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.
Rivera JA, McGuire TC.To determine if equine monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DC) were susceptible to equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) infection, ex vivo-generated DC were infected with virus in vitro. EIAV antigen was detected by immunofluorescence 3 days post-infection with maximum antigen being detected on day 4, whereas there was no antigen detected in DC incubated with the same amount of heat-inactivated EIAV. No cytolytic activity was observed after EIAV(WSU5) infection of DC. These monocyte-derived DC were more effective than macrophages and B cells in stimulating allogenic T lymphocytes. Both infected...
Hejmej A, Gorazd M, Kosiniak-Kamysz K, Wiszniewska B, Sadowska J, Bilińska B.Androgen metabolism may proceed to amplify the action of testosterone by its aromatisation to oestradiol. Recently, a growing body of evidence suggests a role of oestrogens in the male reproductive tract via their specific oestrogen receptors (ERs). In order to check whether androgens are converted to oestrogens in the testis, epididymis and prostate of the stallion, the expression of aromatase was visualised by means of immunohistochemistry. Moreover, to show the cellular targets for oestrogens the presence of oestrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and oestrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) was demonst...
Shibahara T, Kuwano A, Ueno T, Katayama Y, Ohya T, Taharaguchi S, Yamamoto S, Umemura T, Ishikawa Y, Kadota K.Studies of equine intestinal spirochetes have long focused on intestinal contents alone, but intestinal spirochetosis has been reported recently in a 21-month-old Thoroughbred colt in Japan. To define the clinical and pathological significances of intestinal spirochetosis in several horses, an epizootiologic survey with histologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural methods was conducted for Brachyspira antigen-containing intestinal spirochetes in 12 diseased or injured Thoroughbred horses, aged from 35 days to 17 years. Brachyspira antigen-containing spirochetes were found in 7 of 12 ho...
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 ...
Trapp S, von Einem J, Hofmann H, Köstler J, Wild J, Wagner R, Beer M, Osterrieder N.Key problems using viral vectors for vaccination and gene therapy are antivector immunity, low transduction efficiencies, acute toxicity, and limited capacity to package foreign genetic information. It could be demonstrated that animal and human cells were efficiently transduced with equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) reconstituted from viral DNA maintained and manipulated in Escherichia coli. Between 13 and 23% of primary human CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD11b+, and CD19+ cells and more than 70% of CD4+ MT4 cells or various human tumor cell lines (MeWo, Huh7, HeLa, 293T, or H1299) could be transduced with o...
Ledizet M, Kar K, Foellmer HG, Wang T, Bushmich SL, Anderson JF, Fikrig E, Koski RA.West Nile (WN) virus is a flavivirus that first appeared in North America in 1999. Since then, more than 600 human deaths and 22,000 equine infections have been attributed to the virus in the United States. We expressed a truncated form of WN virus envelope (E) protein in Drosophila S2 cells. This soluble recombinant E protein was recognized by antibodies from naturally infected horses, indicating that it contains native epitopes. Mice and horses produced high-titer antibodies when immunized with recombinant E protein combined with aluminum hydroxide. Immunized mice were resistant to challenge...
Foote CE, Love DN, Gilkerson JR, Rota J, Trevor-Jones P, Ruitenberg KM, Wellington JE, Whalley JM.The envelope glycoprotein D of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1 gD) has been shown in laboratory animal models to elicit protective immune responses against EHV-1 challenge, and hence is a potential vaccine antigen. Here we report that intramuscular inoculation of EHV-1 gD produced by a recombinant baculovirus and formulated with the adjuvant Iscomatrix elicited virus-neutralizing antibody and gD-specific ELISA antibody in the serum of over 90% of adult mixed breed horses. The virus-neutralizing antibody responses to EHV-1 gD were similar to those observed after inoculation with a commercially avai...
McFarlane D, Dybdal N, Donaldson MT, Miller L, Cribb AE.Equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is a spontaneously occurring progressive disease affecting aged horses and ponies. The pathogenesis of PPID is poorly understood, but the available evidence supports a loss of dopaminergic inhibition of the melanotropes of the pars intermedia. Horses with PPID have increased plasma concentrations of pars intermedia pro-opiomelanocortin-derived peptides that decrease in response to dopamine or dopamine agonist administration. Dopamine and dopamine metabolite concentrations are decreased in the pars intermedia of affected horses compared to age...
Wagner B, Robeson J, McCracken M, Wattrang E, Antczak DF.Recombinant cytokines are valuable tools for functional studies and candidates for vaccine additives or therapeutic use in various diseases. They can also be used to generate specific antibodies to analyze the roles of different cytokines during immune responses. We generated a mammalian expression system for recombinant cytokines using the equine IgG1 heavy chain constant region as a tag for detection and purification of the expressed cytokine, demonstrated here using equine interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4 (IL4) and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1...
Díaz S, Giovambattista G, Peral-García P.Sequence information was obtained on the variation of the ELA-DRB upstream regulatory region (URR) after polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) cloning and sequencing of approximately 220 bp upstream of the first exon of horse DRB genes. The sequence of the proximal URR of equine DRB is composed of highly conserved sequence motifs, showing the presence of the W, X, Y, CAAT and TATA conserved boxes of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II promoters. Five different polymorphic horse DRB promoter sequences were detected in five horse breeds. The res...
Patton KM, McGuire TC, Hines MT, Mealey RH, Hines SA.Rhodococcus equi is an important cause of pneumonia in young horses; however, adult horses are immune due to their ability to mount protective recall responses. In this study, the hypothesis that R. equi-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) are present in the lung of immune horses was tested. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)-derived pulmonary T lymphocytes stimulated with R. equi lysed infected alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood adherent cells (PBAC). As with CTL obtained from the blood, killing of R. equi-infected targets by pulmonary effectors was not restricted by equine lymphocyte all...
Kriegshäuser G, Deutz A, Kuechler E, Skern T, Lussy H, Nowotny N.Equine rhinitis viruses (ERVs) are the causative agents of mild to severe upper respiratory infections in horses worldwide. Immunologically, four serotypes of ERVs have been identified. Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) and Equine rhinitis B virus 1 (ERBV1) are the most frequent serotypes in Europe. Both viruses have a broad host range in cultured cells with ERAV being able to infect humans. Since there is neither information on the seroprevalence of ERAV and ERBV1 in Austria nor on the zoonotic potential of ERBV1, we investigated 200 horse and 137 veterinary sera for the presence of neutralizing...
Kumar P, Timoney JF.The stratified squamous epithelium of the lingual tonsil of five young horses was infiltrated with CD4 and CD8 positive cells, which were very numerous in the crypt reticular epithelium along with macrophages and IgGb and IgA positive cells. Lymphoid follicles of the lamina propria mucosae consisted of a parafollicular area, corona and germinal centre. The parafollicular area was populated by large numbers of CD4 and CD8 positive lymphocytes as well as macrophages, inter-digitating cells, and a few B-lymphocytes. The germinal centre contained mainly IgGb and IgG(T) positive cells, plasma cells...
Lamikanra A, Myers KA, Ferris N, Mitrophanous KA, Carroll MW.Lentiviral-based vectors hold great promise as gene delivery vehicles for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases. We have previously reported the development of a nonprimate lentiviral vector system based on the equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV), which is able to efficiently transduce dividing and nondividing cells both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we report on the application of EIAV vectors for the systemic delivery of an antibody fusion protein designed for the treatment of cancer. The therapeutic potential of a single chain antibody against the tumour-associated antigen, 5T4, fuse...
Nagata LP, Hu WG, Masri SA, Rayner GA, Schmaltz FL, Das D, Wu J, Long MC, Chan C, Proll D, Jager S, Jebailey L, Suresh MR, Wong JP.The efficacy of a DNA vaccine against western equine encephalitis (WEE) infection in mice was evaluated. The 26S structural region was expressed, in vitro from an internal T7 promoter using a rabbit reticulysate transcription/translation system; and from a CMV promoter after transfection into Vero cell monolayers. The proteins synthesized were reactive with anti-WEE virus (WEEV) antibodies, both in western blot analysis and histochemical staining, respectively. When the DNA vaccine plasmid, pVHX-6, was administered intraepidermally to mice, followed by challenge in a lethal mouse model, the le...
Welter H, Bollwein H, Weber F, Rohr S, Einspanier R.The expression of the endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthases (eNOS and iNOS, respectively) was examined in the endometrium of cyclic and pregnant mares by real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistology. The concentration of eNOS mRNA varied throughout the oestrous cycle, with significantly higher transcripts on Day 5 of the oestrous cycle (P 0.05). In early pregnant mares both eNOS and iNOS mRNA increased between Days 12 and 15 (P < 0.05). In cyclic mares, eNOS protein was detected immunocytochemically in endometrial epithelia, the basement membrane, the endothelial laye...
Stephano MA, Guidolin R, Higashi HG, Tambourgi DV, Sant'Anna OA.The main features associated with pit viper envenomations include the intense local lesions such as oedema, necrosis, acute renal failure and other effects. The severity of these reactions to snakebite depends on the degree of envenomation. Lachesis muta venom (LMV) has weak lethal activity, but due to the large amount often inoculated, the effects are extremely severe and demand anti-venom with a high neutralizing capacity. LMV had the lowest neutralizing antibody induction capacity in horses when compared with that of other venoms. For example, Bothrops anti-venom serum neutralizes 180 times...
Phillips T, Ferraz I, Bell S, Clegg PD, Carter SD, Mobasheri A.Glucose serves as the major energy substrate for articular chondrocytes and as the main precursor for the synthesis of extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycans in cartilage. Chondrocytes have been shown to express several glucose transporter (GLUT) isoforms including GLUT1 and GLUT3. The aim of this investigation was to determine the effects of endocrine and cytokine factors on the capacity of equine articular chondrocytes for transporting 2-deoxy-d-[2,6-3H] glucose and on the expression levels of GLUT1 and GLUT3. Chondrocytes maintained in monolayer culture were stimulated for 24 h with TNF-al...
Henderson KM, Eayrs K.To develop a means of determining pregnancy status in horses based on measuring serum oestrone sulphate (OS) concentrations using a rapid lateral flow immunoassay, and to determine the assay's effectiveness using a visual end-point. Methods: Serum samples from mares >100 days post-mating (n=701) were assayed using a nitrocellulose membrane-based lateral flow immunoassay device. The device was developed using membrane-bound 1,3,5 (10)-estratrien-3-ol-17-one conjugated to bovine serum albumin as the capture antigen, and an OS-detection monoclonal antibody coupled to colloidal gold as the visi...
Vanniasinkam T, Barton MD, Heuzenroeder MW.Rhodococcus equi is a significant pathogen in foals predominantly causing a pyogranulomatous bronchopneumonia. Many vaccine candidates have been tested for the prevention of R. equi disease in foals. However, none of these have been developed for widespread commercial use. Previous studies have shown that a Th1 immune response is imperative for the protection of foals against R. equi disease. In this study a DNA and a protein vaccine based upon the well-characterised R. equi virulence-associated protein VapA were developed. The vaccines were tested in the BALB/c murine model and the results sh...
Saville WJ, Dubey JP, Oglesbee MJ, Sofaly CD, Marsh AE, Elitsur E, Vianna MC, Lindsay DS, Reed SM.Sarcocystis neurona and Sarcocystis fayeri infections are common in horses in the Americas. Their antemortem diagnosis is important because the former causes a neurological disorder in horses, whereas the latter is considered nonpathogenic. There is a concern that equine antibodies to S. fayeri might react with S. neurona antigens in diagnostic tests. In this study, 4 ponies without demonstrable serum antibodies to S. neurona by Western immunoblot were used. Three ponies were fed 1 x 10(5) to 1 x 10(7) sporocysts of S. fayeri obtained from dogs that were fed naturally infected horse muscles. A...
Davis DG, Schaefer DM, Hinchcliff KW, Wellman ML, Willet VE, Fletcher JM.Hypogammaglobulinemia as a result of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) is an important risk factor for infectious disease in neonatal foals. The current gold standard for determining serum immunoglobulin concentrations is radial immunodiffusion (RID). The purpose of this study was to compare immunoglobulin concentrations measured by RID with those determined by an automated turbidimetric immunoassay (TIA), which has a much shorter turnaround time. Immunoglobulin concentrations were measured by both RID and TIA in serum collected from 84 neonatal foals. Sixty-seven foals had result...
Davidson AH, Traub-Dargatz JL, Rodeheaver RM, Ostlund EN, Pedersen DD, Moorhead RG, Stricklin JB, Dewell RD, Roach SD, Long RE, Albers SJ, Callan RJ....To compare neutralizing antibody response between horses vaccinated against West Nile virus (WNV) and horses that survived naturally occurring infection. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. Methods: 187 horses vaccinated with a killed WNV vaccine and 37 horses with confirmed clinical WNV infection. Methods: Serum was collected from vaccinated horses prior to and 4 to 6 weeks after completion of an initial vaccination series (2 doses) and 5 to 7 months later. Serum was collected from affected horses 4 to 6 weeks after laboratory diagnosis of infection and 5 to 7 months after the first...
Albrecht RA, Kim SK, O'Callaghan DJ.The equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) EICP27 protein cooperates with either the immediate-early (IE) or the EICP0 protein to synergistically trans-activate viral promoters. GST-pulldown and co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed that the EICP27 protein's cooperation with the IE or the EICP0 protein involves its physical interaction with these viral proteins. In the case of the IE-EICP27 protein interaction, IE residues 424 to 826 and EICP27 residues 41 to 206 harbor the interactive domains. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) suggested that the EICP27 protein is not a sequence-specific DNA...
Magnarelli L, Fikrig E.Blood samples were collected from 98 horses suspected of having borreliosis or granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Connecticut and New York State, USA during 1985, 1995, and 1996. Serum antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), based on whole-cell and recombinant antigens, in 82 (84%) horses. Of the 181 sera tested, 59% were positive, using whole-cell antigens, compared to 48% with protein (p)37 and 35% with VlsE antigens. An ELISA containing either of these fusion proteins can be used as an adjunct to general screening by an ELISA or immunoblot...
Nishita T, Takahasi M, Kasuya T, Matsui K, Ichihara N, Murakami M, Asari M.Equine carbonic anhydrase isozymes (CA-I and CA-II) were purified from erythrocytes by several column chromatography. Polyclonal anti-CA-I and anti-CA-II sera were produced in rabbits. Sensitive competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were established to determine the developmental changes in CA-I and CA-II levels in equine erythrocytes. Concentrations of CA-I and CA-II in erythrocytes from 150 clinically normal thoroughbreds (123 racehorses and 27 riding horses) were determined by ELISA. Mean (+/- SD) concentrations of CA-I and CA-II in racehorses were 1.70 +/- 0.48 and 0.94 +/...
Harland MM, Fedele C, Berens v Rautenfeld D.Horses are highly susceptible to lymphedema. Knowledge of the morphological components of lymphatic collectors is therefore essential to understanding the function of the lymphatic system. A better knowledge of the lymphatic system allows the development of more effective treatments against lymphedema. The composition of hypodermal and deep lymphatic collectors was investigated with immunohistochemical staining, using antibodies against proteins of the collector walls from the skin in the hind limbs of 10 healthy horses. Lymphatic collectors can be subdivided into passive (elastic fibers) and ...
Liu IK, Turner JW, Van Leeuwen EM, Flanagan DR, Hedrick JL, Murata K, Lane VM, Morales-Levy MP.In this study of equids, we investigated the antibody response and the effect on the estrous cycle following a single inoculation of porcine zonae pellucidae (pZP) employing controlled-release methodology. We also investigated the use of two different water-soluble adjuvants as an alternative to oil-based adjuvants. Twenty-seven domestic mares were inoculated with various formulations of pZP and adjuvant. We showed that the anti-pZP antibodies generated as a result of the inoculations persisted for at least 43 weeks (length of the study). Of the various formulations used in the study, pZP and ...
Hornyák A, Dénes B, Szeredi L, Dencsö L, Rusvai M.Two monoclonal antibodies against the Bucyrus strain of equine arteritis virus (EAV) were produced, and according to immunoperoxidase reaction following Western blot of electrophoresed EAV structural proteins, they recognized the nucleocapsid (N) protein antigen (14-kDa protein). Besides reacting with the blotted polypeptide, the antibodies of the two clones (designated 1H1 and 4G6) selected from 576 have shown high affinity and specificity to intracellular virus antigen as well. Both antibodies reacted with the representatives of the different subtypes of equine arteritis virus providing a su...
Hodgin EC, McGuire TC, Perryman LE, Grant BD.Delayed hypersensitivity (DH) responses of normal and immunodeficient horses were evaluated with antigens [dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)] and phytolectins [phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A)]. Immunologically normal horses sensitized with 5 daily applications of 2 mg of DNCB developed positive skin reactions upon challenge with 0.4 mg of DNCB. The delayed onset of the reaction and the predominately mononuclear cell infiltration at the test site indicated these were DH reactions. Normal horses sensitized with 500 microgram of KLH and challenged with ...
Galvão AM, Szóstek AZ, Skarzynski DJ, Ferreira-Dias GM.Normal reproductive function involves the expression of inflammatory mediators. Regarding the corpus luteum (CL), cytokines promote the cross-talk between immune, vascular and steroidogenic cells, among others. Moreover, TNF, IFNG and FASL were shown to regulate equine CL establishment and regression. We hypothesized that cytokines action on equine CL may be mediated by nitric oxide (NO), through the regulation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) expression. TNF increased eNOS mRNA level and NO metabolite (nitrite) production during CL growth. Cytokines combined action (TNF+IFNG+FASL) promoted e...
Lebis C, Bourdeau P, Marzin-Keller F.Allergic diseases are often diagnosed clinically in the horse without performing diagnostic tests. The purpose of this work was to contribute to the validation of intradermal skin tests in the horse. Eighty-three horses, 14 showing skin or respiratory signs of supposed allergic origin, were subjected to an intradermal skin test using 6 different allergens, positive and negative controls. The tests were read for all animals after 20 min, and for 29 horses after 1 and 4 h. Additionally, 19 horses were tested a few months apart. The comparison after 20 min of the cutaneous reactions to allergens ...
Ferroglio E, Pregel P, Accossato A, Taricco I, Bollo E, Rossi L, Trisciuoglio A.Intradermal tests were carried out on 18 horses with clinical signs of Culicoides hypersensitivity (CHS) and 23 horses without clinical signs of CHS, and sera from these horses were analysed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting (W-B). Intradermal injections of 0.1 ml of 25 microg/microl sterile Culicoides extract, 0.1 ml of 1:10,000 histamine (positive control) and 0.1 ml of physiological saline (negative control) were made in the dermis of the middle region of the neck. Analysis of reactions indicated that a 1 cm wheal and a skinfold thickness >10% at 24 h represented a valid cut-off between h...
Wattrang E, Berg M, Magnusson M.This study aimed to evaluate different nucleic acid preparations as cytokine inducers in equine cells. To induce cytokine production, bacterial plasmid DNA or short synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODN), with or without the transfection reagent lipofectin, were added to cultures of purified equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Cytokine activity was detected with bioassays in cell culture supernatants after 24h of induction and cytokine mRNA expression was detected using RT-PCR at 6h post induction. For IFN-alpha/beta it was found that both plasmid DNA and phosphodiester ODN, c...
Inoue Y, Yamaguchi K, Sawada T, Rivero JC, Horii Y.Borna disease virus (BDV)-specific antibodies were monitored in Misaki feral horses annually for 4 years using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). Among 130 horses examined, 35 (26.9%) with an ECLIA count above 1000 once or more were judged as BDV seropositive. Throughout the study period, p24 antibodies were more frequent than p40 antibodies in almost all positive animals. Among the 35 seropositive horses, the ECLIA count was consistently high in 12 cases. Eleven horses seroconverted from negative to positive and 7 underwent reversal. The count in the remaining 95 horses (73.1%) ...
Bergmann T, Moore C, Sidney J, Miller D, Tallmadge R, Harman RM, Oseroff C, Wriston A, Shabanowitz J, Hunt DF, Osterrieder N, Peters B, Antczak DF....Here we describe a detailed quantitative peptide-binding motif for the common equine leukocyte antigen (ELA) class I allele Eqca-1*00101, present in roughly 25 % of Thoroughbred horses. We determined a preliminary binding motif by sequencing endogenously bound ligands. Subsequently, a positional scanning combinatorial library (PSCL) was used to further characterize binding specificity and derive a quantitative motif involving aspartic acid in position 2 and hydrophobic residues at the C-terminus. Using this motif, we selected and tested 9- and 10-mer peptides derived from the equine herpesvir...
Clabough DL, Conboy HS, Roberts MC.Using radial immunodiffusion as a standard, 4 screening techniques for detection of failure of passive transfer in equine neonates were compared for sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, efficiency, and cost. The techniques compared were latex agglutination test, membrane filter ELISA, dipstick ELISA, and glutaraldehyde coagulation (GC) test. Test results of 50 serum samples from foals 24 to 60 hours old revealed consistently highest accuracy in the GC test at IgG concentrations of 400 and 800 mg/dl, and lowest cost per test, using the GC test. Two hundred fifty-th...
Siles-Lucas M, Cuesta-Bandera C.A comparison was made, by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), of excretory/secretory (ES)-crude and immunopurified (with the corresponding anti-host serum) hydatid fluids-and somatic (S)-protoscoleces-proteins, from several ovine, equine, swine, bovine and human Echinococcus granulosus Spanish isolates. Likewise, the host influence on parasitic ES protein expression was studied, comparing purified hydatid fluids from ovine and equine cysts obtained from natural hosts and in RNMI mice. Purified hydatid fluids patterns, under reducing conditions, yielded the mos...
Li Z, He Y, Ge L, Quan R, Chen J, Hu Y, Sa R, Liu J, Ran D, Fu Q, Shi H.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) poses a global threat to equines. The anticancer agent berbamine (BBM), a bioactive alkaloid, has been shown to inhibit viral infection. However, whether BBM can inhibit EHV-1 infection remains unclear. This study investigated the effect of BBM treatment on EHV-1 infection. Quantitative PCR (qPCR), immunoblotting, the Reed-Muench method, and pathological examination were employed to study the ability of BBM to inhibit EHV-1 infection, viral DNA replication, viral protein production, virion secretion, and cytopathogenesis in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro stud...
Satyam R, Janahi EM, Bhardwaj T, Somvanshi P, Haque S, Najm MZ.Usutu Virus (USUV; flavivirus) is a re-emerging pathogen invading the territories of European countries, Asia, and Africa. It is a mosquito-borne zoonotic virus with a bi-directional transmission route from animal to human and vice versa, and causes neurological disorders such as meningoencephalitis in bats, Homo sapiens, birds and horses. Due to limited availability of information about USUV and its deleterious effects on neural cells causing neurologic impairments, it becomes imperative to study this virus in detail to equip ourselves with a solution beforehand. The current study aims to ide...
Siedek E, Little S, Mayall S, Edington N, Hamblin A.Despite their important role in initiating T-cell responses in other species, dendritic cells have not been studied in the horse. A method for isolating blood dendritic cells by adherence and metrizamide gradients was adapted to equine cells. A number of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), including some which label dendritic cells in other species, were tested for immunochemical reactivity with the isolated blood dendritic cells, and sections of lymph node and spleen. 62 +/- 6% of the isolated blood cells were MHC Class II positive and had typical dendritic cell morphology and only 4 +/- 2% contain...
Lin YZ, Yang F, Zhang SQ, Sun LK, Wang XF, Du C, Zhou JH.Equine lentivirus receptor 1 (ELR1) has been identified as the sole receptor for equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) and is a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily. In addition to the previously described membrane-associated form of ELR1, two other major alternative splicing variant mRNAs were identified in equine monocyte-derived macrophages (eMDMs). One major spliced species (ELR1-IN) contained an insertion of 153 nt, which resulted in a premature stop codon situated 561 nt upstream of the predicted membrane spanning domain. The other major species (ELR1-DE) has a...
Dürrwald R, Kolodziejek J, Oh DY, Herzog S, Liebermann H, Osterrieder N, Nowotny N.(1) Background: Vaccination of horses and sheep against Borna disease (BD) was common in endemic areas of Germany in the 20th century but was abandoned in the early 1990s. The recent occurrence of fatal cases of human encephalitis due to Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) has rekindled the interest in vaccination. (2) Methods: The full genomes of the BD live vaccine viruses "Dessau" and "Giessen" were sequenced and analyzed for the first time. All vaccination experiments followed a proof-of-concept approach. Dose-titration infection experiments were performed in rabbits, based on both cell culture...
Hunter LC, Poxton IR.The aetiology of equine grass sickness (EGS) is still unknown. There is increasing evidence that toxicoinfection with Clostridium botulinum type C is involved. Epidemiological evidence shows that resistance to EGS can occur in older horses and those that have been on a particular pasture for longer or have been in prior contact with the disease. This resistance may be in the form of an immune response to the aetiological agent. Levels of systemic antibodies to the surface antigens of C. botulinum type C (using the closely related and safe C. novyi type A as a phenotypic marker) and to the botu...
Shibata N, Tatsumi N, Tanaka K, Okamura Y, Senda N.The intracellular location of the binding site of antibody against purified myosin prepared from equine leucocytes was investigated in neutrophils and lymphocytes by electron microscopy using peroxidase-labelled antibody method. The myosin extracted from equine leucocytes could bind skeletal muscle F-actin and the formed complex showed the biophysical and biochemical properties and electron microscopic appearance of actomyosin. On immunodiffusion, the leucocyte myosin formed a single precipitin line with its antibody prepared in rabbits. The antibody also formed single precipitin lines with my...
Cooper HM, Jemmerson R, Hunt DF, Griffin PR, Yates JR, Shabanowitz J, Zhu NZ, Paterson Y.Comparative binding studies with peptide fragments of the whole antigen, or with evolutionarily related intact proteins with varying degrees of sequence homology, have been used extensively to map antigenic sites on proteins to the resolution of single amino acid residues. These methods are limited, however, since high affinity antibodies will often not react with peptides and evolutionarily related proteins are available for only a few antigens. In this study we use site-directed chemical modification of horse cytochrome c to identify residues involved in the binding sites of four monoclonal ...
Morales N, Henriquez C, Sarmiento J, Uberti B, Moran G.Neutrophils are terminally differentiated innate effector cells at the first line of host defense. Neutrophil migration within tissues is complex and involves several steps, during which these cells must be able to interpret a variety of chemical and physical signals. Exacerbated neutrophil activity can be harmful to surrounding tissues; this is important in a range of diseases, including equine asthma. Tamoxifen (TX) is a non-steroidal estrogen receptor modulator with effects on cell growth and survival. Previous studies showed that TX treatment in horses with induced acute pulmonary inflamma...
Prado IC, Souza ALA, Provance DW, Cassella RJ, De-Simone SG.Antivenom allergy disease mediated by patient IgE is an important public health care concern. To improve detection of hypersensitive individuals prior to passive antibody therapy, an amperometric immunosensor was developed to detect reactive human IgE. Whole horse IgG3 (hoIgG3) was immobilized onto the surface of carbon or gold screen-printed electrodes through a cross-linking solution of glutaraldehyde on a chitosan film. Sera from persons with a known allergic response to hoIgG3 or non-allergic individuals was applied to the sensor. Bound human IgE (humIgE) was detected by an anti-humIgE ant...
Elzinga SE, Rohleder B, Schanbacher B, McQuerry K, Barker VD, Adams AA.Extracts derived from the leaves of the stevia plant (stevioside) are commonly used as sweeteners for humans and horses. Stevioside appears to be safe for human consumption, including for individuals with insulin dysregulation. In the horse, the safety or metabolic effects of stevioside on normal animals or on those with metabolic dysfunction are unknown. Furthermore, the inflammatory response to a glycemic challenge or to stevioside in horses is not well defined. Therefore, the objective of this study was to measure the effects of stevioside and a glycemic challenge on insulin, glucose, and i...
Moore I, Horney B, Day K, Lofstedt J, Cribb AE.The effect of oral treatment with natural or recombinant human interferon alpha (HIA) on inflammatory airway disease in young standardbreds was assessed in a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. A total of 34 horses with nasal discharge, excess mucus in the trachea, and a persistent cough of at least 2 weeks' duration that interfered with training completed the trial. Horses were rested for 1 week and received oral treatment with either a saline placebo, recombinant human interferon alpha (rHIA; 90 U/horse/day), or natural human interferon alpha (nHIA: 50 U/horse/day) for 5 days. There was...
Barrowman PR.This paper is a record of observations on the transmission and clinical signs of dourine in naturally infected cases of known duration, and of temporal and quantitative aspects of the immune response in blood and cerebro-spinal fluid. Included in the record are observations on the presence of Trypanosoma equiperdum parasites in these body fluids and methods for their detection. There is evidence that the occurrence of nervous symptoms and lesions in infected horses is associated with the presence of Trypanosoma equiperdum parasites in cerebro-spinal fluid. The suitability of cerebro-spinal flu...
Mißbach S, Aleksic D, Blaschke L, Hassemer T, Lee KJ, Mansfeld M, Hänske J, Handler J, Kammerer R.The CEA gene family is one of the most rapidly evolving gene families in the human genome. The founder gene of the family is thought to be an ancestor of the inhibitory immune checkpoint molecule CEACAM1. Comprehensive analyses of mammalian genomes showed that the CEA gene family is subject to tremendous gene family expansion and contraction events in different mammalian species. While in some species (e.g. rabbits) less than three CEACAM1 related genes exist, were in others (certain microbat species) up to 100 CEACAM1 paralogs identified. We have recently reported that the horse has also an e...
Peel AJ, Field HE, Reid PA, Plowright RK, Broder CC, Skerratt LF, Hayman DT, Restif O, Taylor M, Martin G, Crameri G, Smith I, Baker M, Marsh GA....No abstract available
Meyer W, Hornickel I, Schoennagel B.Using the zinc-iodide osmium tetroxide (ZIO) method, TEM and immunohistochemistry (for CD1a and langerin), the study demonstrates Langerhans cells in the oesophageal epithelium of domesticated mammals (herbivores: horse, cattle, goat; omnivores: pig, dog, laboratory rat; carnivores: cat), although with variations between the species. The ZIO method and TEM showed this cell type in the cat and, sporadically, in the horse; CD1a (+) Langerhans cells were demonstrated in the ovine, porcine and murine oesophagus. Positive staining for langerin was detected in single cells of the caprine, canine, mu...
Brown CC, Olander HJ, Biberstein EL, Moreno D.Fifteen goat kids were experimentally inoculated with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Five were given a strain of caprine origin (nitrate-negative biotype) intradermally, 5 were given a strain of equine origin (nitrate-positive biotype) intradermally, and 5 were inoculated intranasally with the caprine-origin strain. Animals were monitored for 127 days. The goats given the inocula intradermally developed abscesses; those given caprine-origin strain had multiple lesions both peripherally and in visceral locations (primarily endothoracic abscesses), whereas those given the equine-origin stra...
Marsella R, Johnson C, Ahrens K.Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common skin disease that affects humans and animals. Skin impairment has been described in human and canine AD. Equine AD is recognized in practice but little is known about its pathogenesis. As remarkable similarities exist across species in terms of cutaneous manifestations of AD, it was speculated that skin abnormalities may also exist in atopic horses. This case report describes the ultrastructure of the stratum corneum of two normal and two atopic horses. Biopsies were taken from sites predisposed to AD and examined using electron microscopy. Stratum corneum in...
Ogunremi O, Georgiadis MP, Halbert G, Benjamin J, Pfister K, Lopez-Rebollar L.The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test for Theileria equi was evaluated to assess test's suitability for the serological diagnosis of equine piroplasmosis, to provide performance parameters for the purpose of test validation, and to compare it with the complement fixation (CF) test. Using a protocol that included Evan's blue, the specificity of the IFA test was estimated at 99.0% for T. equi by the classical method of analysis, and 96.6% by the Bayesian method. The use of Evan's blue in the test protocol increased test specificity and contributed to an excellent test agreement between tw...
Giessler KS, Goehring LS, Jacob SI, Davis A, Esser MM, Lee Y, Zarski LM, Weber PSD, Hussey GS.Herpesviruses establish a well-adapted balance with their host's immune system. Despite this co-evolutionary balance, infections can lead to severe disease including neurological disorders in their natural host. In horses, equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory disease, abortions, neonatal foal death and myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in ~10 % of acute infections worldwide. Many aspects of EHM pathogenesis and protection from EHM are still poorly understood. However, it has been shown that the incidence of EHM increases to >70 % in female horses >20 years of age. In this study we use...
