagious disease of equids caused by African horse sickness virus (AHSV). Mortality can exceed 90% in fully susceptible horse populations. A live-attenuated (modified live) cell-culture-adapted (MLV) polyvalent AHSV vaccine is widely used to control African horse sickness in endemic areas in southern Africa. Field studies detailing antibody responses of vaccinated horses are lacking. Objective: To determine antibody titres to the 9 known serotypes of AHSV in a cohort of broodmares that were regularly vaccinated with the MLV AHSV vaccine and...
Vychodilova L, Matiasovic J, Bobrova O, Futas J, Klumplerova M, Stejskalova K, Cvanova M, Janova E, Osickova J, Vyskocil M, Sedlinska M, Dusek L....Equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a seasonal IgE-mediated dermatosis caused by bites of insects of the genus Culicoides. A familial predisposition for the disease has been shown but, except for the MHC, the genes involved have not been identified so far. An immunogenomic analysis of IBH was performed in a model population of Old Kladruby horses, all living in the same environment. Clinical signs of IBH were used as phenotypic manifestation of IBH. Furthermore, total serum IgE levels were determined in the sera of these horses and used as an independent phenotypic marker for the immu...
Scott S, Molesti E, Temperton N, Ferrara F, Böttcher-Friebertshäuser E, Daly J.Standard assays used for influenza serology present certain practical issues, such as inter-laboratory variability, complex protocols and the necessity for handling certain virus strains in high biological containment facilities. In an attempt to address this, avian and human influenza HA pseudotyped retroviruses have been successfully employed in antibody neutralization assays. In this study we generated an equine influenza pseudotyped lentivirus for serological screening. This was achieved by co-transfection of HEK293T cells with plasmids expressing the haemagglutinin (HA) protein of an H3N8...
Klumplerova M, Vychodilova L, Bobrova O, Cvanova M, Futas J, Janova E, Vyskocil M, Vrtkova I, Putnova L, Dusek L, Marti E, Horin P.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is an allergic dermatitis of horses caused by bites of insects. IBH is a multifactorial disease with contribution of genetic and environmental factors. Candidate gene association analysis of IBH was performed in a group of 89 Icelandic horses all born in Iceland and imported to Europe. Horses were classified in IBH-affected and non-affected based on clinical signs and history of recurrent dermatitis, and on the results of an in vitro sulfidoleukotriene (sLT)-release assay with Culicoides nubeculosus and Simulium vittatum extract. Different genetic markers wer...
Aktan I, Dunkel B, Cunningham FM.Activated platelets can contribute to host defense through release of products with bactericidal actions such as antimicrobial peptides and reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as by forming heterotypic aggregates with neutrophils and enhancing their antimicrobial properties. Whilst release of vasoactive mediators from equine platelets in response to stimuli including bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been documented, neither ROS production, nor the effects of activated platelets on equine neutrophil ROS production, have been reported. This study first sought evidence that activated equ...
Jeske JM, Spier SJ, Whitcomb MB, Pusterla N, Gardner IA.To estimate likelihood ratios (LRs) of correctly identifying internal Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in horses by measurement of antibody titers via serum synergistic hemolysis inhibition (SHI) testing. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: 170 horses (171 records; 92 cases of C pseudotuberculosis infection and 79 controls). Methods: Medical records were reviewed, and horses were grouped on the basis of evidence of internal or external C pseudotuberculosis infection. The LRs and 95% confidence intervals for identification of internal C pseudotuberculosis infection b...
Adams AA, Horohov DW.The weaning process of foals involves a period of considerable stress which likely contributes to an increased risk of infectious disease in these young horses. Mechanisms responsible for this heightened risk of infection remain unknown, although likely due to compromised cell-mediated immunity. Parapoxvirus ovis (PPVO), an immmunomodulator, has been shown to limit the severity of infectious disease outbreaks among horses and has been shown to enhance CMI responses. Thus, an objective of this study was to investigate the effect of PPVO therapy on cell-mediated immune (CMI) responses of abruptl...
Antczak DF, de Mestre AM, Wilsher S, Allen WR.A remarkable feature of equine pregnancy is the development of the invasive trophoblast of the chorionic girdle and its formation of the gonadotrophin-secreting endometrial cup cells in early gestation. The details of this process have been revealed only slowly over the past century, since the first description of the endometrial cups in 1912. This centennial presents an opportunity to review the characteristics of the cells and molecules involved in this early, critical phase of placentation in the mare. The invasiveness of the chorionic girdle trophoblast appears to represent an atavistic at...
Woodward EM, Christoffersen M, Campos J, Horohov DW, Scoggin KE, Squires E, Troedsson MH.The first objective of this study was to evaluate intrauterine nitric oxide (NO) and endometrial inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in mares susceptible or resistant to persistent breeding-induced endometritis (PBIE) within 24 h after breeding. Mares susceptible (n = 6) or resistant (n = 6) to PBIE were inseminated over five cycles, and uterine secretions and endometrial biopsies were collected before and 2, 6, 12 and 24 h after insemination. Uterine secretions were analysed for NO and biopsies were analyzed for iNOS expression. A second experiment evaluated the effect of treatment with dexame...
Swadzba ME, Hauck SM, Naim HY, Amann B, Deeg CA.Complete knowledge of autoantigen spectra is crucial for understanding pathomechanisms of autoimmune diseases like equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), a spontaneous model for human autoimmune uveitis. While several ERU autoantigens were identified previously, no membrane protein was found so far. As there is a great overlap between glycoproteins and membrane proteins, the aim of this study was to test whether pre-enrichment of retinal glycoproteins by ConA affinity is an effective tool to detect autoantigen candidates among membrane proteins. In 1D Western blots, the glycoprotein preparation allow...
Artiushin S, Timoney JF, Fettinger M, Fallon L, Rathgeber R.Enterocolitis caused by Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease of neonatal foals and older horses. Toxins A and B (TcdA and B) produced by C. difficile are important virulence factors. Immunisation of mares with receptor binding domains of toxins may prevent or reduce the severity of C. difficile colitis in foals. Objective: To determine whether antibodies generated in the pregnant mare to the binding regions of TcdA and B will neutralise TcdA and B toxicity. Methods: Sequences encoding the binding domains of each toxin were isolated by PCR amplification fr...
Södersten F, Hultenby K, Heinegård D, Johnston C, Ekman S.This is a descriptive study of tendon pathology with different structural appearances of repair tissue correlated to immunolocalization of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and type I and III collagens and expression of COMP mRNA. The material consists of nine tendons from seven horses (5-25 years old; mean age of 10 years) with clinical tendinopathy and three normal tendons from horses (3, 3, and 13 years old) euthanized for non-orthopedic reasons. The injured tendons displayed different repair-tissue appearances with organized and disorganized fibroblastic regions as well as areas o...
Bullone M, Moran K, Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Lavoie JP.Neutrophils accumulate in the airways of horses with heaves. They likely play an important role in the disease pathogenesis. Understanding the pathways regulating their migration may help identifying new therapeutic targets. Objective: MAPK and PI3K pathways are involved in neutrophil migration toward the airway lumen in heaves. Methods: Twelve heaves-affected horses and 4 healthy horses. Methods: Migratory activity of bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) from horses with heaves and healthy horses was compared by means of a Boyden chamber. Involvement of MAPK and PI3K pathways in neutrophil mi...
Soares SC, Trost E, Ramos RT, Carneiro AR, Santos AR, Pinto AC, Barbosa E, Aburjaile F, Ali A, Diniz CA, Hassan SS, Fiaux K, Guimarães LC....Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is the causative agent of several veterinary diseases in a broad range of economically important hosts, which can vary from caseous lymphadenitis in sheep and goats (biovar ovis) to ulcerative lymphangitis in cattle and horses (biovar equi). Existing vaccines against C. pseudotuberculosis are mainly intended for small ruminants and, even in these hosts, they still present remarkable limitations. In this study, we present the complete genome sequence of C. pseudotuberculosis biovar equi strain 258, isolated from a horse with ulcerative lymphangitis. The genome...
Diaz-Méndez A, Viel L, Shewen P, Nagy E.Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) is an ubiquitous virus, routinely identified in equine respiratory infections; however, its role in disease and genetic features are not well defined due to a lack of genomic characterization of the recovered isolates. Therefore, we sequenced the full-length genome of a Canadian ERAV (ERAV/ON/05) and compared it with other ERAV sequences currently available in GenBank. The ERAV/ON/05 genome is 7,839 nucleotides (nts) in length with a variable 5'UTR and a more conserved 3'UTR. When ERAV/ON/05 was compared to other reported ERAV isolates, an insertion of 13 nt in t...
Meng Q, Lin Y, Ma J, Ma Y, Zhao L, Li S, Yang K, Zhou J, Shen R, Zhang X, Shao Y.Data from successful attenuated lentiviral vaccine studies indicate that fully mature Env-specific antibodies characterized by high titer, high avidity, and the predominant recognition of conformational epitopes are associated with protective efficacy. Although vaccination with a DNA prime/recombinant vaccinia-vectored vaccine boost strategy has been found to be effective in some trials with non-human primate/simian/human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) models, it remains unclear whether this vaccination strategy could elicit mature equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) Env-specific antibodies, ...
Issel CJ, Scicluna MT, Cook SJ, Cook RF, Caprioli A, Ricci I, Rosone F, Craigo JK, Montelaro RC, Autorino GL.Serological diagnosis of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) infections has depended mainly on the agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGIDT). This study documents the presence of EIAV genetic sequences in a number of persistently infected horses and mules whose serums were interpreted as negative/equivocal on AGIDT, but positive on more than one ELISA test and in immunoblot tests. Strategies designed to take advantage of the combined strengths of the ELISA and AGIDT are shown effective in a national surveillance program for EIA in Italy where 17 per cent (25/149) of the equids considered to be ...
Hinden S, Klukowska-Rötzler J, Janda J, Marti EI, Gerber V, Roosje PJ.Recurrent urticaria (RU) is a common skin disease of horses, but little is known about its pathogenesis. Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the inflammatory cell infiltrate and cytokine expression pattern in the skin of horses with RU. Methods: Biopsies of lesional and nonlesional skin of horses with RU (n = 8) and of skin from healthy control horses (n = 8) were evaluated. Methods: The inflammatory cell infiltrate was analysed by routine histology. Immunohistochemistry was used to identify T cells (CD3), B ells (CD79), macrophages (MAC387) and mast cells (tryptase). E...
Wauters J, Pille F, Martens A, Franck T, Serteyn D, Gasthuys F, Meyer E.Equine joint infection is a life-threatening disorder, and confirmation of the diagnosis can be difficult. Synovial fluid biomarkers may assist the discrimination between infectious and noninfectious joint disease. Objective: This study investigates whether the immunological detection of total and enzymatically active myeloperoxidase (MPO) assists the diagnosis of joint infection in horses. Methods: The following 4 sample groups were included: healthy; osteochondritis dissecans (OCD); traumatic synovitis; and culture-confirmed infected joints. Synovial fluid was analysed for total MPO by a hor...
Nemoto M, Tsunemitsu H, Murase H, Nambo Y, Sato S, Orita Y, Imagawa H, Bannai H, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Matsumura T, Kondo T.Both the G3P[12] and the G14P[12] type of equine group A rotavirus (RVA) have recently become predominant in many countries, including Japan. G3 types are classified further into G3A and G3B. The G3A viruses have been circulating in Europe, Australia, and Argentina, and the G3B viruses have been circulating in Japan. However, only an inactivated vaccine containing a single G3BP[12] strain is commercially available in Japan. To assess the efficacy of the current vaccine against recently circulating equine RVA strains, we examined antibody responses in pregnant mares to recent G3BP[12] and G14P[...
Dixon JB, Jenkins P, Allan D.Culture of murine lymph node cells together with living protoscolices of Echinococcus granulosus is described. The presence of the parasite induced potent blastic transformation in lymphocytes of unimmunized mice as indicated by tritiated thymidine incorporation. The response was markedly reduced by killing the parasite immediately prior to culture. No blastogenic activity was detectable in supernatants from living parasites cultured alone. Protoscolices from artificially infected syngeneic mice were effective stimuli, as were protoscolices from naturally infected horse and sheep. Stimulation ...
Tabynov K, Kydyrbayev Z, Ryskeldinova S, Assanzhanova N, Kozhamkulov Y, Inkarbekov D, Sansyzbay A.To design and evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a modified-live vaccine to prevent equine influenza virus (EIV) infection based on the novel reassortant cold-adapted strain A/HK/Otar/6:2/2010. Methods: Surface proteins (HA, NA) from the wild-type strain A/equine/Otar/764/2007 (H3N8) and internal proteins (PB2, PB1, PA, NP, M, NS) from the attenuated cold-adapted donor strain A/Hong Kong/1/68/162/35CA (H3N2) were included in the vaccine. Horses were administered 10(9.2) EID50 /mL of the modified-live vaccine or saline solution using a nasal spray. The clinical condition of the animals w...
Wagnerová P, Sak B, Květoňová D, Maršálek M, Langrová I, Kváč M.A total of 9 (8 stallions and 1 mare) 1 year old ponies were used for the experimental infection caused by Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype II (10(7) spores per animal). Subsequently, individual horses were slaughtered 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, and 63 days post infection. Immediately after slaughter, tissues samples of stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, colon, spleen, liver, kidney, bladder, heart, lungs, and brain were sampled. In addition, urine, feces and blood specimens were collected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used for determination of humoral immune response and...
Potgieter AC, Cloete M, Pretorius PJ, van Dijk AA.The outer capsid protein VP2 of African horsesickness virus (AHSV) is a major protective antigen. We have cloned full-length VP2 genes from the reference strains of each of the nine AHSV serotypes. Baculovirus recombinants expressing the cloned VP2 genes of serotypes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 were constructed, confirming that they all have full open reading frames. This work completes the cloning and expression of the first full set of AHSV VP2 genes. The clones of VP2 genes of serotypes 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8 were sequenced and their amino acid sequences were deduced. Our sequencing data, together with t...
REBERS PA, HURWITZ E, HEIDELBERGER M.Rebers, Paul A. (Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N. J.), Esther Hurwitz, and Michael Heidelberger. Immunochemistry of pneumococcal types II, V, and VI. II. Inhibition tests in the type VI precipitating system. J. Bacteriol. 82:920-926. 1961.-As in other immune systems involving polysaccharides, rabbit antibodies but not those engendered in the horse were found sensitive to degradation of type VI pneumococcal (Pn) polysaccharide (SVI), and were readily inhibited by fragments of SVI. Large amounts, 30 to 111 mumoles, of most sugars gave up to 15% inhibition, while sugar and polyol phosphates ...
Jonsdottir S, Svansson V, Stefansdottir SB, Mäntylä E, Marti E, Torsteinsdottir S.Insect bite hypersensitivity is an immunoglobulin (Ig)E-mediated dermatitis of horses initiated by bites of midges of the genus Culicoides. Culicoides spp. are not indigenous to Iceland and the prevalence of insect bite hypersensitivity is much higher in horses born in Iceland and exported as compared to Icelandic horses born in a Culicoides rich environment. Immunotherapy is therefore needed. Objective: The aim of the study was to express an allergen from Culicoides in barley grain and investigate whether an immune response could be obtained in healthy Icelandic horses by oral treatment with ...
Ziegler A, Everett H, Hamza E, Garbani M, Gerber V, Marti E, Steinbach F.Dendritic cells are professional antigen-presenting cells that play an essential role in the initiation and modulation of T cell responses. They have been studied widely for their potential clinical applications, but for clinical use to be successful, alternatives to xenogeneic substances like fetal bovine serum (FBS) in cell culture need to be found. Protocols for the generation of dendritic cells ex vivo from monocytes are well established for several species, including horses. Currently, the gold standard protocol for generating dendritic cells from monocytes across various species relies u...
Barrachina L, Remacha AR, Romero A, Zaragoza P, Vázquez FJ, Rodellar C.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising treatment for equine musculoskeletal injuries because of their ability to regulate the inflammation and to differentiate into other cell types. Since interest in allogeneic therapy is rising, concerns about MSC immunogenicity need to be addressed. Differentiated MSCs from several species increase their expression of immunogenic molecules and induce alloresponses, but equine MSC immunogenic profile after differentiation has not been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the gene expression of immunogenic markers in tri-lineage dif...
Thompson MK, Fridy PC, Keegan S, Chait BT, Fenyö D, Rout MP.Antibodies made in large animals are integral to many biomedical research endeavors. Domesticated herd animals like goats, sheep, donkeys, horses and camelids all offer distinct advantages in antibody production. However, their cost of use is often prohibitive, especially where poor antigen response is commonplace; choosing a non-responsive animal can set a research program back or even prevent experiments from moving forward entirely. Over the course of production of antibodies from llamas, we found that some animals consistently produced a higher humoral antibody response than others, even t...
Desideri A, Stefanini S, Polizio F, Petruzzelli R, Chiancone E.Apoferritin has been selectively labeled with a maleimide nitroxide derivative at Cys-126, located in the hydrophilic 3-fold channels. Titration of this derivative with Fe(II), which gives rise to the initial Fe(III)-apoferritin complex, produces, at low metal-to-protein ratios, a decrease of the intensity of the label EPR signal due to the occurrence of a magnetic dipolar interaction. A label-metal distance ranging between 8-12 A can be estimated from titrations performed with VO(IV), which is known to bind in the 3-fold channels, and likewise produces a decrease in the label EPR signal. The ...
Foekel C, Schubert R, Kaatz M, Schmidt I, Bauer A, Hipler UC, Vogelsang H, Rabe K, Jahreis G.In a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, 23 patients consumed 250 ml mare's milk or placebo for 16 weeks. The aim was to examine the effects of mare's milk on the characteristics of atopic dermatitis (AD), on faecal microbiota and on clinical and immunological parameters. The intensity of AD was examined using the Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index. During the mare's milk period, the mean SCORAD value of patients (n=23; 17 females, 6 males) decreased from 30.1 to 25.3 after 12 weeks (P<0.05) and to 26.7 after 16 weeks (P<0.1). In a subgroup (n=7) the SCORA...
Maury W, Thompson RJ, Jones Q, Bradley S, Denke T, Baccam P, Smazik M, Oaks JL.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a lentivirus with in vivo cell tropism primarily for tissue macrophages; however, in vitro the virus can be adapted to fibroblasts and other cell types. Tropism adaptation is associated with both envelope and long terminal repeat (LTR) changes, and findings strongly suggest that these regions of the genome influence cell tropism and virulence. Furthermore, high levels of genetic variation have been well documented in both of these genomic regions. However, specific EIAV nucleotide or amino acid changes that are responsible for cell tropism changes have ...
Ortved K, Wagner B, Calcedo R, Wilson J, Schaefer D, Nixon A.Intraarticular (IA) administration of viral vectors expressing a therapeutic transgene is an attractive treatment modality for osteoarthritis (OA) as the joint can be treated as a contained unit. Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in vivo can limit vector effectiveness. Transduction of articular tissues has been investigated; however, the immune response to IA vectors remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that IA rAAV2 and rAAV5 overexpressing insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) would result in long-term IGF-I formation but would also induce neutralizing antibodies (NAb) and anti-c...
Durward-Akhurst SA, Finno CJ, Barnes N, Shivers J, Guo LT, Shelton GD, Valberg SJ.Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) I and II expression is not normally detected on sarcolemma, but is detected with lymphocytic infiltrates in immune-mediated myositis (IMM) of humans and dogs and in dysferlin-deficient muscular dystrophy. Objective: To determine if sarcolemmal MHC is expressed in active IMM in horses, if MHC expression is associated with lymphocytic subtype, and if dysferlin is expressed in IMM. Methods: Twenty-one IMM horses of Quarter Horse-related breeds, 3 healthy and 6 disease controls (3 pasture myopathy, 3 amylase-resistant polysaccharide storage myopathy [PSSM]). ...
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 ...
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 ...
Ibrahim S, Steinbach F.In addition to the 379 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) tested in the animal homologues section of HLDA8, another 155 mAbs were screened at the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin for cross-reactivity with equine leukocytes. For this purpose, one colour flow-cytometric analysis was performed as screening test. This additional screening indicated further 16 mAbs as positive with staining homologous to human pattern, 1 mAb with weak (positive) reactivity, 11 mAbs with positive, but likely not valuable staining, 12 mAbs with alternate expression pattern from that expected from human immun...
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...
Gilger BC.Ocular inflammatory diseases, such as dry eye and uveitis, are common, painful, difficult to treat, and may result in vision loss or blindness. Ocular side effects from the use of antiinflammatory drugs (such as corticosteroids or nonsteroidal antiinflammatories) to treat ocular inflammation have prompted development of more specific and safer medications to treat inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases of the eye. To assess the efficacy and safety of these new therapeutics, appropriate immune-relevant animal models of ocular inflammation are needed. Both induced and naturally-occurring mode...
O'Rourke KI, Besola ML, McGuire TC.Proviral sequences in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 3 horses with acute equine infectious anemia virus were monitored using the polymerase chain reaction. Provirus was detected during the initial viremic episode in each horse and during each of 3 relapsing viremic cycles, although the appearance of provirus lagged behind the onset of viremia. Following each viremic episode, provirus levels in the peripheral monocytes decreased to less than 1 copy in 5 x 10(6) cells.
England JJ, Reed DE.Negative contrast electron microscopy (NCEM) was utilized as a routine tool in the diagnosis of viral infections of domestic and wild animals. Viruses identified by this technique were observed in infected culture systems or clinical specimens from several species including horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, cats, pigs, deer, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, antelope, and several avian species. Viruses were identified by NCEM based on their size, morphology, and symmetry and consisted of adenoviruses, herpesviruses, paramyxoviruses, myxoviruses, picornaviruses, parvoviruses, coronaviruses, reoviruses, ...
Pusterla N, Pesavento PA, Leutenegger CM, Hay J, Lowenstine LJ, Durando MM, Magdesian KG.Adiaspiromycosis is a fungal disease of the lung caused by the saprophytic soil mould Emmonsia crescens or, more rarely, E. p a rv a. The fungus affects lower order mammals, mostly rodents, and rarely man, although the organism is distributed worldwide (Sigler 1998). In veterinary medicine, the disease has been reported as an incidental histopathological finding in the lungs of one goat and 2 dogs (Al-Doory et al. 1971; Koller et al. 1976; Koller and Helfer 1978). The term adiaspiromycosis derives from the conidia of this fungus, the adiaconidia, which exhibit the unique property of progressiv...
Van den Oord AH, Wesdorp JJ, Van Dam AF, Verheij JA.In commercial samples of equine myoglobin and samples of equine and bovine myoglobin prepared in the laboratory, a small amount of the protein was present as an aggregate. The presence of the myoglobin aggregate could be demonstrated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 Superfine, which also provided a means of isolating it. Gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 showed the molecular weights of the equine and bovine moyglobin aggregates to be about 35000 and 34000 respectively, thus supporting the hypothesis that they are dimers. This was confirmed for the equine myoglobin by ultracentrifugation meas...
Harris SP, Fujiwara N, Mealey RH, Alperin DC, Naka T, Goda R, Hines SA.Immune adult horses have CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that recognize and lyse Rhodococcus equi-infected cells in an equine lymphocyte alloantigen (ELA)-A [classical major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I]-unrestricted fashion. As protein antigens are MHC class I-restricted, the lack of restriction suggests that the bacterial antigens being recognized by the host are not proteins. The goals of this study were to test the hypothesis that these CTLs recognize unique R. equi cell-wall lipids related to mycobacterial lipids. Initial experiments showed that treatment of soluble R. e...
Nagarajan MM, Simard C.Gag genetic heterogeneity of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) variants in naturally infected horses in Canada was studied since very limited information is available on the variability of EIAV Gag sequences in public database. A phylogenetic analysis based on 414nts of Gag gene sequences amplified by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed the distinct divergence of these variants compared to other published strains in a corresponding region. Significant predicted amino acid sequence variations were also identified in an immunorelevant region within this fragment which correspon...
Soutullo A, Santi MN, Perin JC, Beltramini LM, Borel IM, Frank R, Tonarelli GG.The major core protein of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), p26, is one of the primary immunogenic structural proteins during a persistent infection of horses and is highly conserved among antigenically variants of viral isolates. In order to investigate its immune profile in more detail for a better diagnostic, an epitope mapping was carried out by means of two libraries of overlapping peptide fragments prepared by simultaneous and parallel SPPS on derivatized cellulose membranes (SPOT synthesis). Polyclonal equine sera from infected horses were used for the biological assay. Particularl...
Streng K, Hakze-van der Honing RW, Graham H, van Oort S, de Best PA, Abourashed A, van der Poel WHM.Zoonotic arboviruses (arthropod-borne) of the Orthoflavivirus genus, such as West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV) and Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), are emerging in Northwestern Europe and pose a threat to both human and animal health. In the Netherlands, passive symptomatic surveillance (notification of clinical cases) in horses is one of the main pillars for the early detection of WNV. For such passive surveillance to work properly, horse owners and veterinarians need to recognize symptoms and report suspected cases to the authorities. Currently, little is known about the seropre...
Bruno L, Nappo MA, Frontoso R, Perrotta MG, Di Lecce R, Guarnieri C, Ferrari L, Corradi A.West Nile virus (WNV) is an important zoonotic pathogen belonging to the Flaviviridae family, which is endemic in some areas and emerging in others. WNV is transmitted by blood-sucking mosquitoes of the genus Culicoides, Aedes, and Anopheles, and the infection can cause different clinical symptoms. The most common and benign illness in humans is West Nile fever (WNF), but a lethal neurological disease (WNND), related to the neuro-invasiveness of WNV lineage 2, represents the highest health risk of WNV infection. The neuro-clinical form is recognized in mammals (land and cetaceans), particularl...
van Oirschot JT, Masurel N, Huffels AD, Anker WJ.Influenza virus A-equi 2(Heq2Neq2) caused an epizootic in the Netherlands in the winter of 1978-1979. Horses vaccinated with A/Equi/Praha/56 (HEq1Neq1) and A/Equi/Miami/63 (Heq2Neq2) were also infected and showed clinical signs. The virus involved showed a marked antigenic drift from the prototype and vaccine strain A/Equi/Miami/63 (Heq2Neq2). Infection of ferrets with the Dutch/79 isolates gave rise to high haemagglutination-inhibition antibody titres to a number of A-Equi 2-1963, 1968 and 1979 viruses. The incorporation of this virus into future influenza vaccines should be considered.
