In vivo studies involving horses refer to research conducted within living organisms to understand various biological processes, disease mechanisms, and therapeutic interventions in equine species. These studies provide insights into the physiological and pathological responses of horses under natural conditions. In vivo research encompasses a range of investigations, including pharmacokinetics, disease modeling, and the evaluation of treatment efficacy. It often involves the use of controlled environments to simulate real-life scenarios while observing the effects of specific variables on equine health. This page gathers peer-reviewed research articles and scholarly studies that explore the methodologies, findings, and implications of in vivo research in horses, contributing to the advancement of equine science and veterinary medicine.
Gonzalez GA, Betbeze C, Wills R, Eddy A, Mochal-King C, Fontenot RL.To evaluate corneal sensitivity and adverse events following subconjunctival administration of three local anesthetics in horses. Methods: Randomized, masked, crossover study. Methods: Twelve healthy adult mares. Methods: The subconjunctival space of the treated eye was injected with 0.2 mL of liposomal bupivacaine (1.3%), ropivacaine (0.5%), or mepivacaine (2%). All horses received each medication once and the contralateral eye received saline (control). Corneal touch threshold (CTT) was measured using a Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer before sedation, after sedation, and at specified intervals...
Śniegucka K, Soroko-Dubrovina M, Zielińska P, Dudek K, Žuffová K.Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) is increasingly being used to treat musculoskeletal injuries in horses. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of rESWT on the skin surface temperature of the longissimus dorsi muscle in clinically healthy racing horses. A total of 24 thoroughbreds were divided into a study group (n = 12) and an rESWT-sham group (n = 12). The study group underwent rESWT, whereas the rESWT-sham group had rESWT without probe activation in the treated area. Both groups underwent thermographic examination before and just after rESWT to determine and compa...
Madsen K, Martens A, Haspeslagh M, Meulyzer M, Gustafsson K.Medical grade honey (MGH) has been introduced as a protective measure against surgical site infections in equine surgery, but the effect on suture material has not been investigated. Objective: To evaluate the effect of MGH on the tensile properties of three synthetic absorbable suture materials. Methods: In vitro experiments. Methods: Ten strands of Polydioxanone USP 2 (PD2), Polyglactin 910 USP 2 (PG2) and Polyglecaprone USP 2-0 (PC2-0) were incubated 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days in MGH, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), equine plasma (EP) and MGH mixed with equine plasma (HP). Mechanical testi...
Tehrani M, Ownagh A.Q fever is a worldwide zoonosis caused by an obligate intra-cellular pathogen called affecting a broad range of animal hosts including horses. Most of the isolates found carry plasmids which genetic studies of strains suggest a critical role in survival. The correlation between an isolated plasmid type and the chronic or acute nature of the disease has always been controversial. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of and plasmids in horses and assess the potential role of these species as reservoirs of infection and transmission. Nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a...
Castro-Mesa AF, Resende Faleiros R, Martínez-Aranzales JR.Ultrasonography is commonly used to evaluate equine lameness-related structures, but traditional hoof approaches cannot adequately visualize internal structures such as the lamellar layer. To address this limitation, we used 62 healthy hooves without digital radiographic abnormalities, made up of thirty anatomical pieces (phase 1) and thirty-two hooves from living horses (phase 2). In both phases, half of the digits were submerged in water (group 1) and the other half in water and ice (group 2) for 24 h. Ultrasonographic views and temperature and humidity measurements were taken every two hour...
Valberg SJ, Williams ZJ, Henry ML, Finno CJ.Shivers in horses is characterized by abnormal hindlimb movement when walking backward and is proposed to be caused by a Purkinje cell (PC) axonopathy based on histopathology. Objective: Define region-specific differences in gene expression within the lateral cerebellar hemisphere and compare cerebellar protein expression between Shivers horses and controls. Methods: Case-control study of 5 Shivers and 4 control geldings ≥16.2 hands in height. Methods: Using spatial transcriptomics, gene expression was compared between Shivers and control horses in PC soma and lateral cerebellar hemisphere w...
Kilcoyne I, Nieto J, Magdesian KG, Nottle BF.To determine the effect of a 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution on the peak concentration (C ) of amikacin in the radiocarpal joint (RCJ) during intravenous regional limb perfusion (IVRLP) compared with 0.9% NaCl. Methods: Randomized crossover study. Methods: Seven healthy adult horses. Methods: The horses underwent IVRLP with 2 g of amikacin sulfate diluted to 60 mL using a 10% DMSO or 0.9% NaCl solution. Synovial fluid was collected from the RCJ at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes after IVRLP. The wide rubber tourniquet placed on the antebrachium was removed after the 30 min sample. A...
Malacarne BD, Martins RR, Paz CFR, Alves JVA, Dias LA, Cavalcante MA, Santos AM, Silva AGM, Leise BS, Carvalho AM, Faleiros RR.Although the external conformation of wild horse hooves has been proposed as an ideal model for domesticated modern horses, histological signs of laminitis have been reported among them. With the hypothesis that the lamellar tissue of horses of Iberian origin raised in semi-feral is healthier than those raised in an intensive management system (stall confinement and high-calorie diet intake), the objective was to compare their lamellar tissues. Lamellar tissue samples were taken from the forelimb hoof of eight domesticated Mangalarga Marchador (MM) horses and from six semi-feral Marajoara (MJ)...
Umair M, Scheeren VFDC, Beitsma MM, Colleoni S, Galli C, Lazzari G, de Ruijter-Villani M, Stout TAE, Claes A.In vitro production (IVP) of equine embryos is increasingly popular in clinical practice but suffers from higher incidences of early embryonic loss and monozygotic twin development than transfer of in vivo derived (IVD) embryos. Early embryo development is classically characterized by two cell fate decisions: (1) first, trophectoderm (TE) cells differentiate from inner cell mass (ICM); (2) second, the ICM segregates into epiblast (EPI) and primitive endoderm (PE). This study examined the influence of embryo type (IVD versus IVP), developmental stage or speed, and culture environment (in vitro ...
Díaz Yucupicio S, Bishop RC, Fick ME, Austin SM, Barger AM, Stolsworth B, Wilkins PA.Determine the effect of sample holding time and single sample reuse on viscoelastic coagulation parameters when using fresh equine native whole blood. Methods: 8 healthy adult horses from a university teaching herd. Methods: Blood collected by direct jugular venipuncture (18 ga needle, 3 mL syringe) was held at 37 °C for 2, 4, 6, or 8 minutes according to 1 of 2 protocols. Syringes were gently inverted twice, a small amount of blood was expressed, testing cartridges were filled, and placed within the VCM-Vet™ device (Entegrion Inc). Protocol A: samples were processed from a single syringe. ...
Jarry J, De Raeve Y, Dugdale A, Simon V, Vandeweerd JM.Severe ophthalmic conditions such as trauma, uveitis, corneal damage, or neoplasia can lead to eye removal surgery. Poor cosmetic appearance resulting from the sunken orbit ensues. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of manufacturing a custom-made 3D-printed orbital implant made of biocompatible material for the enucleated horse and usable in conjunction to a corneoscleral shell. Blender, a 3D-image software, was used for prototype design. Twelve cadaver heads of adult Warmbloods were collected from the slaughterhouse. On each head, one eye was removed via a modified trans...
Emmerich IU.In 2022, one novel pharmaceutical agent was released on the German market for horses or food-producing animals: An injection suspension for horses containing tenogenic primed equine allogeneic peripheral blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells as the active ingredient (RenuTend®) is now available. The authorization of one established veterinary active ingredient was extended to an additional species: The synthetic prostaglandin F2α-analogue cloprostenol (Syncroprost®) received approval for goats. Additionally, for 2 active ingredients (paracetamol, suxibuzone), drugs with a higher content of t...
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...
Miller LMJ, Woodward EM, Campos JR, Squires EL, Troedsson MHT.Sperm protein at 22 kDa has been associated with fertility. Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine (1) the localization pattern of SP22 on ejaculated and caudal epididymal equine spermatozoa and in epididymal fluid, and to (2) characterize SP22 protein and mRNA expression in testicular and epididymal tissues in response to heat-induced testicular degeneration. Methods: Semen was collected before and after hemi-castration, as well as prior to and following insulation of the remaining testes, and tissue specimens were collected for analysis. Results: Histopathology confirmed ...
Zamboulis DE, Marr N, Lenzi L, Birch HL, Screen HRC, Clegg PD, Thorpe CT.Energy storing tendons such as the human Achilles and equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) are prone to injury, with incidence increasing with aging, peaking in the 5 decade of life in the human Achilles tendon. The interfascicular matrix (IFM), which binds tendon fascicles, plays a key role in energy storing tendon mechanics, and aging alterations to the IFM negatively impact tendon function. While the mechanical role of the IFM in tendon function is well-established, the biological role of IFM-resident cell populations remains to be elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was...
Yassin AM, AbuBakr HO, Abdelgalil AI, Farid OA, El-Behairy AM, Gouda EM.One of the most orthopedic problems seen in the equine is osteoarthritis (OA). The present study tracks some biochemical, epigenetic, and transcriptomic factors along different stages of monoiodoacetate (MIA) induced OA in donkeys in serum and synovial fluid. The aim of the study was the detection of sensitive noninvasive early biomarkers. OA was induced by a single intra-articular injection of 25 mg of MIA into the left radiocarpal joint of nine donkeys. Serum and synovial samples were taken at zero-day and different intervals for assessment of total GAGs and CS levels as well as miR-146b, m...
Ferlini Agne G, May BE, Lovett A, Simon O, Steel C, Santos L, Guedes do Carmo L, Barbosa B, Werner LC, Daros RR, Somogyi AA, Sykes B, Franklin S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a highly prevalent and presumptively painful condition, although the amount of pain horses might experience is currently unknown. The aims of this study were to determine if the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) could identify pain behaviours in horses with and without EGUS and if severity would be positively associated with the HGS score. Horse grimace scale scores were assessed blindly using facial photographs by seven observers and involved evaluation of 6 facial action units as 0 (not present), 1 (moderately present) and 2 (obviously present). Lameness exami...
Petrova V, Vachkova E.Adipose tissue is recognized as the major endocrine organ, potentially acting as a source of mesenchymal stem cells for various applications in regenerative medicine. Athletic horses are often exposed to traumatic injuries, resulting in severe financial losses. The development of adipose-derived stem cells' regenerative potential depends on many factors. The extraction of stem cells from subcutaneous adipose tissue is non-invasive, non-traumatic, cheaper, and safer than other sources. Since there is a lack of unique standards for identification, the isolated cells and applied differentiation p...
Aitken MR.The following article provides an overview of the last 5 years of research and innovation within the field of equine colic surgery, focusing on new techniques, new or recently described lesions, prevention of lesion recurrence or postoperative complications, and updates in prognoses. Early surgical intervention is an important factor in horse survival.
Aoun R, Charles I, DeRouen A, Takawira C, Lopez MJ.Equine shoes provide hoof protection and support weakened or damaged hoof tissues. Two hypotheses were tested in this study: 1) motion of the third phalanx (P3) and hoof wall deformation are greater in laminitic versus unaffected hooves regardless of shoe type; 2) P3 displacement and hoof wall deformation are greatest while unshod (US), less with open-heel (OH), then egg-bar (EB) shoes, and least with heart-bar (HB) shoes for both hoof conditions. Distal forelimbs (8/condition) were subjected to compressive forces (1.0x102-5.5x103 N) while a real-time motion detection system recorded markers o...
Arfuso F, Piccione G, Guttadauro A, Monteverde V, Giudice E, Giannetto C.Inflammaging or chronic, low-grade inflammation is a phenomenon characterizing age-related pathologies and natural processes in aging tissues. This study aimed to investigate the effect of age on the serum levels of C-reactive protein and protein electrophoretic pattern in horses. Thirty Italian Saddle horses from the same horse training center, were enrolled and divided in three equal groups according to their age: Group A (2-4 years), Group B (7-10 years), Group C (15-20 years). Blood samples were collected from each horse to evaluate hematological parameters and the serum concentration of C...
Hassall L, Rigsby P, Stickings P.The International Standard for Diphtheria Antitoxin Equine is essential for the standardisation of assays used to determine the potency of therapeutic diphtheria antitoxin products produced from equine serum. This paper describes the production and characterization of the 2nd International Standard for Diphtheria Antitoxin Equine and its calibration in International Units. Calibration was performed by toxin neutralization test in vivo and in vitro (Vero cell assay), and potency was expressed relative to the 1st International Standard to ensure continuity of the International Unit. The candidat...
Martins AV, Corrêa LL, Ribeiro MS, Lobão LF, Dib LV, Palmer JPS, de Moura LC, Knackfuss FB, Uchôa CMA, Molento MB, Barbosa ADS.The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of helminths in Thoroughbred horses in Rio de Janeiro; make correlations with risk factors for these infections; and compare the efficiency of three floatation solutions applied in the quantitative Mini-FLOTAC technique. Fecal samples from 520 horses were collected from six training centers between 2019 and 2021. These were subjected to the Mini-FLOTAC technique using three solutions: NaCl (density = 1.200 g/mL), ZnSO4 (1.350 g/mL) and ZnSO4 (1.200 g/mL); and also to qualitative techniques. Information on the horses' sex and age of hors...
Fan Y, Lou J, Tam CC, Wen W, Conrad F, Leal da Silva Alves P, Cheng LW, Garcia-Rodriguez C, Farr-Jones S, Marks JD.Equine-derived antitoxin (BAT) is the only treatment for botulism from botulinum neurotoxin serotype G (BoNT/G). BAT is a foreign protein with potentially severe adverse effects and is not renewable. To develop a safe, more potent, and renewable antitoxin, humanized monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were generated. Yeast displayed single chain Fv (scFv) libraries were prepared from mice immunized with BoNT/G and BoNT/G domains and screened with BoNT/G using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Fourteen scFv-binding BoNT/G were isolated with K values ranging from 3.86 nM to 103 nM (median K 2...
Gysens L, Martens A, Haspeslagh M.Bovine papillomavirus (BPV) types 1 and 2 are causally associated with equine sarcoid, the most common mesenchymal neoplasm of horses, but the viral load (VL) differs between lesions. Sensitive and accurate BPV detection and quantification is essential for clinicians to confirm clinical suspicion, as well as in research settings for stratifying these skin lesions. Due to the limitations of histopathology in sarcoid diagnosis, PCR screening of superficial swabs constitutes the principal sampling method for BPV detection. This study aimed to investigate the ability of superficial swabs and fine-...
Auckburally A, Wiklund M, Lord P, Nyman G.To measure changes in regional lung perfusion using CT angiography in mechanically ventilated, anesthetized ponies administered pulsed inhaled nitric oxide (PiNO) during hypotension and normotension. Methods: 6 ponies for anesthetic 1 and 5 ponies for anesthetic 2. Methods: Ponies were anesthetized on 2 separate occasions, mechanically ventilated, and placed in dorsal recumbency within the CT gantry. Pulmonary arterial, right atrial, and facial arterial catheters were placed. During both anesthetics, PiNO was delivered for 60 minutes and then discontinued. Anesthetic 1: hypotension (mean arter...
Muñoz-Prieto A, Contreras-Aguilar MD, Cerón JJ, Ayala de la Peña I, Martín-Cuervo M, Eckersall PD, Holm Henriksen IM, Tecles F, Hansen S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a highly prevalent disease that affects horses worldwide. Within EGUS, two different forms have been described: equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD) and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD). The associated clinical signs cause detrimental activity performance, reducing the quality of life of animals. Saliva can contain biomarkers for EGUS that could be potentially used as a complementary tool for diagnosis. The objective of this work was to evaluate the measurements of calprotectin (CALP) and aldolase in the saliva of horses as potential biomarkers ...
Testa B, Biggi M, Byrne CA, Bell A.Acquisition of magnetic resonance images of the equine limb is still sometimes conducted under general anaesthesia. Despite low-field systems allow the use of standard anaesthetic equipment, possible interferences of the extensive electronic componentry of advanced anaesthetic machines on image quality is unknown. This prospective, blinded, cadaver study investigated the effects of seven standardised conditions (Tafonius positioned as in clinical cases, Tafonius on the boundaries of the controlled area, anaesthetic monitoring only, Mallard anaesthetic machine, Bird ventilator, complete electro...
Etcharren V, Mouguelar H, Aguilar Valenciano JJ.Telocytes (TCs), a recently discovered special type of stromal cells, have been identified in many organs of many species, including the female and male reproductive system, with proposed multiple potential bio-functions such as homeostasis, immunomodulation, tissue remodeling and regeneration, embryogenesis, angiogenesis and even tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence, and characteristics of telocytes in normal equine oviduct. To identify them, we used routine light microscopy, non-conventional light microscopy (NCLM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and...
Loux SC, Crawford KR, Ing NH, González-Fernández L, Macías-García B, Love CC, Varner DD, Velez IC, Choi YH, Hinrichs K.In vitro fertilization does not occur readily in the horse. This may be related to failure of equine sperm to initiate hyperactivated motility, as treating with procaine to induce hyperactivation increases fertilization rates. In mice, hyperactivated motility requires a sperm-specific pH-gated calcium channel (CatSper); therefore, we investigated this channel in equine sperm. Motility was assessed by computer-assisted sperm motility analysis and changes in intracellular pH and calcium were assessed using fluorescent probes. Increasing intracellular pH induced a rise in intracellular calcium, w...
O'Rourke K, Perryman LE, McGuire TC.Equine infectious anaemia virus is related by genome sequence homology to human immunodeficiency virus, caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus and visna virus. Failure of the host to mount a strong neutralizing response detectable in vitro or to eliminate persistent infection in vivo characterizes lentivirus infections in the natural host. In this study the specificities and neutralizing activity of antibodies induced during experimental infection with equine infectious anaemia virus were investigated using antiviral ELISA, radioimmunoprecipitation and neutralization assays. ELISA antibody titre...
Shimada M, Yanai Y, Okazaki T, Yamashita Y, Sriraman V, Wilson MC, Richards JS.During ovulation, granulosa cells and cumulus cells synthesize and secrete a wide variety of factors including members of the IL cytokine family via the process of exocytosis. Exocytosis is controlled by the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptor complex consisting of proteins residing in the vesicle membrane and the plasma membrane. One of the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptor proteins, synaptosomal-associated protein (SNAP)25, is expressed abundantly in neuronal cells and is also induced transiently in the rat...
Boerlin P, Eugster S, Gaschen F, Straub R, Schawalder P.Acinetobacter baumannii, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, and Staphylococcus intermedius isolates from infected surgical wounds and other types of infections in a veterinary teaching hospital were typed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. A first cluster of infections with a multiresistant A. baumannii strain was observed in dogs and cats in 1998-1999. This strain disappeared after cleaning and disinfection of the companion animals intensive care unit. It was followed in 2000 by a second multiresistant strain, which caused another cluster of infections and was also transmitted to ...
Loomis PR, Graham JK.One of the challenges for those attempting to cryopreserve stallion spermatozoa is dealing with the stallion to stallion variability in the cryosurvival of their semen. In the dairy industry, each bull stud, essentially utilizes a single cryopreservation technique, and bulls that produce sperm that do not cryopreserve well using that technique are replaced by other bulls. However, replacing stallions is unlikely to prove acceptable to the equine industry, where specific genotypes are desired. Instead, to increase the number of stallions that can be effectively utilized for cryopreserved semen ...
Fettelschoss-Gabriel A, Fettelschoss V, Thoms F, Giese C, Daniel M, Olomski F, Kamarachev J, Birkmann K, Bühler M, Kummer M, Zeltins A, Marti E....Insect-bite hypersensitivity is the most common allergic dermatitis in horses. Excoriated skin lesions are typical symptoms of this seasonal and refractory chronic disease. On a cellular level, the skin lesions are characterized by massive eosinophil infiltration caused by an underlying allergic response. To target these cells and treat disease, we developed a therapeutic vaccine against equine IL-5 (eIL-5), the master regulator of eosinophils. The vaccine consisted of eIL-5 covalently linked to a virus-like particle derived from cucumber mosaic virus containing the tetanus toxoid universal T-...
Ross TN, Kisiday JD, Hess T, McIlwraith CW.To compare two transient models of synovitis-osteoarthritis (OA) in horses by characterizing biological changes in synovial fluid and joint tissue. Methods: Twelve skeletally mature mares were utilized in a block design. Synovitis was induced by an intra-articular injection of 100 ng recombinant equine interleukin 1 beta (reIL-1β) or 0.5 ng lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into a middle carpal joint in 1 ml volumes. One ml of saline was injected into the contra-lateral control joint. Lameness evaluations were conducted through post-injection hour (PIH) 8 (at which time arthroscopic removal of syno...
Randall C, Bridges D, Guerri R, Nogues X, Puig L, Torres E, Mellibovsky L, Hoffseth K, Stalbaum T, Srikanth A, Weaver JC, Rosen S, Barnard H....A novel, hand-held Reference Point Indentation (RPI) instrument, measures how well the bone of living patients and large animals resists indentation. The results presented here are reported in terms of Bone Material Strength, which is a normalized measure of how well the bone resists indentation, and is inversely related to the indentation distance into the bone. We present examples of the instrument's use in: (1) laboratory experiments on bone, including experiments through a layer of soft tissue, (2) three human clinical trials, two ongoing in Barcelona and at the Mayo Clinic, and one comple...
Frazer KA, Tao H, Osoegawa K, de Jong PJ, Chen X, Doherty MF, Cox DR.Cross-species DNA sequence comparison is a fundamental method for identifying biologically important elements, because functional sequences are evolutionarily conserved, wheres nonfunctional sequences drift. A recent genome-wide comparison of human and mouse DNA discovered over 200,000 conserved noncoding sequences with unknown function. Multispecies DNA comparison has been proposed as a method to prioritize these conserved noncoding sequences for functional analysis based on the hypothesis that elements present in many species are more likely to be functional than elements present in limited ...
Lu J, Guo Z, Pan X, Wang G, Zhang D, Li Y, Tan B, Ouyang L, Yu X.Avian influenza virus H5N1 has demonstrated considerable pandemic potential. Currently, no effective vaccines for H5N1 infection are available, so passive immunotherapy may be an alternative strategy. To investigate the possible therapeutic effect of antibody against highly pathogenic H5N1 virus on a mammal host, we prepared specific equine anti-H5N1 IgGs from horses vaccinated with inactivated H5N1 virus, and then obtained the F(ab')2 fragments by pepsin digestion of IgGs. Methods: The horses were vaccinated with inactivated H5N1 vaccine to prepare anti-H5N1 IgGs. The F(ab')2 fragments were p...
Scepek S, Lindau M.We have investigated the granule fusion events during exocytosis in horse eosinophils by time-resolved patch-clamp capacitance measurements. Stimulation with intracellular GTP gamma S leads to a stepwise capacitance increase by 4.0 +/- 0.9 pF. At GTP gamma S concentrations < 20 microM the step size distribution is in agreement with the granule size distribution in resting cells. Above 80 microM the number of steps is reduced and very large steps occur. The total capacitance increase, however, is unaffected. These results show that at high GTP gamma S concentrations granule--granule fusion o...
Jacobsen S, Niewold TA, Halling-Thomsen M, Nanni S, Olsen E, Lindegaard C, Andersen PH.The aim of the study was to determine the intraarticular serum amyloid A (SAA) response pattern in horses with inflammatory arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis was induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the radiocarpal joint of four horses. Serum and synovial fluid (SF) samples were collected before and at 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 144 h after injection. Concentrations of SAA were measured by immunoturbidometry, and expression of SAA isoforms was visualized by denaturing isoelectric focusing and Western blotting. The LPS injection caused systemic and local clinical signs of in...
Ardanaz N, Vázquez FJ, Romero A, Remacha AR, Barrachina L, Sanz A, Ranera B, Vitoria A, Albareda J, Prades M, Zaragoza P, Martín-Burriel I....Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation has become a promising therapeutic choice for musculoskeletal injuries. Joint-related disorders are highly prevalent in horses. Therefore, these animals are considered as suitable models for testing MSC-based therapies for these diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and inflammatory responses to intra-articular single and repeat dose administration of autologous or of pooled allogeneic MSCs in healthy equine healthy joints. Six horses were intra-articularly injected with a single autologous dose of bone marrow derived MSCs...
Kon E, Muttini A, Arcangeli E, Delcogliano M, Filardo G, Nicoli Aldini N, Pressato D, Quarto R, Zaffagnini S, Marcacci M.The present in vivo preliminary experiment is aimed at testing mechanical and biological behaviour of a new nano-structured composite multilayer biomimetic scaffold for the treatment of chondral and osteochondral defects. The three-dimensional biomimetic scaffold (Fin-Ceramica Faenza S.p.A., Faenza-Italy) was obtained by nucleating collagen fibrils with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, in two configurations, bi- and tri-layered, to reproduce, respectively, chondral and osteochondral anatomy. Chondral defects (lateral condyle) and deep osteochondral defects (medial condyle) were made in the distal...
Peña FJ, O'Flaherty C, Ortiz Rodríguez JM, Martín Cano FE, Gaitskell-Phillips GL, Gil MC, Ortega Ferrusola C.Redox regulation and oxidative stress have become areas of major interest in spermatology. Alteration of redox homeostasis is recognized as a significant cause of male factor infertility and is behind the damage that spermatozoa experience after freezing and thawing or conservation in a liquid state. While for a long time, oxidative stress was just considered an overproduction of reactive oxygen species, nowadays it is considered as a consequence of redox deregulation. Many essential aspects of spermatozoa functionality are redox regulated, with reversible oxidation of thiols in cysteine resid...
Proudman CJ, Hunter JO, Darby AC, Escalona EE, Batty C, Turner C.The intestinal bacterial community of the horse is a key determinant of intestinal and whole body health. Understanding the bacterial community structure and function is an important foundation for studies of intestinal health and disease. Objective: To describe the faecal bacterial community and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of the faecal metabolome of healthy Thoroughbred racehorses and to characterise responses to dietary supplementation with amylase-rich malt extract. Methods: Intervention study. Methods: Faecal samples were collected noninvasively before and 6 weeks after supplementat...
Kamm JL, Nixon AJ, Witte TH.Understanding the expression of catabolic and anabolic genes during osteoarthritis progression should help to identify the major mediators of the disease. Objective: To compare the cytokine and anabolic marker concentrations in synovium, synovial fluid and cartilage between normal and osteoarthritic joints. Methods: Carpi from horses age 2-11 years were used. Tissues were harvested at the time of surgery or euthanasia, and RNA was isolated for RT-PCR analysis. Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), aggrecanase 1 (ADAMTS-4), aggrecanase 2 (ADAMTS-5), matrix metallopro...
Monteiro-Riviere NA, Bristol DG, Manning TO, Rogers RA, Riviere JE.Studies in dermatology, cutaneous pharmacology, and toxicology utilize skin from different animal species and body sites. However, regional differences exist in topical chemical percutaneous absorption studies in man and in animal. The objective of this study was to compare epidermal thickness and number of cell layers across species and body sites using both formalin-fixed paraffin and frozen sections. Cutaneous blood flow determined by laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) was compared to histologic data. Six animals of each of the following species were used: monkeys, pigs, dogs, cats, cows, hors...
Bogerd HP, Tallmadge RL, Oaks JL, Carpenter S, Cullen BR.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV), uniquely among lentiviruses, does not encode a vif gene product. Other lentiviruses, including human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), use Vif to neutralize members of the APOBEC3 (A3) family of intrinsic immunity factors that would otherwise inhibit viral infectivity. This suggests either that equine cells infected by EIAV in vivo do not express active A3 proteins or that EIAV has developed a novel mechanism to avoid inhibition by equine A3 (eA3). Here, we demonstrate that horses encode six distinct A3 proteins, four of which contain a single copy o...
Sieber S, Gerber V, Jandova V, Rossano A, Evison JM, Perreten V.A total of 70 Staphylococcus aureus isolates from postoperative infections in hospitalized horses were isolated between January 2005 and January 2011. Among them, 12 isolates were methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), 18 were borderline-oxacillin-resistant S. aureus (BORSA), and 40 were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). During the same period, the equine clinic personnel were screened for nasal carriage of BORSA and MRSA. Genotyping revealed that BORSA ST1(MLST)-t2863(spa) isolates were responsible for most equine infections and were the main isolates found in colonized members of th...
Kennedy R, Lappin DF, Dixon PM, Buijs MJ, Zaura E, Crielaard W, O'Donnell L, Bennett D, Brandt BW, Riggio MP.Equine periodontal disease is a common and painful condition and its severe form, periodontitis, can lead to tooth loss. Its aetiopathogenesis remains poorly understood despite recent increased awareness of this disorder amongst the veterinary profession. Bacteria have been found to be causative agents of the disease in other species, but current understanding of their role in equine periodontitis is extremely limited. The aim of this study was to use high-throughput sequencing to identify the microbiome associated with equine periodontitis and oral health. Subgingival plaque samples from 24 h...
Balaggan KS, Binley K, Esapa M, MacLaren RE, Iqball S, Duran Y, Pearson RA, Kan O, Barker SE, Smith AJ, Bainbridge JW, Naylor S, Ali RR.We evaluated the efficacy of equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV)-based lentiviral vectors encoding endostatin (EIAV.endostatin) or angiostatin (EIAV.angiostatin) in inhibiting angiogenesis and vascular hyperpermeability in the laser-induced model of choroidal neovascularisation (CNV). Equine infectious anaemia virus.endostatin, EIAV.angiostatin or control (EIAV.null) vectors were administered into the subretinal space of C57Bl/6J mice. Two weeks after laser injury CNV areas and the degree of vascular hyperpermeability were measured by image analysis of in vivo fluorescein angiograms. Compar...
Milinovich GJ, Trott DJ, Burrell PC, van Eps AW, Thoefner MB, Blackall LL, Al Jassim RA, Morton JM, Pollitt CC.In the horse, carbohydrate overload is thought to play an integral role in the onset of laminitis by drastically altering the profile of bacterial populations in the hindgut. The objectives of this study were to develop and validate microbial ecology methods to monitor changes in bacterial populations throughout the course of experimentally induced laminitis and to identify the predominant oligofructose-utilizing organisms. Laminitis was induced in five horses by administration of oligofructose. Faecal specimens were collected at 8 h intervals from 72 h before to 72 h after the administration ...
Witkowska-Piłaszewicz OD, Żmigrodzka M, Winnicka A, Miśkiewicz A, Strzelec K, Cywińska A.Serum amyloid A (SAA) is the major acute phase protein in horses. It is produced during the acute phase response (APR), a nonspecific systemic reaction to any type of tissue injury. In the blood of healthy horses, SAA concentration is very low, but it increases dramatically with inflammation. Due to the short half-life of SAA, changes in its concentration in blood closely reflect the onset of inflammation and, therefore, measurement of SAA useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease and response to treatment. Increases in SAA concentration have been described in equine digestive, reprodu...
Marasas WF, Kellerman TS, Pienaar JG, Naudé TW.When 2 horses were dosed with cultures of a Fusarium moniliforme isolate that had previously caused only hepatosis, 1 developed brain oedema and hepatosis, and the other only leukoencephalomalacia. A 3rd horse developed both leukoencephalomalacia and hepatosis after being dosed with another isolate obtained from maize which was associated with a natural outbreak of the nervous form of the disease. Since leukoencephalomalacia and hepatosis could be induced by the same culture material, it was concluded that both syndromes were manifestations of the same toxicosis. There was also some evidence t...
Leemans B, Gadella BM, Stout TA, De Schauwer C, Nelis H, Hoogewijs M, Van Soom A.In contrast to man and many other mammalian species, conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) with horse gametes is not reliably successful. The apparent inability of stallion spermatozoa to penetrate the zona pellucida in vitro is most likely due to incomplete activation of spermatozoa (capacitation) because of inadequate capacitating or fertilizing media. In vivo, the oviduct and its secretions provide a microenvironment that does reliably support and regulate interaction between the gametes. This review focuses on equine sperm-oviduct interaction. Equine sperm-oviduct binding appears to be...
Pomar FJ, Teerds KJ, Kidson A, Colenbrander B, Tharasanit T, Aguilar B, Roelen BA.The occurrence of pregnancies and births after embryo transfer (ET) of in vivo produced embryos is generally more successful compared to that of embryos produced in vitro. This difference in ET success has been observed when embryos of morphological equal (high) quality were used. The incidence of apoptosis has been suggested as an additional criterion to morphological embryo evaluation in order to assess embryo quality and effectively predict embryo viability. In this study, equine, porcine, ovine, caprine and bovine in vivo and in vitro produced morphologically selected high quality (grade-I...
Mihm M, Evans AC.The selection of a single ovarian follicle for further differentiation and finally ovulation is a shared phenomenon in monovulatory species from different phylogenetic classes. The commonality of dominant follicle (DF) development leads us to hypothesize that mechanisms for DF selection are conserved. This review highlights similarities and differences in follicular wave growth between cows, mares and women, addresses the commonality of the transient rises in FSH concentrations, and discusses the follicular secretions oestradiol and inhibin with their regulatory roles for FSH. In all three spe...
Wilson AM, Goodship AE.Mathematical modelling of tendon thermodynamics predicted that the temperature of the central core of the equine superficial digital flexor tendon would plateau at 11 degrees C above the tendon surface temperature during a sustained gallop. A mean temperature differential (between tendon core and surface) of 5.4 (S.E. +/- 1.0) degrees C was demonstrated in vivo in four horses. Peak intra-tendinous temperatures in the range 43-45 degrees C were recorded. Temperatures above 42.5 degrees C are known to result in fibroblast death in vitro [Hall (1988) Radiobiology for the Radiologist, 3rd Edn., pp...
Hannaman D, Dupuy LC, Ellefsen B, Schmaljohn CS.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus, causes periodic epizootics in equines and is a recognized biological defense threat for humans. There are currently no FDA-licensed vaccines against VEEV. We developed a candidate DNA vaccine expressing the E3-E2-6K-E1 genes of VEEV (pWRG/VEE) and performed a Phase 1 clinical study to assess the vaccine's safety, reactogenicity, tolerability, and immunogenicity when administered by intramuscular (IM) or intradermal (ID) electroporation (EP) using the Ichor Medical Systems TriGrid™ Delivery System. Subjects in IM-EP gro...
