Inflammation is a biological response of the horse's body to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a complex process that involves the activation of immune cells, the release of inflammatory mediators, and changes in blood flow. In horses, inflammation can manifest in various forms, affecting different tissues and organs, including the joints, respiratory system, and skin. The inflammatory response is an essential component of the horse's immune system, aiming to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out damaged cells and tissues, and establish tissue repair. This topic page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, effects, and management of inflammation in equine health.
Ayodele BA, Pagel CN, Mackie EJ, Armour F, Yamada S, Zahra P, Courtman N, Whitton RC, Hitchens PL.Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) are common in racehorses and have been of increasing concern in horses travelling internationally to compete. Understanding the differences in bone turnover between local horses and international horses following long-distance air transportation may inform MSI prevention strategies. Objective: To understand the differences in bone turnover markers and risk of MSI between local horses and international horses following long-distance air transportation. Methods: Prospective cohort. Methods: The concentrations of bone turnover markers (OCN and CTXI), markers of stre...
Artman JL, Wesolowski LT, Semanchik PL, Isles JK, Norton SA, White-Springer SH.We aimed to test the hypothesis that repeated muscle collections would impact mitochondrial function, antioxidant status, and markers of inflammation and muscle damage. Twenty-six horses (8 geldings, 18 mares; mean±SD 9.5±3.5 y) had gluteus medius muscle biopsy samples collected at: 0 and 24h (n=7); 0 and 6h (n=6); 0, 6, and 12h (n=7); or 0, 6, 12, and 24h (n=6). Blood was collected from all horses every 6h for 72h, starting 24h prior to the 0h muscle collection. Data were analyzed using mixed linear models. Muscle integrative (per mg tissue) electron transfer capacity of complex II decrease...
Tomal A, Szłapka-Kosarzewska J, Mironiuk M, Michalak I, Marycz K.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is a critical endocrine condition in horses, characterized by hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance, posing a significant threat to their health. This study investigates the efficacy of supplementing EMS-affected horses with Arthrospira platensis enriched with Cr(III), Mg(II), and Mn(II) ions using biosorption process in improving insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, reducing inflammation, and mitigating obesity-related fat accumulation. Our results demonstrate that Arthrospira supplementation reduces baseline insulin and glucose levels,...
Whitfield-Cargile CM, Chung HC, Coleman MC, Cohen ND, Chamoun-Emanuelli AM, Ivanov I, Goldsby JS, Davidson LA, Gaynanova I, Ni Y, Chapkin RS.The equine gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome has been described in the context of various diseases. The observed changes, however, have not been linked to host function and therefore it remains unclear how specific changes in the microbiome alter cellular and molecular pathways within the GI tract. Further, non-invasive techniques to examine the host gene expression profile of the GI mucosa have been described in horses but not evaluated in response to interventions. Therefore, the objectives of our study were to (1) profile gene expression and metabolomic changes in an equine model of non-ster...
Zhang X, Mai Z, Gao Y, Zhao X, Zhang Y.Endometritis is a common condition in mares that causes significant economic loss. Lacking obvious clinical signs, the clinical diagnosis of endometritis in mares relies on case-by-case clinical examinations, which can be particularly inefficient in large-scale farms. Therefore, the identification of potential biomarkers can serve as a non-invasive and efficient screening technique for endometritis in mares. Objective: To compare the blood proteome between fertile mares and mares with endometritis to identify biomarkers potentially associated with the development of endometritis and validate t...
Connard SS, Gaesser AM, Clarke EJ, Linardi RL, Even KM, Engiles JB, Koch DW, Peffers MJ, Ortved KF.The objective of this study was to characterize extracellular vesicles (EVs) in plasma and synovial fluid obtained from horses with and without naturally occurring post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Methods: EVs were isolated from plasma and synovial fluid from horses with (n = 6) and without (n = 6) PTOA. Methods: Plasma and synovial fluid EVs were characterized with respect to quantity, size, and surface markers. Small RNA sequencing was performed, and differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) underwent bioinformatic analysis to identify putative targets and to explore potential associa...
Meissner JM, Chmielińska A, Ofri R, Cisło-Sankowska A, Marycz K.Corneal ulcers, characterized by severe inflammation of the cornea, can lead to serious, debilitating complications and may be vision-threatening for horses. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in corneal stem progenitor cell (CSSC) dysfunction and explore the potential of equine adipose-derived stromal stem cell (ASC)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) to improve corneal wound healing. We showed that CSSCs expressed high levels of CD44, CD45, and CD90 surface markers, indicating their stemness. Supplementation of the ER-stress-inducer tunicam...
Chow L, Flaherty E, Pezzanite L, Williams M, Dow S, Wotman K.Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) represents the most common conjunctival tumor in horses and frequently results in vision loss and surgical removal of the affected globe. Multiple etiologic factors have been identified as contributing to OSSN progression, including solar radiation exposure, genetic mutations, and a lack of periocular pigmentation. Response to conventional treatments has been highly variable, though our recent work indicates that these tumors are highly responsive to local immunotherapy. In the present study, we extended our investigation of OSSN in horses to better und...
Duysens J, Graide H, Niesten A, Mouithys-Mickalad A, Ceusters J, Serteyn D.The main causes of mortality in horses are the gastrointestinal pathologies associated with septic shock. Stem cells have shown, through systemic injection, a capacity to decrease inflammation and to regenerate injured tissue faster. Nevertheless, to achieve this rapid and total regeneration, systemic injections of 1 to 2 million cells per kilogram of body weight must be considered. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the feasibility and expansion capacity of equine muscle-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (mdMSCs) in a functionally closed, automated, perfusion-based, hollow-fiber bioreact...
Podico G, Bittar JH, Loux SC, Souza FF, Canisso IF.Anecdotal experience suggests horse mares have less post-breeding inflammation and better fertility when bred with donkeys. This study aimed to compare the post-breeding inflammatory response of mares exposed to donkey and horse semen and seminal plasma and evaluate the proteome and metabolome of donkey and horse sperm and seminal plasma. Uterine edema, intrauterine fluid accumulation, PMNs on cytology, and concentrations of progesterone, and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL1, IL1, IL4, IL6, CXCL8, IL10) concentrations were assessed pre-and post-infusion of semen and seminal plas...
Giers J, Bartel A, Kirsch K, Müller SF, Horstmann S, Gehlen H.After submaximal exercise, blood values of eventing horses show physiological reactions. This prospective longitudinal study investigated blood parameters in 20 elite eventing horses before and after two-four-star cross-country rides. Using a mixed model adjusting for plasma volume shift, we assessed exercise-dependent parameters and compared blood values with reference ranges for healthy horses at rest. Following exercise, cortisol, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) showed short-term increases, and superoxide-dismutase showed a small short-term increase. Hepatic values showed short-ter...
Colbath AC, Goodrich L, Frye C, Dow S.Neurological diseases and injuries in veterinary patients (horses, dogs, and cats) are complex, and effective treatment options are limited. Neuronal loss, damage to nerve conduction pathways, and inflammation and scarring associated with spinal cord injury pose major challenges in managing many neurological diseases. Furthermore, most of these neuropathologies lack definitive pharmacological treatments, driving interest and research into novel interventions. Our objective is to provide a narrative review of the current literature surrounding cellular therapies including neuronal and glial ste...
Muñoz-Prieto A, Llamas-Amor E, Contreras-Aguilar MD, Ayala I, Martín Cuervo M, Cerón JJ, Hansen S.Ammonia (NH3) and bicarbonate (HCO3) have been related to gastric ulcers in humans. Ammonia is considered a possible cause of gastric ulcers, whereas bicarbonate has a protective function. The presence of ulcers in the stomach of horses is defined as Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS), which is a frequent disease in this species, and it has been associated with changes in saliva composition, such as in analytes related to inflammation, immune system and oxidative stress. The objectives of this study were (1) to perform an analytical validation of two automated spectrophotometric assays, one ...
Vitale V, Bindi F, Briganti A, Bonelli F, Parietti C, Sgorbini M.Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology is used for the diagnosis of non-infectious lower airway inflammation in equids. Discrepancies have been reported in the differential cell count when different staining methods were used both in humans and horses. The objective of this study was to compare the results of BALF cytology in donkeys using four different staining methods: modified May-Grunwald Giemsa (mMGG), Diff-Quick (DQ), Toluidine blue (TB) and Perls Prussian blue (PPB). Nine healthy Amiata female donkeys were enrolled. The BAL procedure was performed as previously described and pair...
Equine asthma (EA) is a respiratory syndrome associated with the increase of different leukocyte populations in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Its pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between the mRNA expression of different cytokines in the BALF, different EA subtypes and lung function. Fifteen horses underwent physical examination, airway endoscopy, BALF cytology and lung function testing (8/15). One horse did not have evidence of EA and was used as healthy reference, while the others were classified as affected by neutrophilic or mi...
Smith EJ, Beaumont RE, Dudhia J, Guest DJ.Tissue fibrosis following tendon injury is a major clinical problem due to the increased risk of re-injury and limited treatment options; however, its mechanism remains unclear. Evidence suggests that insufficient resolution of inflammation contributes to fibrotic healing by disrupting tenocyte activity, with the NF-κB pathway being identified as a potential mediator. Equine embryonic stem cell (ESC) derived tenocytes may offer a potential cell-based therapy to improve tendon regeneration, but how they respond to an inflammatory environment is largely unknown. Our findings reveal for the firs...
Vargas A, Mainguy-Seers S, Boivin R, Lavoie JP.Neutrophilic inflammation is associated with the degree of airway obstruction in severe equine asthma (SEA), but the contribution of these leukocytes to bronchial remodeling remains ill defined. Neutrophils could cause structural alterations of the airways by the release of exosomes, a type of cell-derived nanoparticles that can modify the biology of local and distant cells. Neutrophil-derived exosomes have been shown to increase airway smooth muscle (ASM) cell proliferation in humans and horses. Therefore, this study aimed to identify neutrophil exosomal microRNAs (miRs) implicated in the reg...
Morén S, Kallberg M, Strom L.Uveitis is common in horses, potentially turning chronic (persistent or recurrent) resulting in impaired vision or blindness. All mainstay therapeutics aims at controlling inflammation, but long-term or lifelong treatment is often needed with possibly severe side effects. Therefore, intravitreal injections with low-dose gentamicin (IVGI) have been used in attempt to give a long-lasting result with potentially less side effects. Objective: To retrospectively assess outcome and long-term complications following one or two low-dose IVGI in Swedish horses with chronic uveitis. Methods: Retrospecti...
van den Brom-Spierenburg AJ, Mureșan AN, Westermann CM.Equine asthma is considered a non-infectious respiratory disease characterized by inflammation and hypersensitivity. Given the importance of antimicrobial stewardship, an international survey was designed to investigate the use of antimicrobials in asthmatic horses and the factors influencing prescription behavior. An online survey was distributed in six languages by international mailing lists and social media from December 2020 to January 2022. Of the 434 responses recorded, 249 veterinarians working in 25 countries finished the survey. These included 79 ECEIM/ACVIM diplomats. A total of 204...
Kruse CJ, Dieu M, Renaud B, François AC, Stern D, Demazy C, Burteau S, Boemer F, Art T, Renard P, Votion DM.Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is a severe environmental intoxication linked to the ingestion of protoxins contained in seeds and seedlings of the sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) in Europe. The toxic metabolites cause a frequently fatal rhabdomyolysis syndrome in grazing horses. Since these toxic metabolites can also be present in cograzing horses, it is still unclear as to why, in a similar environmental context, some horses show signs of AM, whereas others remain clinically healthy. Label-free proteomic analyses on the serum of 26 diseased AM, 23 cograzers, and 11 control horses were per...
Canola PA, Salles RF, Daneze ER, Sobreira MFR, Oliveira BE, Favero ML, Antonioli ML.The aim of the study was to compare and correlate levels of ferritin, transferrin, iron and APPs in healthy horses and those surgically treated for strangulating colic. On admission, measurements of inflammatory markers related to iron and total protein, fibrinogen, albumin, haptoglobin and ceruloplasmin were made. The study comprised 22 horses, divided into a control group (CG) of healthy horses (n = 10) and horses with surgically treated acute abdomen (n = 12), obstruction group (OG). The OG was subdivided according to the affected intestinal segment (small vs. large) and according to ou...
Silva JA, Castañares M, Mouguelar H, Valenciano JA, Pellegrino MS.Endometritis, the inflammation of the endometrium, is the leading cause of subfertility in mares, and therefore responsible for major economic losses in the horse industry worldwide. It is generally treated with uterine lavages combined with ecbolic agents and local or systemic antibiotics. However, since antibiotic overuse has been associated with antimicrobial resistance in mares with persistent endometritis, new prevention and treatment alternatives are needed. One such alternative could be the use of probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from the host. Thanks to their species speci...
Tavanaeimanesh H, Alinia Z, Sadeghian Chaleshtori S, Moosavian H, Mohebi Z, Daneshi M.During transportation many horses develop post-transportation infection, which can be life-threatening and end their sport career. Preventing mucus accumulation and inflammation during transportation is vital, emphasizing the need for effective strategies to enhance overall horse health welfare. Objective: Assess the impact of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on mucus accumulation and inflammation in horses subjected to 18 hours of head confinement. Methods: Six healthy crossbred horses, 5.3 ± 2.1 years of age and weighing 387 ± 30 kg. Methods: Prospective placebo-controlled cross-over d...
Sage SE, Leeb T, Jagannathan V, Gerber V.Severe equine asthma (SEA) is a complex respiratory condition characterized by chronic airway inflammation. It shares many clinical and pathological features with human neutrophilic asthma, making it a valuable model for studying this condition. However, the immune mechanisms driving SEA have remained elusive. Although SEA has been primarily associated with a Th2 response, there have also been reports of Th1, Th17, or mixed-mediated responses. To uncover the elusive immune mechanisms driving SEA, we performed single-cell mRNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on cryopreserved bronchoalveolar cells from 1...
Laclaire AL, Manguin E, Tanquerel L.Effects of general anesthesia with controlled ventilation on the respiratory system have had limited evaluation in horses. A prospective observational study was performed with eleven client-owned horses undergoing elective surgery. Physical examination, auscultation with a rebreathing bag, complete blood cell count, lung ultrasound imaging, tracheal endoscopy imaging and transendoscopic tracheal wash were conducted before and 24 hours after anesthesia. Lung ultrasound imaging was also repeated just after recovery. A significant increase in blood neutrophil count between pre- and post-anesthesi...
López-Martínez MJ, Lamy E, Cerón JJ, Ayala I, Contreras-Aguilar MD, Henriksen IH, Muñoz-Prieto A, Hansen S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is currently one of the more frequent diseases in horses. We aimed to identify changes in the salivary proteome in horses with EGUS at diagnosis and after successful treatment by using gel proteomics. Saliva samples were collected from nine horses with EGUS before and after treatment and nine matched healthy controls. SDS-PAGE (1DE) and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) were performed, and significantly different protein bands and spots were identified by mass spectrometry. Horses with EGUS had increases in proteins such as adenosine deaminase (ADA)...
Cassano JM, Leonard BC, Martins BC, Vapniarsky N, Morgan JT, Dow SW, Wotman KL, Pezzanite LM.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), an immune mediated disease characterized by repeated episodes of intra-ocular inflammation, affects 25% of horses in the USA and is the most common cause of glaucoma, cataracts, and blindness. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have immunomodulatory properties, which are upregulated by preconditioning with toll-like receptor agonists. The objective was to evaluate safety and migration of TLR-3 agonist polyinosinic, polycytidylic acid (pIC)-activated MSCs injected subconjunctivally in healthy horses prior to clinical application in horses with ERU. We hypothesized ...
Bourebaba L, Kępska M, Qasem B, Zyzak M, Łyczko J, Klemens M, Mularczyk M, Marycz K.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is a steadily growing endocrine disorder representing a real challenge in veterinary practice. As a multifactorial condition, EMS is characterized by three main metabolic abnormalities including insulin resistance, increased adiposity or obesity and hoof laminitis. Adipose tissue dysfunction is recognized as a core pathophysiological determinant of EMS, as it strongly participates to lipotoxicity and systemic metaflammation, both of which have been closely linked to the development of generalized insulin resistance. Besides, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) i...
Mönki J, Holopainen M, Ruhanen H, Karikoski N, Käkelä R, Mykkänen A.The lipidome of equine BALF cells has not been described. The objectives of this prospective repeated-measures study were to explore the BALF cells' lipidome in horses and to identify lipids associated with progression or resolution of airway inflammation. BALF cells from 22 horses exposed to two bedding materials (Peat 1-Wood shavings [WS]-Peat 2) were studied by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The effects of bedding on lipid class and species compositions were tested with rmANOVA. Correlations between lipids and cell counts were examined. The BALF cells' lipidome s...
Lykkesfeldt J, Svendsen O.Important infectious diseases in farm animals, such as pneumonia and enteritis, are thought to be associated with the so-called oxidative stress, i.e. a chemical phenomenon involving an imbalance in the redox status of the individual animal. The specifics of oxidative stress and how it may result in disease or be prevented are complex questions with no simple answers. However, the considerable literature on the subject suggests that many researchers consider oxidative stress-related mechanisms to be important early events in disease development. A particularly intriguing aspect is that, at lea...
Marasas WF, Kellerman TS, Gelderblom WC, Coetzer JA, Thiel PG, van der Lugt JJ.Each of two horses was dosed by stomach tube with culture material on maize of Fusarium moniliforme MRC 826. One horse developed severe hepatosis and mild oedema of the brain after 6 doses of 2.5 g of culture material/kg body mass/day in 7 days. The second horse, in a similar experiment but at a dosage rate of 1.25 g/kg/day, developed mild hepatosis and moderate oedema of the brain. In both animals the brain oedema was particularly noticeable in the medulla oblongata. The mycotoxin fumonisin B1 was extracted and purified from the culture material of F. moniliforme MRC, 826 which contained appr...
Frisbie DD, Ghivizzani SC, Robbins PD, Evans CH, McIlwraith CW.Osteoarthritis in horses and in humans is a significant social and economic problem and continued research and improvements in therapy are needed. Because horses have naturally occurring osteoarthritis, which is similar to that of humans, the horse was chosen as a species with which to investigate gene transfer as a potential therapeutic modality for the clinical treatment of osteoarthritis. Using an established model of equine osteoarthritis that mimics clinical osteoarthritis, the therapeutic effects resulting from intra-articular overexpression of the equine interleukin-1 receptor antagonis...
McIlwraith CW, Frisbie DD, Kawcak CE.Osteoarthritis (OA) is an important cause of pain, disability and economic loss in humans, and is similarly important in the horse. Recent knowledge on post-traumatic OA has suggested opportunities for early intervention, but it is difficult to identify the appropriate time of these interventions. The horse provides two useful mechanisms to answer these questions: 1) extensive experience with clinical OA in horses; and 2) use of a consistently predictable model of OA that can help study early pathobiological events, define targets for therapeutic intervention and then test these putative thera...
Carrade DD, Lame MW, Kent MS, Clark KC, Walker NJ, Borjesson DL.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from bone marrow (BM), adipose tissue (AT), umbilical cord blood (CB), and umbilical cord tissue (CT) are increasingly being used to treat equine inflammatory and degenerative lesions. MSCs modulate the immune system in part through mediator secretion. Animal species and MSC tissue of origin are both important determinants of MSC function. In spite of widespread clinical use, how equine MSCs function to heal tissues is fully unknown. In this study, MSCs derived from BM, AT, CB, and CT were compared for their ability to inhibit lymphocyte proliferation and ...
Schnabel LV, Lynch ME, van der Meulen MC, Yeager AE, Kornatowski MA, Nixon AJ.Tendinitis remains a catastrophic injury among athletes. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have recently been investigated for use in the treatment of tendinitis. Previous work has demonstrated the value of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) to stimulate cellular proliferation and tendon fiber deposition in the core lesion of tendinitis. This study examined the effects of MSCs, as well as IGF-I gene-enhanced MSCs (AdIGF-MSCs) on tendon healing in vivo. Collagenase-induced bilateral tendinitis lesions were created in equine flexor digitorum superficialis tendons (SDFT). Tendons were treated with ...
Joswig AJ, Mitchell A, Cummings KJ, Levine GJ, Gregory CA, Smith R, Watts AE.Intra-articular injection of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is efficacious in osteoarthritis therapy. A direct comparison of the response of the synovial joint to intra-articular injection of autologous versus allogeneic MSCs has not been performed. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical response to repeated intra-articular injection of allogeneic versus autologous MSCs prepared in a way to minimize xeno-contaminants in a large animal model. Intra-articular injections of bone marrow-derived, culture-expanded MSCs to a forelimb metacarpophalangeal joint were performed at week 0 ...
Leclere M, Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Lavoie JP.Animal models have been developed to investigate specific components of asthmatic airway inflammation, hyper-responsiveness or remodelling. However, all of these aspects are rarely observed in the same animal. Heaves is a naturally occurring disease of horses that combines these features. It is characterized by stable dust-induced inflammation, bronchospasm and remodelling. The evaluation of horses during well-controlled natural antigen exposure and avoidance in experimental settings allows the study of disease mechanisms in the asymptomatic and symptomatic stages, an approach rarely feasible ...
Nixon AJ, Dahlgren LA, Haupt JL, Yeager AE, Ward DL.To assess the potential of adipose-derived nucleated cell (ADNC) fractions to improve tendon repair in horses with collagenase-induced tendinitis. Methods: 8 horses. Methods: Collagenase was used to induce tendinitis in the superficial digital flexor tendon of 1 forelimb in each horse. Four horses were treated by injection of autogenous ADNC fractions, and 4 control horses were injected with PBS solution. Healing was compared by weekly ultrasonographic evaluation. Horses were euthanatized at 6 weeks. Gross and histologic evaluation of tendon structure, fiber alignment, and collagen typing were...
Sutton S, Clutterbuck A, Harris P, Gent T, Freeman S, Foster N, Barrett-Jolley R, Mobasheri A.Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common and disabling chronic joint disorders affecting horses, dogs and humans. Synovial inflammation or synovitis is a frequently observed phenomenon in osteoarthritic joints and contributes to the pathogenesis of OA through formation of various catabolic and pro-inflammatory mediators altering the balance of cartilage matrix degradation and repair. Catabolic mediators produced by the inflamed synovium include pro-inflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide, prostaglandin E(2) and several neuropeptides, which further contribute to the pathogenesis of OA by incr...
Gosztonyi G, Ludwig H.Natural BD is a nonpurulent acute/subacute encephalitis of horses and sheep with a propensity to involve the olfactory and limbic systems, and the brain stem. The inflammation is concentrated primarily in the gray matter, but subcortical white matter may also be affected. Experimental BD can be produced in a series of animals from birds to primates. The neuropathology after experimental infection is similar to that in natural disease but the inflammatory changes are more diffuse. In the rat and mouse, a persistent/tolerant infection can also be induced, in which inflammatory changes are conspi...
Bullone M, Lavoie JP.Animal models have been studied to unravel etiological, immunopathological, and genetic attributes leading to asthma. However, while experiments in which the disease is artificially induced have helped discovering biological and molecular pathways leading to allergic airway inflammation, their contribution to the understanding of the causality of the disease has been more limited. Horses naturally suffer from an asthma-like condition called "heaves" which presents sticking similarities with human asthma. It is characterized by reversible airway obstruction, airway neutrophilic inflammation, an...
Frisbie DD, Al-Sobayil F, Billinghurst RC, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW.To discriminate between changes in biomarkers with exercise compared to changes in biomarkers with osteoarthritis (OA) in exercising horses. Methods: Sixteen, 2-year-old horses were randomly assigned either to an exercise-alone (n=8) or OA-affected (also exercised) (n=8) group. All horses had both mid-carpal joints arthroscoped and OA induced in one mid-carpal joint in the OA-affected joints of OA-affected horses. Two weeks after surgery all horses commenced a strenuous exercise program on a high-speed treadmill. Clinical outcomes and synovial fluid and serum biomarkers, were evaluated weekly....
Pezzanite LM, Fortier LA, Antczak DF, Cassano JM, Brosnahan MM, Miller D, Schnabel LV.This study tested the hypothesis that Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) incompatible equine mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) would induce cytotoxic antibodies to donor MHC antigens in recipient horses after intradermal injection. No studies to date have explored recipient antibody responses to allogeneic donor MSC transplantation in the horse. This information is critical because the horse is a valuable species for assessing the safety and efficacy of MSC treatment prior to human clinical application. Methods: Six MHC heterozygote horses were identified as non-ELA-A2 haplotype by microsat...
Whittle BJ, Moncada S, Vane JR.The activity of prostacyclin (PGI2), PGE1 or PGD2 as inhibitors of platelet aggregation in plasma from human, dog, rabbit, rat, sheep and horse was investigated. Prostacyclin was the most potent inhibitor in all species. PGD2 was a weak inhibitor in dog, rabbit and rat plasma whereas PGE1 and prostacyclin were highly active. Theophylline or dipyridamole potentiated the inhibition of human platelet aggregation by prostacyclin, PGE1 or PGD2. Compound N-0164 abolished the inhibition by PGD2 of human platelet aggregation but did not inhibit the effects of PGE1 or prostacyclin. The results suggest ...
Li L, Giannitti F, Low J, Keyes C, Ullmann LS, Deng X, Aleman M, Pesavento PA, Pusterla N, Delwart E.Metagenomics was used to characterize viral genomes in clinical specimens of horses with various organ-specific diseases of unknown aetiology. A novel parvovirus as well as a previously described hepacivirus closely related to human hepatitis C virus and equid herpesvirus 2 were identified in the cerebrospinal fluid of horses with neurological signs. Four co-infecting picobirnaviruses, including an unusual genome with fused RNA segments, and a divergent anellovirus were found in the plasma of two febrile horses. A novel cyclovirus genome was characterized from the nasal secretion of another fe...
Keel MK, Songer JG.Clostridium difficile is a confirmed pathogen in a wide variety of mammals, but the incidence of disease varies greatly in relation to host species, age, environmental density of spores, administration of antibiotics, and possibly, other factors. Lesions vary as well, in severity and distribution within individuals, and in some instances, age groups, of a given species. The cecum and colon are principally affected in most species, but foals and rabbits develop severe jejunal lesions. Explanations for variable susceptibility of species, and age groups within a species, are largely speculative. ...
LeBlanc MM, Causey RC.Endometritis, a major cause of mare infertility arising from failure to remove bacteria, spermatozoa and inflammatory exudate post-breeding, is often undiagnosed. Defects in genital anatomy, myometrial contractions, lymphatic drainage, mucociliary clearance, cervical function, plus vascular degeneration and inflamm-ageing underlie susceptibility to endometritis. Diagnosis is made through detecting uterine fluid, vaginitis, vaginal discharge, short inter-oestrous intervals, inflammatory uterine cytology and positive uterine culture. However, these signs may be absent in subclinical cases. Hyper...
Carrade DD, Affolter VK, Outerbridge CA, Watson JL, Galuppo LD, Buerchler S, Kumar V, Walker NJ, Borjesson DL.BACKGROUND AIMS. The use of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to treat acute equine lesions would greatly expand equine cellular therapy options; however, the safety and antigenicity of these cells have not been well-studied. We hypothesized that equine allogeneic umbilical cord tissue (UCT)-derived MSC would not elicit acute graft rejection or a delayed-type hypersensitivity response when injected intradermally. METHODS. Six Quarterhorse yearlings received 12 intradermal injections (autologous MSC, allogeneic MSC, positive control and negative control, in triplicate) followed by the sam...
Giguère S, Viel L, Lee E, MacKay RJ, Hernandez J, Franchini M.Work in humans and laboratory animals has identified a central role for cytokines and chemokines in development and persistence of lower airway inflammation. The objectives of this study were to determine interleukin (IL)-1 beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha induction in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of control horses and horses with heaves both during remission and exacerbation of the disease, and to determine the effect of therapy with inhaled fluticasone propionate on the cytokine profile of horses with heaves. IL-1 beta an...
Gerber V, Straub R, Marti E, Hauptman J, Herholz C, King M, Imhof A, Tahon L, Robinson NE.Endoscopic scoring of airway mucus quantity and quality has not been critically assessed. Objective: To evaluate mucus scores for 1) observer- and horse-related variance and 2) association with inflammation, mucus viscoelasticity and measured volume. Methods: Variance of scoring within and between observers and over time within horses were determined for airway mucus accumulation, apparent viscosity, localisation and colour, and correlations of mucus accumulation scores with neutrophil ratios in secretions. The relationship of accumulation score to measured volumes of 'artificial mucus' was in...
Dakin SG, Dudhia J, Smith RK.Injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in equine athletes, but the healing response is poorly understood. One important drive for the healing of connective tissues is the inflammatory cascade, but the role of inflammation in tendinopathy has been contentious in the literature. This article reviews the processes involved in the healing of tendon injuries in natural disease and experimental models. The importance of inflammatory processes known to be active in tendon disease is discussed with particular focus on recent findings ...
Watts AE, Yeager AE, Kopyov OV, Nixon AJ.Tendon injury is a common problem in athletes, with poor tissue regeneration and a high rate of re-injury. Stem cell therapy is an attractive treatment modality as it may induce tissue regeneration rather than tissue repair. Currently, there are no reports on the use of pluripotent cells in a large animal tendon model in vivo. We report the use of intra-lesional injection of male, fetal derived embryonic-like stem cells (fdESC) that express Oct-4, Nanog, SSEA4, Tra 1-60, Tra 1-81 and telomerase. Methods: Tendon injury was induced using a collagenase gel-physical defect model in the mid-metacar...
Kenney RM.Normal histologic changes that occurred in concert with the ovarian cycle were evaluated. When combined with behavioral and physical findings, this evaluation enabled determination when there was synchrony between ovarian steroids (estrogen and progesterone) and their target tissues of endometrium. A system for classification as well as definitions of patterns types and degrees of severity of inflammatory and fibrotic changes was developed to facilitate a uniform system for description and communication. An attempt was made to relate the pathologic changes to their effect on fertility when fer...
Pirie RS.Recurrent airway obstruction is a widely recognised airway disorder, characterised by hypersensitivity-mediated neutrophilic airway inflammation and lower airway obstruction in a subpopulation of horses when exposed to suboptimal environments high in airborne organic dust. Over the past decade, numerous studies have further advanced our understanding of different aspects of the disease. These include clarification of the important inhaled airborne agents responsible for disease induction, improving our understanding of the underlying genetic basis of disease susceptibility and unveiling the fu...
Vargas A, Boivin R, Cano P, Murcia Y, Bazin I, Lavoie JP.Severe neutrophilic asthma is poorly responsive to glucocorticosteroids (GC). Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) within the lungs have been associated with the severity of airway obstruction and inflammation in asthma, and were found to be unaffected by GC in vitro. As IL-17 is overexpressed in neutrophilic asthma and contributes to steroid insensitivity in different cell types, we hypothesized that NETs formation in asthmatic airways would be resistant to GC through an IL-17 mediated pathway. Six neutrophilic severe asthmatic horses and six healthy controls were studied while being treated...
Vick MM, Adams AA, Murphy BA, Sessions DR, Horohov DW, Cook RF, Shelton BJ, Fitzgerald BP.Recent studies associate obesity and insulin resistance in horses with development of abnormal reproductive function and debilitating laminitis. The factors contributing to insulin resistance in obese horses are unknown. However, human studies provide evidence that elevated inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha), IL1, and IL6 play direct roles in development of obesity-associated insulin resistance. Thus, inflammation may be a key link between obesity and insulin resistance in horses. The aim of the current investigation was to examine possible relationships betw...
Katila T.This review attempts to summarize the current knowledge on uterine inflammatory response after mating in horses, pigs and cattle. Post-mating endometritis has been extensively studied in horses as it has been considered to cause infertility. The inflammation is known to occur also in cattle, but it has not been investigated to a similar extent. There are a number of publications about mechanisms of post-mating uterine inflammation in pigs, which seem to resemble those in horses. The major focus of this review is the horse, but relevant literature is presented also on swine and cattle. Spermato...
McCracken MJ, Kramer J, Keegan KG, Lopes M, Wilson DA, Reed SK, LaCarrubba A, Rasch M.Subjective evaluation of mild lameness has been shown to have poor interobserver reliability. Traditional methods of objective lameness evaluation require specialised conditions and equipment. Wireless inertial sensor systems have been developed to allow for simple, rapid, objective lameness detection in horses trotted over ground. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the sensitivities of an inertial sensor system and subjective evaluation performed by experienced equine practitioners at detecting lameness in horses. We hypothesised that the inertial sensor system would identify...
Williams IF, McCullagh KG, Silver IA.During tissue response to injury the glycoproteins fibronectin and Type III collagen are synthesized in increased amounts. We have studied the distribution of these molecules in the healing tendon at various times after injury by comparison with that of the major constituent of normal tendon, Type I collagen. Immunofluorescent localization demonstrated the presence of fibronectin throughout the tendon within one week after injury. Staining was found in the matrix, both around capillaries and around fibroblast-like cells. Fibronectin was still apparent in the healing tendon at one month after i...
