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.
Haneda S, Nagaoka K, Nambo Y, Kikuchi M, Nakano Y, Matsui M, Miyake Y, Macleod JN, Imakawa K.To identify factors involved in the establishment of pregnancy in the mare, endometrium was collected from day 13 (day 0=day of ovulation) cyclic and day 13, 19, and 25 pregnant animals. From initial cDNA subtraction studies, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) mRNA was found as a candidate molecule expressed uniquely in the pregnant endometrium. Expression of IL-1RN mRNA was markedly increased in day 19 and 25 gravid endometrium. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that IL-1RN mRNA was localized to the glandular epithelium. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN) protein was fou...
Castagnolli KC, Ferreira BR, Franzin AM, de Castro MB, Szabó MP.This work evaluated the effect of the Amblyomma cajennense tick on the immune response of BALB/c mice and on horse lymph node cell proliferation. We observed that mice do not develop resistance to nymphs of this tick species and that lymphocyte proliferation of this host is inhibited by tick saliva, nymphal extract, or infestations. Horse lymph node cell proliferation is inhibited by tick saliva as well. Mice lymphocytes under the effect of tick saliva, nymphal extract, or infestations display a predominantly Th-2 cytokine production pattern. Observed results partially explain this tick's dise...
Fulton A, Peters ST, Perkins GA, Jarosinski KW, Damiani A, Brosnahan M, Buckles EL, Osterrieder N, Van de Walle GR.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), a member of the Alphaherpesvirinae, is spread via nasal secretions and causes respiratory disease, neurological disorders and abortions. The virus is a significant equine pathogen, but current EHV-1 vaccines are only partially protective and effective metaphylactic and therapeutic agents are not available. Small interfering RNAs (siRNA's), delivered intranasally, could prove a valuable alternative for infection control. siRNA's against two essential EHV-1 genes, encoding the viral helicase (Ori) and glycoprotein B, were evaluated for their potential to decrea...
Wolf TM, Gandolf AR, Dooley JL, Atkinson MW, Wolfe BA.Vaccination has been an important component of preventative health care programs of North American zoologic institutions in their protection of valuable species against West Nile virus (WNV) infection since its detection in 1999. Although approved only for horses, commercial WNV vaccine has been used for the purpose of protection of nondomestic species, including avian, equid, and rhinoceros species. Currently, there are two commercial equine vaccines available, a killed vaccine and a recombinant viral-vectored vaccine. Both products have been used for the vaccination of Greater One-horned rhi...
Waghmare A, Deopurkar RL, Salvi N, Khadilkar M, Kalolikar M, Gade SK.The use of adjuvant is of fundamental importance in vaccines formulations and antisera production. Currently selection and use of adjuvant systems in snake antivenom preparation has become a major issue in terms of animal welfare as well as economics. In order to minimize disadvantages associated with traditionally used Freund's adjuvant (FA) in equines and to produce potent polyvalent antivenom against four Indian snake venoms in minimum possible period, a comparison was made between various commercially available non-emulsion/emulsion based adjuvants like IMS 3012, ISA 206 and ISA 35 with In...
Flaminio MJ, Nydam DV, Marquis H, Matychak MB, Giguère S.Susceptibility of foals to Rhodococcus equi pneumonia is exclusive to the first few months of life. The objective of this study was to investigate the immediate immunologic response of foal and adult horse antigen-presenting cells (APCs) upon infection with R. equi. We measured the activation of the antigen-presenting major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecule, costimulatory molecules CD40 and CD86, the cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12), and the transcriptional factor interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) in monocyte-derived macrophages (mMOs) and dendritic cells (mDCs) of adult h...
Reid CJ, Thompson L, Donnelly S, Deaton CM, Marlin DJ, Carrington SD, Irwin JA.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a chronic inflammatory condition in equine lung, which may share a common immunological basis with human asthma, in which dysregulated Th2 responses occur. Mammals express chitinases and chitinase-like proteins, two of which are active enzymes, chitotriosidase and acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase). Both enzymes are upregulated in a range of inflammatory conditions, including asthma. We investigated the activity of chitinase in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from horses with and without RAO in response to organic dust challenges. No significant differences ...
Matthews AG.This paper overviews some recent developments in mammalian corneal immunobiology, and discusses how these may act as pointers towards understanding the immunology underlying some common corneal diseases in the horse, including infectious ulceration and presumptively immune-mediated non-ulcerative disease. Specifically, three aspects of corneal immunobiology are examined: the role of Toll-like receptors in surface immunity and in the etiogenesis of microbial ulceration, the relationship between conjunctiva associated lymphoid tissue (CALT) and immunoprotection of the corneal surface, and the me...
Deeg CA.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a disease with high prevalence and relevance for the equine population, since it results in blindness. Over the last decade, important advancements have been made in our understanding of the underlying immune responses in this disease. ERU is mediated by an autoaggressive Th1 response directed against several retinal proteins. Interphotoreceptor-retinoid binding protein (IRBP) and cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP) are capable to induce ERU-like disease in experimental horses, with the unique possibility to activate relapses in a well-defined mann...
Black WD, Hartley CA, Ficorilli NP, Studdert MJ.Equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV), genus Erbovirus, is most closely related to the Cardiovirus genus in the family Picornaviridae. The structural proteins (VP1-4) of erboviruses are not well described, but are predicted by sequence to be 35, 29, 26 and 7 kDa. Methods for the purification of cardioviruses (polyethylene glycol, trypsin treatment) were used to characterise the structural proteins of ERBV1. Only one of the virus proteins detected was an expected molecular mass, and this 26 kDa protein was identified as VP3 by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. N-terminal sequencing of the 56 and a 29 ...
Ciscotto P, Machado de Avila RA, Coelho EA, Oliveira J, Diniz CG, Farías LM, de Carvalho MA, Maria WS, Sanchez EF, Borges A, Chávez-Olórtegui C.Venoms from the bee Apis mellifera, the caterpillar Lonomia achelous, the spiders Lycosa sp. and Phoneutria nigriventer, the scorpions Tityus bahiensis and Tityus serrulatus, and the snakes Bothrops alternatus, Bothrops jararaca, Bothrops jararacussu, Bothrops moojeni, Bothrops neuwiedi, Crotalus durissus terrificus, and Lachesis muta were assayed (800mug/mL) for activity against Staphylococcus aureus. Venoms from B. jararaca and B. jararacussu showed the highest S. aureus growth inhibition and also against other Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. To characterize the microbicidal compon...
Cochet M, Vaiman D, Lefèvre F.Interferons (IFNs) are cytokines of vertebrates with many biological effects including antiviral, immunoregulatory and antiproliferative activities. Among them, mammalian type I IFNs represents a large family of related proteins, mainly virus-inducible, divided in 10 distinct subfamilies named alpha, beta, omega, delta, epsilon, alphaomega, nu, tau, kappa and zeta (or Limitin). Some type I IFN subfamilies are physiologically expressed by the conceptus during early pregnancy in ungulates. This is the case in ruminants with IFN-tau (which triggers the maintenance of the maternal corpus luteum du...
Chapman SW, Metzger N, Grest P, Feige K, von Rechenberg B, Auer JA, Hottiger MO.Gray horses spontaneously develop metastatic melanomas that resemble human disease, and this is often accompanied with metastasis to other organs. Unlike in other species, the establishment of primary equine melanoma cultures that could be used to develop new therapeutic approaches has remained a major challenge. The purpose of the study was to develop a protocol for routine isolation and cultivation of primary equine melanocytes. Melanoma tissues were excised from 13 horses under local anesthesia, mainly from the perianal area. The melanoma cells were isolated from the melanoma tissue by seri...
Allen GP.To identify risk factors associated with development of clinical neurologic signs in horses exposed to equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). Methods: 36 adult horses. Methods: Blood samples collected before and after challenge inoculation with nonneuropathogenic or neuropathogenic EHV-1 were analyzed for leukocyte-associated viremia, serum neutralizing antibody, and EHV-1-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors (CTLPs). Associations between variables and neurologic disease and correlations between age category or breed and development of neurologic disease were examined. Results: 9 horses developed...
Bucci D, Isani G, Spinaci M, Tamanini C, Mari G, Zambelli D, Galeati G.Spermatozoa, as other eukaryotic cells, need hexoses to produce energy to maintain membrane homeostasis, to move along the female genital tract and to carry the male genome to the female gamete. GLUTs are a family of proteins that permit and improve the passive transport of hexoses inside cells. This study was aimed at investigating the presence and localization of GLUTs 1, 2, 3 and 5 in boar, stallion and dog spermatozoa by both immunofluorescence and western blotting. GLUTs exhibited a peculiar distribution along the sperm cell depending on the isoforms considered, the hexose they transport ...
Hobson-Peters J, Toye P, Sánchez MD, Bossart KN, Wang LF, Clark DC, Cheah WY, Hall RA.Using a monoclonal antibody directed to domain I of the West Nile virus (WNV) envelope (E) protein, we identified a continuous (linear) epitope that was immunogenic during WNV infection of horses. Using synthetic peptides, this epitope was mapped to a 19 aa sequence (WN19: E147-165) encompassing the WNV NY99 E protein glycosylation site at position 154. The inability of WNV-positive horse and mouse sera to bind the synthetic peptides indicated that glycosylation was required for recognition of peptide WN19 by WNV-specific antibodies in sera. N-linked glycosylation of WN19 was achieved through ...
Lunn DP, Hurley DJ.The underlying pathogenesis of laminitis clearly depends importantly on inflammatory processes that recruit leukocytes at an early stage in disease. The role of leukocytes in the initiation of laminitis, or as an intermediary factor is currently being investigated using a limited array of models, and future studies require both new reagent and model systems if we are to clearly define how leukocytes propagate this disease. The opportunities presented by this type of research could easily include new and powerful treatment and preventative modalities.
Yin C, Pettigrew A, Loftus JP, Black SJ, Belknap JK.In the septic horse prone to laminitis, a similar activation of the innate immune system appears to occur as reported in the septic human prone to organ failure. Because oxidant injury plays a central role in organ failure occurring due to an overzealous innate immune response in human sepsis, this study was performed to determine whether there was evidence of oxidant stress in the laminar tissue in the early stages of laminitis. 4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE), a lipid aldehyde that forms due to lipid peroxidation occurring during episodes of oxidant stress, readily forms adducts with cellular pr...
Lin YZ, Deng XL, Shen N, Lü XL, Zhao LP, Kong XG, Shao YM, Zhou JH.To develop a flow cytometry using (5-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinmidyl ester, CFSE) to detect the proliferation of specific T lymphocytes from equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated, stained with CFSE and incubated with EIAV for 5 days. After interacted with either CD4(+) or CD8(+) antibody, the cells were detected for proliferated population, which contained serially 2-fold reduced CFSE in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes. Results: The concentration of CFSE, and the type, concentration and reaction time of EIAV-specific an...
Brooks AC, Menzies-Gow NJ, Wheeler-Jones C, Bailey SR, Cunningham FM, Elliott J.The endothelium plays a major role in the pathogenesis of endotoxemia. Binding of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide; LPS) to endothelium initiates a range of signalling events, including activation of p38 mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) that are involved in the initiation of inflammatory responses. In the present study we have examined whether clinically relevant concentrations of LPS can activate p38 MAPK in equine endothelial cells and have investigated the role of the kinase in neutrophil adhesion and mediator release. Cultured equine digital vein endothelial cells (EDVEC) were expose...
Loftus JP, Johnson PJ, Belknap JK, Pettigrew A, Black SJ.Inflammation and dysregulation of endogenous matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) production are implicated in the development of equine laminitis. In this study, we examine quantitative relationships among levels of leukocyte-derived proMMP-9 and MMP-9, lamellar proMMP-2 and MMP-2, and expression of proMMP-2 processing enzymes, MT1-MMP/PACE4, as steps towards determining whether inflammation and dysregulation of endogenous MMP production are independent or co-dependent processes. Methods: Archived samples of lamellae from horses with naturally acquired laminitis (n = 12), and from horses administer...
de Raat IJ, van den Boom R, van Poppel M, van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) in horses is most likely caused by Culicoides species, although other insects may also play a role. Until now no effective cure has been found for this condition, although numerous therapeutic and preventive measures have been used to control insect hypersensitivity. One such method is to apply a topical insecticide to horses. In this study, the effect of a topical insecticide containing permethrin (3.6%) was examined in seven pairs of horses. The horses were placed inside a tent trap to collect Culicoides spp. and other insects attracted to the horses on two...
Fidalgo-Carvalho I, Craigo JK, Barnes S, Costa-Ramos C, Montelaro RC.EIAV is a monocyte/macrophage tropic virus. To date, even though EIAV has been under investigation for numerous years, very few details have been elucidated about EIAV/macrophage interactions. This is largely due to the absence of an equine macrophage cell line that would support viral replication. Herein we describe the spontaneous immortalization and generation of a clonal equine macrophage-like (EML) cell line with the functional and immunophenotype characteristics of differentiated equine monocyte derived macrophage(s) (eMDM(s)). These cells possess strong non-specific esterase (NSE) activ...
Sugita S, Oki H, Hasegawa T, Ishida N.Estimation formulas for the morbidity of horses infected with equine influenza virus by linear regression, logistic regression and probit transformation were developed, using data from the outbreak at the Sha Tin Racing Track in Hong Kong in 1992. Using these formulas, we estimated the equine influenza virus morbidity rates at training centers belonging to the Japan Racing Association (JRA) in October 1997 and in October 1998. In 1998 JRA started a new vaccination program, and every horse must now be vaccinated twice per year. At that time, the vaccine included two US lineage virus strains, th...
Steinbach F, Bischoff S, Freund H, Metzner-Flemisch S, Ibrahim S, Walter J, Wilke I, Mauel S.Dendritic cells (DCs) are antigen-presenting cells, which are well known for their capacity to stimulate immunity. The ex vivo generation of myeloid DC from monocytes has facilitated the development of DC-vaccination protocols which have been extensively evaluated in tumour immunology and are regarded by some as a gold mine for clinical research. However, there is a considerable amount of work required to overcome the potential risks associated with such therapy. It is therefore mandatory to characterize the system to be applied and to study the reactions, particularly at the level of T cell r...
Marti E, Ehrensperger F, Burger D, Ousey J, Day MJ, Wilson AD.Immunoglobulin E (IgE) mediates the immune response to parasites, but can also cause allergies. In humans maternal IgE is not transferred to cord blood and high levels of cord blood IgE are associated with subsequent allergy. In horses, both maternal IgG and IgE are transferred via colostrum; the IgE levels in the mare's serum, the colostrum and the foal's serum are correlated but the consequences of IgE transfer to foals are not known. By about 6 weeks of age the levels of IgE in foal serum have dropped to a nadir, at 6 months of age the level of IgE has risen only very slightly and is no lon...
Wagner B, Freer H.The detection and quantification of equine cytokines has been hampered by the lack of antibodies for many years. With the development of antibody pairs for equine cytokines during the past years, the quantification of these essential regulators of the immune response became possible. After being successfully tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), three of these anti-cytokine reagents were used here to establish the first cytokine multiplex assay for equine IL-4, IL-10 and IFN-alpha. A fluorescent bead-based system was used as matrix for this assay that allows the simultaneous de...
Nerren JR, Payne S, Halbert ND, Martens RJ, Cohen ND.Rhodococcus equi is an intracellular pathogen of macrophages that causes rhodococcal pneumonia in foals and immunocompromised people. Evidence exists that neutrophils play a vital role in resistance to infection with R. equi; however, the means by which neutrophils exert their effects have not been clearly defined. In addition to directly killing bacteria, neutrophils also may exert a protective effect by linking innate and adaptive immune responses. In the present study we evaluated the cytokine expression profiles of adult equine neutrophils in response to stimulation with isogenic strains o...
Nerren JR, Martens RJ, Payne S, Murrell J, Butler JL, Cohen ND.Although evidence exists that neutrophils play a vital role in resistance to infection with Rhodococcus equi, the means by which neutrophils exert their effects have not been clearly defined. In the present study we evaluated differences in cytokine expression by unstimulated and R. equi-stimulated neutrophils obtained from newborn foals and subsequently at 2-, 4-, and 8-weeks of age. Stimulation with virulent R. equi induced significantly (P<0.05) greater expression of IFNgamma, TNFalpha, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p40, IL-12p35, and IL-23p19 mRNA relative to expression by unstimulated neutrophils, ...
Moura I, Radhouani H, Torres C, Poeta P, Igrejas G.Lusitano horses were investigated in order to detect the presence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci. vanA isolates showed high level vancomycin (Minimum inhibitory concentration; MIC > or = 128 mg/l) and teicoplanin resistance (MIC 64 mg/l), as well as resistance to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin and tetracycline. The tet(L) and erm(B) genes, associated with tetracycline and erythromycin resistance, respectively, were found in all vanA isolates. The intestinal tract of Lusitano horses can be a potential reservoir for vanA-containing enterococci.
Ricotti S, Garcia MI, Veaute C, Bailat A, Lucca E, Cook RF, Cook SJ, Soutullo A.Molecular and serological techniques for Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) diagnosis were compared using samples from 59 clinically normal horses stabled on five farms in the Santa Fe Province of Argentina. Of these 26 (44.1%) were positive in official AGID tests and/or gp45/gp90-based ELISA. Surprisingly 18 of the 33 seronegative horses were positive in a PCR against viral sequences encoding gp45 (PCR-positive/AGID-negative) with all but one remaining EIAV-antibody negative throughout a two year observation period. The gp45 PCR results are supported by fact that 7/18 of these horses were ...
Fidalgo-Carvalho I, Craigo JK, Barnes S, Costa-Ramos C, Montelaro RC.EIAV is a monocyte/macrophage tropic virus. To date, even though EIAV has been under investigation for numerous years, very few details have been elucidated about EIAV/macrophage interactions. This is largely due to the absence of an equine macrophage cell line that would support viral replication. Herein we describe the spontaneous immortalization and generation of a clonal equine macrophage-like (EML) cell line with the functional and immunophenotype characteristics of differentiated equine monocyte derived macrophage(s) (eMDM(s)). These cells possess strong non-specific esterase (NSE) activ...
Walter I, Nowotny N.Effects of infection with two different strains of equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1; Piber 178/83, Kentucky D) on the cytoskeleton of Vero cells were investigated immunohistochemically, and evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Twenty four hours post EHV-1 infection the assembly of the microtubulus system of Vero cells was heavily disturbed. The Golgi region was dispersed into vesicles spread throughout the cytoplasm as demonstrated by WGA lectin binding. Other cytoskeletal elements such as cytokeratin, vimentin, and filamentous actin (F-actin) were not affected by EHV-1 infection....
Oliveira Filho JP, Badial PR, Cunha PHJ, Cruz TF, Araújo JP, Divers TJ, Winand NJ, Borges AS.Equine serum or plasma iron concentration drops quickly during inflammation. Accumulation of iron inside macrophages and reduction of the intestinal absorption of this element cause hypoferremia during systemic inflammatory processes. These mechanisms are mediated by hepcidin, a 25 amino acids peptide synthesized mainly in the liver in response to iron stores and inflammation. Hepcidin is an important peptide for systemic iron homeostasis and also has antibacterial and antifungal activities. Hepcidin up-regulation is particularly useful during acute inflammation, especially before adaptive imm...
Antczak DF.The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a genetic region that has been intensively studied for the past 2 decades. Interest in the MHC has been high because of (i) the particular involvement of the MHC in transplantation reactions, including organ allograft rejection in human beings; and (ii) the more general role of MHC gene products in the genetic control of immune responses in all mammals. The MHC has several remarkable properties that include a distinctive genetic structure which has been well-preserved through evolution, and the extreme plasticity of form of the principal MHC genes,...
Whalley M, Robertson G, Bell C, Love D, Elphinstone M, Wiley L, Craven D.A homologue of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) glycoprotein D gene has been identified in the genome of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1, equine abortion virus). An open reading frame in the middle of the short unique (US) region is capable of encoding a polypeptide of 402 amino acids that has 26% and 20% of its residues matching pseudorabies virus (PRV) gp50 and HSV-1 gD, respectively. Despite this low level of similarity, the positional identity of six cysteine residues and certain motifs, and the location of the EHV-1 gene, clearly define the EHV-1 polypeptide as one of a family of "gD-like" prot...
Lowden S, Heath T.Segmented filamentous bacteria preferentially attached to the follicle-associated epithelium overlying the lymphoid tissue in samples of the terminal ileum from seven horses examined by scanning electron microscopy. The bacteria adhered to the apical membrane of the enterocytes by a holdfast segment. Each filament tended to be of uniform diameter, but the filaments ranged from 0.7 to 1.4 microns in diameter. The bacteria were usually absent from the adjacent villous epithelium.
Grosche A, Morton AJ, Polyak MM, Matyjaszek S, Freeman DE.The cytosolic protein complex, calprotectin, is abundant in neutrophils and could be used to improve the ability to localise and assess neutrophil infiltration in the equine intestine during ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R), but further study is required. Objective: To assess the number of calprotectin-containing cells by immunohistochemistry in correlation with direct counting and scoring of neutrophils in the equine colon during I/R. Methods: One and 2 h ischaemia of the left dorsal colon were induced, followed by 30 min reperfusion under general anaesthesia or by 18 h reperfusion after anaes...
Berti A, Degl'Innocenti D, Stefani M, Liguri G, Ramponi G.A non competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific for horse muscle acylphosphatase (E.C. 3.6.1.7.) has been developed. The purified anti-acylphosphatase antibodies were immobilized by passive absorption to a solid-phase support and incubated with known and unknown amounts of antigen. The antibody-acylphosphatase complex was quantified using the same antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. The assay yields positive reactions with as little as 0.05 ng of antigen, with intra- and interassay coefficients of variation of 5% and 7%, respectively. On the basis of this assay ...
Kim CH, Casey JW.The distribution and replicative status of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) DNA in the tissues of a well-characterized inapparent carrier horse were established by using the PCR technique. The EIAV pol region could be amplified in all of the tissues tested, including the cerebellum and periventricular tissue, at concentrations approximately 10(5)-fold less than in the same tissue from an acutely infected horse. Further analysis of the EIAV genome, with primer pairs diagnostic for sequential stages of reverse transcription, suggests that EIAV DNA in the brain, liver, and lymph nodes was in...
Mizushima D, Amgalanbaatar T, Davaasuren B, Molefe NI, Battur B, Battsetseg B, Inoue N, Yokoyama N, Suganuma K.Our previous studies report epidemics of non-tsetse-transmitted equine trypanosomosis in Mongolia. However, the current status of non-tsetse-transmitted equine trypanosomosis endemicity remains to be clarified in some parts of Mongolia. We previously reported the potential application of rTeGM6-4r-based diagnostic tools, an rTeGM6-4r-based immunochromatographic test (ICT) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), in the serological surveillance of equine trypanosomosis in Mongolia. In the present study, the utility of the rTeGM6-4r-based ICT was validated. The rTeGM6-4r-based ICT accur...
Science (New York, N.Y.)June 10, 1994
Volume 264, Issue 5165 1584-1587 doi: 10.1126/science.7515512
Willbold D, Rosin-Arbesfeld R, Sticht H, Frank R, Rösch P.Trans-activator (Tat) proteins regulate the transcription of lentiviral DNA in the host cell genome. These RNA binding proteins participate in the life cycle of all known lentiviruses, such as the human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) or the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). The consensus RNA binding motifs [the trans-activation responsive element (TAR)] of HIV-1 as well as EIAV Tat proteins are well characterized. The structure of the 75-amino acid EIAV Tat protein in solution was determined by two- and three-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance methods and molecular dynamics calculatio...
Smith TA, Davis E, Carpenter S.Lentiviruses replicate in cells of the immune system, and activation of immune cells has been shown to modulate virus replication. To determine the effects of macrophage activation on replication of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), primary horse macrophage cultures (HMCs) were established from 20 different horses, infected with an avirulent strain of EIAV, and stimulated with 5 microg/ml of bacterial endotoxin. Supernatants collected from HMCs were assayed for the presence of tumour necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and for production of infectious virus. Results indicated that EIAV replicati...
Kushugulova A, Löber U, Akpanova S, Rysbekov K, Kozhakhmetov S, Khassenbekova Z, Essex M, Nurgozhina A, Nurgaziyev M, Babenko D, Markó L....Probiotics and prebiotics are widely used for recovery of the human gut microbiome after antibiotic treatment. High antibiotic usage is especially common in children with developing microbiome. We hypothesized that dry Mare's milk, which is rich in biologically active substances without containing live bacteria, could be used as a prebiotic in promoting microbial diversity following antibiotic treatment in children. The present pilot study aims to determine the impacts of dry Mare's milk on the diversity of gut bacterial communities when administered during antibiotic treatment and throughout ...
Antczak DF.One of the most intriguing and dramatic examples of immunological tolerance is displayed by the mammalian foetal-placental unit, which thrives as a semi-allograft in the mother's uterus during pregnancy. The success of the so-called foetal allograft stands in stark contrast to the failure of most tissue and organ grafts to survive without genetic matching of donor and recipient or drastic immunosuppression of the recipient's immune system. Experiments conducted over the past 60 years have revealed multiple mechanisms that enable the conceptus to avoid immunological detection or destruction. Ma...
Heldens JG, Pouwels HG, van Loon AA.It has been recommended that modern equine influenza vaccines should contain an A/equi-1 strain and A/equi-2 strains of the American and European-like subtype. We describe here the efficacy of a modern updated inactivated equine influenza-herpesvirus combination vaccine against challenge with a recent American-like isolate of equine influenza (A/equine-2/Kentucky/95 (H3N8). The vaccine contains inactivated Influenza strains A-equine-1/Prague'56, A-equine-2/Newmarket-1/'93 (American lineage) and A-equine-2/ Newmarket-2/93 (Eurasian lineage) and inactivated EHV-1 strain RacH and EHV-4 strain V22...
Padjasek M, Qasem B, Cisło-Pakuluk A, Marycz K.Cyclosporine A (CsA) is a selective and reversible immunosuppressant agent that is widely used as a medication for a wide spectrum of diseases in humans such as graft versus host disease, non-infectious uveitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis. Furthermore, the CsA is used to treat keratoconjunctivitis sicca, chronic superficial keratitis, immune-mediated keratitis and equine recurrent uveitis in animals. The selective activity of Cyclosporine A (CsA) was demonstrated to be an immunomodulation characteristic of T-lymphocyte proliferation and inhibits cytokine gene expres...
Mungall BA, Pollitt CC, Collins R.In situ gelatin zymography is a technique, which utilises a gelatin-based emulsion overlay to detect and, more importantly, localise the gelatinase activity in underlying tissue. Gelatinase A [matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2)] and gelatinase B [matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9)] are present in equine hoof homogenates and supernatants from cultured hoof explants by SDS-PAGE gelatin zymography, and it has been assumed that the enzymes are derived solely from matrix and epithelia and not from other sources such as leucocytes. Using in situ zymography, gelatinases are shown to be localised with...
Morris DD, Moore JN, Fischer K, Tarleton RL.A study was performed to determine whether equine macrophages produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity in vitro in response to endotoxin and to study the effects of endotoxin concentration and incubation time on the amount of TNF produced. Equine peritoneal macrophages were isolated and cultured in vitro for 2, 6, 12, or 24 hr in tissue culture media containing 1) no additive (nonstimulated control), 2) endotoxin (0.5 ng/ml, 5 ng/ml, or 5 micrograms/ml), or 3) the calcium ionophore A23187 (0.95 microM). The supernatant media concentrations of TNF activity were determined by an in vitro cyt...
Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Maghni K, Lavoie JP.The systemic component of chronic inflammatory diseases may lead to clinical complications. High levels of TNFα, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, are found in human patients with COPD and asthma. Horses are also susceptible to an array of chronic inflammatory disorders possibly associated with systemic inflammation, including respiratory diseases. Currently, there is no commercially available ELISA validated to assess TNFα in equine serum samples. Moreover, the reported normal mean concentration of serum TNFα in horses vary greatly. Hence, we sought to optimize and validate a procedure to quant...
Pavulraj S, Bergmann T, Trombetta CM, Marchi S, Montomoli E, Alami SSE, Ragni-Alunni R, Osterrieder N, Azab W.Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of equines that is caused mainly by the H3N8 subtype of influenza A virus. Vaccinating horses against EI is the most effective strategy to prevent the infection. The current study aimed to compare the kinetics of EI-specific humoral- and cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in horses receiving either identical or mixed vaccinations. Two groups of horses were previously (six months prior) vaccinated with either Calvenza 03 EIV EHV (G1) or Fluvac Innovator (G2) vaccine. Subsequently, both groups received a booster single dose of Calv...
Brindley MA, Zhang B, Montelaro RC, Maury W.Wild-type strains of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) prevent superinfection of previously infected cells. A variant strain of virus that spontaneously arose during passage, EIAV(vMA-1c), can circumvent this mechanism in some cells, such as equine dermis (ED) cells, but not in others, such as equine endothelial cells. EIAV(vMA-1c) superinfection of ED cells results in a buildup of unintegrated viral DNA and rapid killing of the cell monolayer. Here, we examined the mechanism of resistance that is used by EIAV to prevent superinfection and explored the means by which EIAV(vMA-1c) overcomes...
Durán-Ferrer M, Villalba R, Fernández-Pacheco P, Tena-Tomás C, Jiménez-Clavero MÁ, Bouzada JA, Ruano MJ, Fernández-Pinero J, Arias M....This study described the clinical, virological, and serological responses of immunologically naïve and vaccinated horses to African horse sickness virus (AHSV) serotype 9. Naïve horses developed a clinical picture resembling the cardiac form of African horse sickness. This was characterized by inappetence, reduced activity, and hyperthermia leading to lethargy and immobility-recumbency by days 9-10 post-infection, an end-point criteria for euthanasia. After challenge, unvaccinated horses were viremic from days 3 or 4 post-infection till euthanasia, as detected by serogroup-specific (GS) real...
Saudek V, Williams RJ, Ramponi G.The solution structure of acylphosphatase determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is described. The results allow us to discuss the fold of the protein (101 amino acids), to correlate the exposure and the mobility of the backbone with the antigenicity, and to locate the active site.
Luciani M, Di Febo T, Orsini M, Krasteva I, Cattaneo A, Podaliri Vulpiani M, Di Pancrazio C, Bachi A, Tittarelli M.The diagnosis of dourine can be difficult because the clinical signs of this disease in horses are similar to those of surra, caused by . Moreover, and are closely related and, so far, they cannot be distinguished using serological tests. In a previous work, the protein pattern recognized by antibodies from dourine-infected horses and the humoral immune response kinetics were investigated by immunoblotting assay; a total of 20 sera from naturally and experimentally infected horses and from healthy animals were tested. Immunoblotting analysis showed that antibodies from infected horses speci...
Monath TP, McLean RG, Cropp CB, Parham GL, Lazuick JS, Calisher CH.Brain tissues were obtained from 5 horses with clinical encephalomyelitis during an epizootic in southwestern Michigan in August-September 1980. These tissues were tested for virus by intracerebral inoculation of suckling mice and by examination of frozen sections and impression smears by the indirect fluorescent antibody (FA) technique. Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus was isolated and detected by FA technique in brains of 3 horses which died or were euthanatized within approximately 24 hours of onset of the disease but not from 2 horses at 2 and 3 days after onset. The latter 2 animals...
Husulak ML, Manning ST, Meachem MD, Burgess HJ, Epp TY, Montgomery JB.The objective of this study was to observe the outcomes of adding an antimicrobial treatment to a conventional treatment regime in horses with severe equine asthma in a clinical setting. Eleven client-owned horses with a history consistent with severe equine asthma, increased respiratory effort and nostril flaring, ≥ 20% neutrophils on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and a positive tracheal wash (TW) bacterial culture were treated with environmental management, corticosteroids, and bronchodilators. Six horses were also treated with an antimicrobial (principal group), while the other 5 were adm...
McQueen CM, Whitfield-Cargile CM, Konganti K, Blodgett GP, Dindot SV, Cohen ND.Rhodococcus equi (R. equi) is an intracellular bacterium that affects young foals and immuno-compromised individuals causing severe pneumonia. Currently, the genetic mechanisms that confer susceptibility and/or resistance to R. equi are not fully understood. Previously, using a SNP-based genome-wide association study, we identified a region on equine chromosome 26 associated with culture-confirmed clinical pneumonia. To better characterize this region and understand the function of the SNP located within TRPM2 that was associated with R. equi pneumonia, we performed RNA-Seq on 12 horses repres...
Harvey AM, Watson JL, Brault SA, Edman JM, Moore SM, Kass PH, Wilson WD.OBJECTIVE To investigate the impact of age and inferred prior vaccination history on the persistence of vaccine-induced antibody against rabies in horses. DESIGN Serologic response evaluation. ANIMALS 48 horses with an undocumented vaccination history. PROCEDURES Horses were vaccinated against rabies once. Blood samples were collected prior to vaccination, 3 to 7 weeks after vaccination, and at 6-month intervals for 2 to 3 years. Serum rabies virus-neutralizing antibody (RVNA) values were measured. An RVNA value of ≥ 0.5 U/mL was used to define a predicted protective immune response on the b...
