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.
Carrade DD, Affolter VK, Outerbridge CA, Watson JL, Galuppo LD, Buerchler S, Kumar V, Walker NJ, Borjesson DL.BACKGROUND AIMS. The use of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to treat acute equine lesions would greatly expand equine cellular therapy options; however, the safety and antigenicity of these cells have not been well-studied. We hypothesized that equine allogeneic umbilical cord tissue (UCT)-derived MSC would not elicit acute graft rejection or a delayed-type hypersensitivity response when injected intradermally. METHODS. Six Quarterhorse yearlings received 12 intradermal injections (autologous MSC, allogeneic MSC, positive control and negative control, in triplicate) followed by the sam...
Khan I, Wieler LH, Melzer F, Gwida M, Santana VL, de Souza MM, Saqib M, Elschner MC, Neubauer H.The sensitivity and specificity of three commercially available complement fixation test (CFT) antigens from c.c.pro (c.c.pro), Central Veterinary Institute of Wageningen UR (CIDC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) were comparatively evaluated by testing 410 sera collected from glanders-endemic and non-endemic areas (200 true-negative randomly collected sera and 210 sera collected from experimentally immunised animals (12 rabbits, 19 horses), clinically positive (135) and culture-positive (44) horses, donkeys and mules). Immunoblotting (IB) was used as the gold standard te...
Bruhn O, Grötzinger J, Cascorbi I, Jung S.Antimicrobial peptides play a pivotal role as key effectors of the innate immune system in plants and animals and act as endogenous antibiotics. The molecules exhibit an antimicrobial activity against bacteria, viruses, and eukaryotic pathogens with different specificities and potencies depending on the structure and amino-acid composition of the peptides. Several antimicrobial peptides were comprehensively investigated in the last three decades and some molecules with remarkable antimicrobial properties have reached the third phase of clinical studies. Next to the peptides themselves, numerou...
Horsington JJ, Gilkerson JR, Hartley CA.Erbovirus is a genus of the family Picornaviridae and equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV) is the sole species. Erboviruses infect horses causing acute respiratory disease and sub-clinical and persistent infections. Despite the high seroprevalence and worldwide distribution of these viruses, the pathogenesis and antigenic structure of the three ERBV serotypes (ERBV1, 2 and 3) is poorly understood. To characterise linear epitopes on ERBV structural proteins, a set of fusion proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli. These proteins were tested in Western blot and ELISA and reactive proteins were als...
Peroni JF, Borjesson DL.The recent interest in equine stem cell biology and the rapid increase in experimental data highlight the growing attention that this topic has been receiving over the past few years. Within the field of stem cell biology, the relevance of immunobiology is of particular intrigue. It appears that optimal and effective stem cell therapy for equine patients will require a thorough analysis of the immune properties of stem cells as well as their response to immune mediators. The main goal of this review is to discuss the biology of adult mesenchymal stem cells in the context of immunology.
Curling A.Equine recurrent uveitis has traditionally been treated with medical management to reduce ocular inflammation and control pain during a single episode. Newer management methods include surgical options such as cyclosporine implantation and vitrectomy. These methods were developed not only to control inflammation but also to eliminate the underlying cause of uveitis in order to prevent recurrence.
Lin YZ, Shen RX, Zhu ZY, Deng XL, Cao XZ, Wang XF, Ma J, Jiang CG, Zhao LP, Lv XL, Shao YM, Zhou JH.The EIAV (equine infectious anemia virus) multi-species attenuated vaccine EIAV(DLV121) successfully prevented the spread of equine infectious anemia (EIA) in China in the 1970s and provided an excellent model for the study of protective immunity to lentiviruses. In this study, we compared immune responses induced by EIAV(DLV121) to immunity elicited by the virulent EIAV(LN40) strain and correlated immune responses to protection from infection. Horses were randomly grouped and inoculated with either EIAV(DLV121) (Vaccinees, Vac) or a sublethal dose of EIAV(LN40) (asymptomatic carriers, Car). C...
Breuer J, Schmoll F, Uhlig A, Schusser GF.Equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) caused by Lawsonia (L.) intracellularis is an emerging disease in foals, particularly in North America. Since a case report in Germany exists, the objective of this study was to examine the incidence of L. intracellularis-antibodies in healthy horses from two German breeding farms. In group 1, serum samples from 24 (year 1) and 16 (year 2) Haflinger mares and their foals were taken. In group 2, over a period of five months, serum samples of six warmblood mares and foals were collected monthly from birth until the foals became seronegative. Serum samples w...
Wagner B, Freer H, Rollins A, Erb HN, Lu Z, Gröhn Y.Lyme disease is a zoonotic, vector-borne disease and occurs in mammals including horses. The disease is induced by infection with spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group. Infection of mammalian hosts requires transmission of spirochetes by infected ticks during tick bites. Lyme disease diagnosis is based on clinical signs, possible exposure to infected ticks, and antibody testing which is traditionally performed by ELISA and Western blotting (WB). This report describes the development and validation of a new fluorescent bead-based multiplex assay for the detection of antibodie...
Minke JM, El-Hage CM, Tazawa P, Homer D, Lemaitre L, Cozette V, Gilkerson JR, Kirkland PD.The results of an accelerated immunisation schedule for horses used as part of the emergency response plan to contain and eradicate equine influenza in Australia in 2007 is described. The horses studied were vaccinated with a recombinant canarypox-vectored vaccine (ProteqFlu®, Merial) with a shorter interdose interval. Vaccinated horses included foals aged less than 4 months.
Arias MS, Piñeiro P, Hillyer GV, Francisco I, Cazapal-Monteiro CF, Suárez JL, Morrondo P, Sánchez-Andrade R, Paz-Silva A.The utility of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine the sensitization against the trematode Fasciola hepatica in horses from an endemic area (NW Spain) was assessed. Blood samples were collected from 536 horses and tested against a 2.9-kDa recombinant surface protein (FhrAPS) to estimate the presence of IgG antibodies. Data were analysed regarding several intrinsic (age, gender and breed) and extrinsic factors (aptitude and housing). The farm size (number of horses/farm) was also considered. Sixty percent (95% CI 56, 64) of the horses were positive to the FhrAPS-ELISA, with a sign...
Carr E, Schott H, Pusterla N.Equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) reactivation and shedding can occur in latently infected, asymptomatic animals. Risk factors for reactivation include stress and illness. The risk of asymptomatic shedding in hospitalized, critically ill horses with acute abdominal disease is unknown. This information is important to assess the need for additional biosecurity protocols to prevent spread of EHV-1 in hospitalized critically ill horses with acute abdominal disorders. Objective: To determine the frequency of reactivation and nasal shedding of EHV-1 in hospitalized critically ill horses. Methods: One hun...
Toth AM, Geisler C, Aumiller JJ, Jarvis DL.In an effort to produce processed, soluble Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) glycoproteins for subunit therapeutic vaccine studies, we isolated twelve recombinant baculoviruses designed to express four different WEEV glycoprotein constructs under the transcriptional control of three temporally distinct baculovirus promoters. The WEEV glycoprotein constructs encoded full-length E1, the E1 ectodomain, an E26KE1 polyprotein precursor, and an artificial, secretable E2E1 chimera. The three different promoters induced gene expression during the immediate early (ie1), late (p6.9), and very lat...
Racine J, Gerber V, Feutz MM, Riley CP, Adamec J, Swinburne JE, Couetil LL.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a severe chronic respiratory disease affecting horses worldwide, though mostly in the Northern hemisphere. Environmental as well as genetic factors strongly influence the course and prognosis of the disease. Research has been focused on characterization of immunologic factors contributing to inflammatory responses, on genetic linkage analysis, and, more recently, on proteomic analysis of airway secretions from affected horses. The goal of this study was to investigate the interactions between eight candidate genes previously identified in a genetic linkage...
Liu M, Bordin A, Liu T, Russell K, Cohen N.Focusing on the first 3 weeks of life, this study examined the mRNA transcript development of different Th-type cytokines in foals in response to Rhodococcus equi infection in vitro. Results demonstrated the significant up-regulation in expression of Th1-, Th2-, and Th17-type cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p35, IL-12p40, IL-17, IL-23p19, and TNF-α) in R. equi infection of bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL) cells of 10-day-old foals. Consequently, signature cytokines of 3 Th cell types, IFN-γ (Th1), IL-4 (Th2), and IL-17 (Th17), were used to compare temporal response patterns of circu...
Beck S, Blunden T, Dyson S, Murray R.It was hypothesised that there is increased blood vessel frequency and proteoglycan staining intensity within the distal aspect of the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) in horses with chronic foot pain. Samples of the DDFT from three standardised sites from 10 age-matched mature horses, with chronic foot pain (Group L) or with no history of forelimb lameness (Group N), were collected for this study. A histological analysis of haematoxylin and eosin-stained sections focussed on the frequency and location of blood vessels, while safranin 0 fast green staining was used for semi-quantitative asses...
Martins TB, Kommers GD, Trost ME, Inkelmann MA, Fighera RA, Schild AL.Twenty-one cases of pythiosis in horses (n = 10), dogs (n = 9) and cattle (n = 2) were investigated. The aetiology in all cases was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Data related to the clinical course and outcome and localization of the lesions were obtained from pathology reports. The equine lesions consisted of fibrotic tissue with multiple, often coalescing, areas of immature granulation tissue encircling eosinophilic cores. Affected dogs had gastrointestinal and/or cutaneous lesions with either or both of a granulomatous/pyogranulomatous or necrotizing eosinophilic inflammatory reaction....
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...
Muehlmann LA, Michelotto PV, Nunes EA, Grando FC, da Silva FT, Nishiyama A.Phagocytosis exerted by alveolar macrophages and neutrophils is crucial in the clearance of exogenous particles deposited in the airways. Therefore, substances that activate these phagocytes in the airways can exert important effects on the particle clearance rate. PAF, particularly, was proved to be a potent activator of several immune cells and was shown to be present in the equine lower airways in specific conditions, such as after exercise. The present study aimed to investigate if PAF is able to increase the phagocytic capacity and the production of superoxide anion in equine alveolar mac...
Ibrahim S, Steinbach F.Earlier studies investigating the cross-reactivity of antibodies submitted to the HLDA8 had used flow cytometry as a method of choice to screen mAbs for reactivity with equine leukocytes, including two-color flow-cytometry to characterize the lymphocyte population they detect. In addition, immuno-histochemistry (IHC) was used to detect distribution of positive cells in lymphoid tissue sections. In this study we performed immunoprecipitation (IP) to complement the previous results and add valuable information regarding the molecules detected by the cross-reacting antibodies. Surface molecules f...
Kalemkerian PB, Metz GE, Peral-García P, Lopez-Gappa J, Echeverría MG, Giovambattista G, Díaz S.We investigated the association of equine arteritis virus (EAV) infection and three short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphisms located within or in close proximity to equine lymphocyte antigen (ELA) region. We used a case-control design as a first approach before proceeding to select candidate genes. One hundred and sixty-five Silla Argentino horses were taken in 2002 from positive serological detections of EAV in Argentina, to determine whether STR genotypes were correlated to genetic susceptibility to EVA. Allele frequency distribution did not show significant differences between both groups (P...
Borst LB, Patterson SK, Lanka S, Barger AM, Fredrickson RL, Maddox CW.To evaluate a commercially available modified-live Streptococcus equi subsp equi vaccine for safety and persistence in vaccinated ponies and to detect recombination or reversion events in the vaccine strain. Methods: 5 ponies that were 1.5 to 8 years old (group 1) and 4 ponies that were 6 months old (group 2). Methods: Ponies were vaccinated, with a subsequent booster vaccination 2 to 3 weeks later, and monitored for 50 days. At booster vaccination, an equal amount of a tetracycline-resistant wild-type strain of S equiwas administered. Recovery of all strains was performed by use of bacteriolo...
Quintana AM, Hussey SB, Burr EC, Pecoraro HL, Annis KM, Rao S, Landolt GA.To evaluate whether an equine-derived canine H3N8 influenza A virus was capable of infecting and transmitting disease to ponies. Methods: 20 influenza virus-seronegative 12- to 24-month-old ponies. Methods: 5 ponies were inoculated via aerosol exposure with 10(7) TCID(50) of A/Canine/Wyoming/86033/07 virus (Ca/WY)/pony. A second group of 5 ponies (positive control group) was inoculated via aerosol exposure with a contemporary A/Eq/Colorado/10/07 virus (Eq/CO), and 4 sham-inoculated ponies served as a negative control group. To evaluate the potential for virus transmission, ponies (3/inoculatio...
Faleiros RR, Leise BS, Watts M, Johnson PJ, Black SJ, Belknap JK.Chemokines play a vital role in leukocyte activation and emigration that reportedly plays a central role in laminar injury in equine laminitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pattern of laminar chemokine expression in horses in the classical carbohydrate overload (CHO)-model of laminitis. Laminar samples were obtained 24h following water administration in the control group (CON, n=8), and at the onset of fever (≥ 102°F, 12-22 h post CHO, DEV group, n=8) and at the onset of lameness (20-48 h post CHO, LAM group, n=8) in induced horses. Real time quantitative PCR was performed ...
Kim SK, Kim S, Dai G, Zhang Y, Ahn BC, O'Callaghan DJ.The equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) negative regulatory IR2 protein (IR2P), an early 1,165-amino acid (aa) truncated form of the 1487-aa immediate-early protein (IEP), lacks the trans-activation domain essential for IEP activation functions but retains domains for binding DNA, TFIIB, and TBP and the nuclear localization signal. IR2P mutants of the N-terminal region which lack either DNA-binding activity or TFIIB-binding activity were unable to down-regulate EHV-1 promoters. In EHV-1-infected cells expressing full-length IR2P, transcription and protein expression of viral regulatory IE, early EICP...
Burbelo PD, Bren KE, Ching KH, Coleman A, Yang X, Kariu T, Iadarola MJ, Pal U.Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi is common in horses and ponies from the New England and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Here, we evaluated luciferase immunoprecipitation systems (LIPS) for profiling antibody responses against three different antigenic targets for the diagnosis of equine B. burgdorferi infection. LIPS testing of horse serum samples suspected of Lyme infection revealed that approximately 75% of the horse samples (114/159) were seropositive against the synthetic VOVO antigen, comprising repeated immunodominant C6 epitopes as well as OspC immunodominant epitopes. A ...
Klier J, May A, Fuchs S, Schillinger U, Plank C, Winter G, Gehlen H, Coester C.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in horses has become a common problem in stabled horses in industrialized countries and deserves new therapeutic strategies. CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs) were developed as effective immunostimulating agents to induce a Th2/Th1 shift. These agents showed a beneficial therapeutic effect in allergic diseases with predominant Th2 immunoresponse. CpG-ODN delivery by gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) resulted in enhanced cellular uptake in murine and human in vitro studies and was a starting point for the present trial. The aim of this study was to identify an o...
Fettelschoss-Gabriel A, Birkmann K, Pantelyushin S, Kündig TM.Equine Culicoides hypersensitivity (CH) is the most common allergic condition in horses affecting the skin. This review focuses on immunopathology and molecular mechanisms of equine CH. The role of eosinophils is emphasized, as well as disease severity and the influence of long-term chronic allergen exposure on T helper (Th) 2 cells. Using current knowledge from human allergic disorders, similar effects are hypothesized in equine patients. Key aspects of CH diagnosis and treatment are discussed, focusing on allergen specific immunotherapy and allergen-independent approaches, such as targeting ...
Verma RD, Sharma JK, Venkateswaran KS, Batra HV.A dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot ELISA) was developed for diagnosis of glanders in equines. The test was based on the detection of IgG antibodies to Pseudomonas mallei antigens bound to nitrocellulose coated on plastic strips (dipsticks), the reaction being amplified by an avidin-biotin system with biotinylated anti-horse IgG and horseradish peroxidase-avidin D. Sera from 810 normal, six naturally infected and 48 sensitized equines were tested by this assay, and results were compared with complement fixation, indirect haemagglutination and counter-immunoelectrophoresis tests. Dot E...
Marti E, Urwyler A, Neuenschwander M, Eicher R, Meier D, de Weck AL, Gerber H, Lazary S, Dahinden CA.Sulfidoleukotrienes (sLT) generated in vitro after incubation of equine peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) with different inducing agents were determined in 18 healthy and 16 insect bite dermal hypersensitivity (IDH)-affected horses. PBL from these 32 horses were stimulated with Concanavalin A, Parascaris equorum, Culicoides nubeculosus and Simulium extracts, and with a six-Grass mix. The cells of all but four horses generated sLT after incubation with Concanavalin A; these four horses did also not produce sLT with the other inducing agents. Of the 28 remaining horses (12 affected with IDH and ...
Rouse BT, Ingram DG.Thirty-six samples of colostrum and milk were collected from ponies at various intervals after parturition. Levels of total protein and immunoglobulins IgG and IgG(T) were determined. In samples collected in the first 3 hours , the total protein concentration was approximately twice that of serum protein and the immunoglobulins IgG and IgG(T) accounted for 30 per cent and 10 per cent respectively of this protein. The ratio of IgG to IgG(T) was similar to that in serum. After suckling, a marked decline in both total protein and immunoglobulin concentration occurred. In addition, the relative co...
Herrler A, Pell JM, Allen WR, Beier HM, Stewart F.Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) promotes early embryonic development in several species. In the rabbit, IGF-I binds to the embryonic coats from Day 3 of development onward by a 38-kDa protein that is probably insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3). In the present study, ligand, Western, and Northern blot analyses were used to demonstrate the presence of IGF-I-binding activity, several immunoreactive IGFBP3 proteins, and IGFBP3 mRNA in horse conceptuses with particularly large amounts of immunoreactive IGFBP3 in the conceptus capsule. In addition, immunoprecipitation of radi...
Sentsui H, Kono Y.Horse erythrocytes treated with equine infectious anemia virus hemagglutinin were found to be lysed after incubation with fresh horse serum at 37 degrees C. Fresh guinea pig serum induced more efficient hemolysis than horse serum. Direct immunofluorescence test revealed the adsorption of complement factors on the surface of the erythrocytes. Calcium and magnesium ions were necessary for the hemolysis to take place. Antibody against equine infectious anemia virus enhanced the virus-induced complement-mediated hemolysis. These observations indicated that the classical pathway of complement activ...
House C, Mikiciuk PE, Berninger ML.Five serological methods of diagnosing African horse sickness were evaluated, using a battery of serum samples from experimental horses vaccinated and challenged with each serotype of African horse sickness virus (AHSV1 through AHSV9): agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID), indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA), complement fixation (CF), virus neutralization (VN), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The 5 tests were also compared using a panel of field samples, convalescent equine sera with antibodies to domestic equine viral diseases, and sera from horses awaiting export. The ELISA describ...
Walker JA, Timoney JF.Streptococcus equi causes equine strangles, a purulent lymphadenopathy of the head and neck. An avirulent, non-encapsulated strain (Pinnacle) has been used widely in North America as an intranasal vaccine. The aim of the study was to create a specific mutation of the hyaluronate synthase (hasA) gene in Pinnacle to permanently abolish the production of capsule and provide an easily recognisable genetic marker. An internal fragment of hasA was generated by PCR and cloned into pTW100 (Microscience, UK). An encapsulated revertant of Pinnacle was then transformed with the recombinant plasmid by ele...
Ryan M, Gildea S, Walsh C, Cullinane A.More knowledge of equine influenza (EI) vaccine usage in training yards and the factors that influence serological response to vaccination are required to determine evidence-based vaccination strategies. Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain the vaccination history of a population of Thoroughbred racehorses and identify factors that impacted on their antibody titres against EI. Methods: Observational field study. Methods: The study population consisted of 102 vaccinated Thoroughbred horses in training on a single premises. The vaccination histories recorded in their official passpo...
Cain JL, Nielsen MK.The equine ascarids, Parascaris spp., are important nematode parasites of juvenile horses and were historically model organisms in the field of cell biology, leading to many important discoveries, and are used for the study of chromatin diminution. In veterinary parasitology, Parascaris spp. are important not only because they can cause clinical disease in young horses but also because they are the only ascarid parasites to have developed widespread anthelmintic resistance. Despite this, much of the general biology and mechanisms of anthelmintic resistance are poorly understood. This review co...
De-Simone SG, Napoleão-Pêgo P, Teixeira-Pinto LA, Melgarejo AR, Aguiar AS, Provance DW.The presence of whole horse IgG in therapeutic snake antivenom preparations of high purity is a contamination that can cause IgE-mediated allergic reactions in patients. In this study, the immunodominant IgE and IgG-binding epitopes in horse heavy chain IgG3 were mapped using arrays of overlapping peptides synthesized directly onto activated cellulose membranes. Pooled human sera from patients with and without horse antivenom allergies were used to probe the membrane. We have demonstrated that, for both cases, individuals produce antibodies to epitopes of sequential amino acids of horse heavy ...
Olave C, Alvarez P, Uberti B, Morales N, Henriquez C, Folch H, Sarmiento J, Moran G.Neutrophils play an important role in the exacerbation and maintenance of severe equine asthma; persistent neutrophil activity and delayed apoptosis can be harmful to surrounding tissues. Tamoxifen (TX) is a nonsteroidal estrogen receptor modulator with immunomodulatory effects and induces early apoptosis of blood and bronchoalveolar lavage neutrophils from horses with acute lung inflammation. This study investigated if the in vitro effects of tamoxifen are produced by its action on nuclear (α and β) and membrane (GPR30) estrogen receptors in healthy equine neutrophils. Results showed that T...
Balson GA, Smith GD, Yager JA.The purpose of this study was to define the normal immunophenotype of equine lymphocytes present within the pulmonary air spaces, and to determine if this changes as foals age from one to ten weeks. Six pairs of mares and foals underwent sequential bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) between 1 and 10 weeks of age. Data were grouped according to foal age (1, 1-3, 3-6, or 6-10 weeks of age) and were compared to adult control values obtained from the mares. BAL cells were harvested and stained with antibodies to the equine homologues of CD5, CD4, CD8, CD44, MHC I, MHC II and to equine IgG. Data, includi...
Wilson SM, Rakhit S, Murdoch R, Pediani JD, Elder HY, Baines DL, Ko WH, Wong PY.Experiments were undertaken using cultured equine sweat gland epithelial cells that express purine receptors belonging to the P2U subclass which allow the selective agonist uridine triphosphate (UTP) to increase the concentration of intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i). Experiments using pertussis toxin (Ptx), which inactivates certain guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins), showed that this response consisted of Ptx-sensitive and Ptx-resistant components, and immunochemical analyses of the G-protein alpha subunits present in the cells showed that both Ptx-sensitive (alpha i1-3) and Ptx...
Brooks AC, Menzies-Gow N, Bailey SR, Cunningham FM, Elliott J.Hypoxia may enhance the deleterious effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the endotoxaemic horse. This study has examined some of the actions of LPS and hypoxia, alone and in combination, on cultured equine digital vein endothelial cells (EDVEC) and the signalling molecules involved. Methods: EDVEC were exposed to LPS, 5% O(2) and LPS then 5% O(2) for up to 24 h. HIF-1alpha stabilisation, neutrophil adhesion and EDVEC permeability were assessed by immunoblotting, measurement of myeloperoxidase and movement of FITC-dextran, respectively. Pharmacological inhibitors were used to assess the roles...
Szeredi L, Haake DA.The aim of this study was to examine the utility of immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the diagnosis of leptospiral equine abortion and to compare IHC to silver staining and serology of the aborted mares. Ninety-six fetuses from 57 farms were examined using all 3 diagnostic techniques, revealing evidence of leptospiral infection in 3 fetuses (3.1%) from 3 (5.3%) different farms. A new finding in 1 of these confirmed cases of leptospiral abortion was the presence of macroscopic pinpoint grayish-white nodules that had a histologic correlate of hepatic necrosis; other histologic findings were consiste...
Prescott JF, Fernandez AS, Nicholson VM, Patterson MC, Yager JA, Viel L, Perkins G.An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed against Rhodococcus equi using Triton X-114 detergent extracted whole cell material, in which the virulence associated protein (VapA) predominated. Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay titres corresponded to antibody reacting with VapA on Western blots. There was considerable variation in antibody titres of nonimmunised mares and in the time when the colostrally derived antibody of their foals had declined to low or undetectable titres. In general, antibodies in foals declined to their lowest levels at age 4-8 weeks. Seroconversion occurre...
Parma AE, Fernández AS, Santisteban CG, Bowden RA, Cerone SI.An antigenic relationship between Leptospira interrogans and equine cornea was previously described by us. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed in the present work to investigate the existence of anti-leptospira and anti-cornea antibodies in tears, aqueous humor and serum from horses inoculated i.m. with those antigens. Ten days after a booster by the same route, antibodies that bind to microtiter plates, coated with an homogenate of either equine cornea or leptospira, were detected in those fluids and in the sera. At the same time, the corneas of the horses began to develop a dif...
Einhorn L, Hofstetter G, Brandt S, Hainisch EK, Fukuda I, Kusano K, Scheynius A, Mittermann I, Resch-Marat Y, Vrtala S, Valenta R, Marti E, Rhyner C....Companion animals are also affected by IgE-mediated allergies, but the eliciting molecules are largely unknown. We aimed at refining an allergen microarray to explore sensitization in horses and compare it to the human IgE reactivity profiles. Methods: Custom-designed allergen microarray was produced on the basis of the ImmunoCAP ISAC technology containing 131 allergens. Sera from 51 horses derived from Europe or Japan were tested for specific IgE reactivity. The included horse patients were diagnosed for eczema due to insect bite hypersensitivity, chronic coughing, recurrent airway obstructio...
Bousfield GR, Butnev VY, Butnev VY.The O-glycosylation sites for equine LHss (eLHss) and eCGss were identified by solid-phase Edman degradation of four glycopeptides derived from the C-terminal region. Both subunits were O-glycosylated at the same 12 positions, rather than the 4-6 sites anticipated. These sites were partially glycosylated, with carbohydrate attachment ranging from 20% to 100% for eCGss and from 10% to 100% for eLHss. When the C-terminal peptide containing all but one of the O-linked oligosaccharides was removed by mild acid hydrolysis of either eLHss or eCGss, hybrid hormones could be obtained by reassociating ...
Charan S, Palmer K, Chester P, Mire-Sluis AR, Meager A, Edington N.Up to 21 days after exposure to live or ultraviolet-inactivated equid herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) autologous serum from ponies caused an immunosuppressive effect if incorporated into T-cell proliferation assays to EHV-1. The suppressive factor in the sera of ponies also inhibited T-cell response to phytohaemagglutinin. Increased levels of circulating activated transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) were detected, and the suppressive activity of the serum could be reversed by antibody to TGF-beta 1. In a challenge experiment the ponies which exhibited circulating TGF-beta 1 activity succ...
Nielsen MK, Vidyashankar AN, Gravatte HS, Bellaw J, Lyons ET, Andersen UV.Strongylus vulgaris is regarded as the most pathogenic helminth parasite infecting horses. Migrating larvae cause pronounced endarteritis and thrombosis in the cranial mesenteric artery and adjacent branches, and thromboembolism can lead to ischemia and infarction of large intestinal segments. A recently developed serum ELISA allows detection of S. vulgaris-specific antibodies during the six-month-long prepatent period. A population of horses has been maintained at the University of Kentucky without anthelmintic intervention since 1979, and S. vulgaris has been documented to be highly prevalen...
Morrison LR, Freel K, Henderson I, Hahn C, Smith SH.Lymphoma (malignant lymphoma, lymphosarcoma) is uncommon in horses in the United Kingdom. This report describes an unusual form of lymphoproliferative disease with features of lymphoma restricted to the central nervous system (CNS) and with no evidence of a primary lesion elsewhere. Immunohistochemical examination defined an overwhelming predominance of T lymphocytes with admixed B lymphocytes and activated macrophages. This case exemplifies the challenges associated with definitive diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disease of the equine CNS.
Heldens JG, van Loon AA, van de Zande S.Conventional equine influenza vaccination schedules consist of a primary course of two vaccinations given 4-6 weeks apart followed by a third vaccination (booster) given approximately 5 months later. In between the primary course and the third vaccination, horses are generally considered not to be adequately protected against influenza. This study aimed to investigate whether Thoroughbred foals would benefit from a vaccination schedule in which the third vaccination was given earlier than in conventional vaccination schedules. The vaccines used were an inactivated whole virus equine influenza ...
Kodama A, Yanai T, Yomemaru K, Sakai H, Masegi T, Yamada S, Fukushi H, Kuraishi T, Hattori S, Kai C.Equine herpesvirus 9 (EHV-9) is a new neurotropic equine herpesvirus which induced encephalitis in a variety of animals. However, there was no information on the susceptibility of EHV-9 in primates. Methods: To assess the infectivity of EHV-9, four common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) were inoculated by the nasal route with 10(6) plaque-forming units of EHV-9. Conclusions: All of the inoculated animals exhibited various neurological signs progressing to collapse. Histologically, the affected animals had severe encephalitis characterized by neuronal degeneration and necrosis with intranuclear ...
Pearce JW, Galle LE, Kleiboeker SB, Turk JR, Schommer SK, Dubielizig RR, Mitchell WJ, Moore CP, Giuliano EA.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is the most frequent cause of blindness in horses worldwide. Leptospira has been implicated as an etiologic agent in some cases of ERU and has been detected in fresh ocular tissues of affected horses. The objective of this study was to determine the presence of Leptospira antigen and DNA in fixed equine ocular tissues affected with end-stage ERU. Sections of eyes from 30 horses were obtained. Controls included 1) 10 normal equine eyes and 2) 10 equine eyes with a nonrecurrent form of uveitis. The experimental group consisted of 10 eyes diagnosed with ERU based on...
Wolf CA, Maslchitzky E, Gregory RM, Jobim MI, Mattos RC.The objective was to determine the effects of corticotherapy, in the presence and absence of uterine inflammation, on proteomics of endometrial fluid from mares susceptible to endometritis. In 11 mares, estrus was induced seven times with 5 mg PGF(2α) given at 14-day intervals. The first estrus was a control (no treatment). During the third estrus, mares received glucocorticoid (GC) treatment (20 mg isoflupredone acetate) every 12 h, for three consecutive days. The fifth estrus was the Infected treatment (intrauterine infusion of 1 × 10(9) colony-forming unit/mL Streptococcus equi subspecies...
Manso TC, Groenner-Penna M, Minozzo JC, Antunes BC, Ippolito GC, Molina F, Felicori LF.Horse serum antibodies have been used for greater than a century for the treatment and prophylaxis of infectious diseases and envenomations. Little is known, however, about the immunogenetic diversity that produces horse serum antibodies. Here, we employed next-generation sequencing for a first-in-kind comprehensive analysis of the equine B-cell repertoire. Nearly 45,000 and 30,000 clonotypes were obtained for the heavy-chain (IGH) and lambda light-chain (IGL) loci, respectively. We observed skewed use of the common subgroups IGHV2 (92.49%) and IGLV8 (82.50%), consistent with previous reports,...
BMC research notesJuly 19, 2016
Volume 9 353 doi: 10.1186/s13104-016-2161-9
Tarlinton RE, Alder L, Moreton J, Maboni G, Emes RD, Tötemeyer S.Toll like receptors are one of the major innate immune system pathogen recognition systems. There is little data on the expression of the TLR10 member of this family in the horse. Results: This paper describes the genetic structure of the Equine TLR10 gene and its RNA expression in a range of horse tissues. It describes the phylogenetic analysis of the Equine TLR1,6,10,2 annotations in the horse genome, firmly identifying them in their corresponding gene clades compared to other species and firmly placing the horse gene with other TLR10 genes from odd-toed ungulates. Additional 3' transcript e...
Mählmann K, Feige K, Juhls C, Endmann A, Schuberth HJ, Oswald D, Hellige M, Doherr M, Cavalleri JM.Equine melanoma has a high incidence in grey horses. Xenogenic DNA vaccination may represent a promising therapeutic approach against equine melanoma as it successfully induced an immunological response in other species suffering from melanoma and in healthy horses. In a clinical study, twenty-seven, grey, melanoma-bearing, horses were assigned to three groups (n = 9) and vaccinated on days 1, 22, and 78 with DNA vectors encoding for equine (eq) IL-12 and IL-18 alone or in combination with either human glycoprotein (hgp) 100 or human tyrosinase (htyr). Horses were vaccinated intramuscularl...
