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Topic:Inflammation
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.
Generation and characterisation of an equine macrophage cell line (e-CAS cells) derived from equine bone marrow cells. Macrophages play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of many diseases by mediating the host immune response to infections and intoxications. The species-specific activation of macrophages and the differential response in cytokine production impedes the extrapolation of results between species. Therefore, the aim of this study was to isolate and immortalise macrophages from equine bone marrow (BM) cells in order to study equine-specific signalling pathways. The isolated BM-derived macrophages (referred to as e-CAS cells) showed proliferation kinetics similar to that of standardised cell lines...
IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-gamma mRNA expression in pulmonary lymphocytes in equine heaves. Heaves is a common condition of horses of cold climate that is characterized by small airway inflammation and obstruction following exposure of susceptible horses to moldy hay and straw. It has been shown that helper T lymphocytes (Th) orchestrate the inflammatory response in asthma and in various animal models of allergic lung diseases by the release of Th2-type cytokines. Results of previous studies indicate that a predominant expression of Th2-type response by airway cells may also be present in heaves. To evaluate the temporal mRNA expression of Th1 (IFN-gamma) and Th2 (IL-4, IL-5) type cy...
Arterionecrosis of the equine mesentery in naturally occurring endotoxaemia. This report describes the mesenteric arteriolar lesions in a Thoroughbred racehorse with endotoxaemia due to colic. The vascular lesions consisted of a striking loss of medial smooth muscle cells, associated with granular cell debris derived from necrosed muscle cells, plasma insudation, erythrocyte infiltration and the deposition of a fibrinoid substance (fibrinoid degeneration) in the entire arterial wall, possibly produced by the infiltration of blood components through endothelial cell junctions into the arterial wall. The morphology of the mesenteric arteriolar necrosis closely resembled ...
Spatial and temporal expression of types I and II receptors for transforming growth factor beta in normal equine skin and dermal wounds. To describe immunolocalization of TGF-beta receptors (RI and RII) in normal equine skin and in thoracic or limb wounds, healing normally or with exuberant granulation tissue (EGT). Methods: Group A: six wounds on one metacarpus and one midthoracic area. Group B: six wounds on both metacarpi, one of which was bandaged to stimulate EGT. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect RI and RII expression in wound margins. Methods: Eight horses, randomly assigned to one of two study groups. Methods: Neutralizing polyclonal anti-rabbit RI and RII antibodies were used to detect spatial expression of RI an...
In vitro inhibition of blood cholinesterase activities from horse, cow, and rat by tetrachlorvinphos. The organophosphorus insecticide tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) is commonly used as a feed-through larvicide in many livestock species, including cattle and horses. Cholinesterase (ChE) activity in blood (generally plasma or whole blood) is often employed to assess organophosphorus insecticide intoxication in animals as well as humans. In many species, including horse and man, plasma contains predominantly butyrylcholinesterase whereas red blood cells in all species express exclusively acetylcholinesterase. To evalulate the comparative interaction of TCVP with blood ChEs in different species, we com...
Effect of induced unilateral synovitis of distal intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joints on sagittal plane kinematics and kinetics of trotting horses. To study the effect of unilateral synovitis in the distal intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joints on locomotion, including the compensating effects within and between limbs. Methods: 4 clinically normal horses. Methods: Gait analyses including kinematics, force plate, and inverse dynamic analysis were performed at the trot before lameness, after which synovitis was induced by injecting endotoxin into the right distal intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joints. Gait analyses were repeated 24 to 30 hours later during lameness. Differences between the stride variables during the 2 conditions (lame and...
Idiopathic granulomatous pneumonia in seven horses. The history, clinical signs and pathological findings in seven adult horses with histologically confirmed idiopathic granulomatous disease, primarily of the lungs, are reviewed. They ranged in age from eight to 21 years, five were geldings and two were females, they belonged to five breeds and there were no seasonal or geographical associations. The primary clinical signs were chronic weight loss, exercise intolerance and respiratory distress which did not respond to conventional treatment. The most consistent physical findings were depression, anorexia, tachycardia, tachypnoea and adventitiou...
A retrospective analysis of hepatic injury in horses with proximal enteritis (1984-2002). The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that horses with proximal enteritis (PE) are predisposed to hepatic injury. We also determined whether the presence of liver injury in horses with PE was associated with other clinicopathologic abnormalities or affected outcome. The medical records of all horses admitted for evaluation of colic and gastric reflux between 1984 and 2002 were reviewed. Horses were considered to have PE if the diagnosis was made at surgery or postmortem examination or if they had clinical findings consistent with PE. Horses with a small intestinal strangulating ...
Platelets enhance endotoxin-induced monocyte tissue factor (TF) activity in the horse. Endotoxaemia is the leading cause of death in horses. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIG), stimulated by induced monocyte proteins, is a prominent feature. Monocyte-platelet cellular interactions are central to the vascular dysfunction produced by circulating endotoxin and are implicated in many thrombotic diseases in the horse. This study reports that endotoxin (0.01-10 microg ml(-1)) and blood platelets (2.5 x 10(7) - 1 x 10(8) ml(-1)) are potent inducers of expression and activity of monocyte tissue factor (TF), the primary activator of the blood coagulation protease cascade. The c...
Evaluation of Carolina Rinse solution as a treatment for ischaemia reperfusion of the equine jejunum. Ileus and peritoneal adhesions are the most common complications following surgery for small intestinal obstruction. Carolina Rinse (CR) has been shown to decrease reperfusion injury in intestine and other organs. Objective: CR decreases intestinal inflammation and subsequent scarring associated with reperfusion injury. Methods: CR was infused intra-arterially and applied topically just prior to reperfusion in jejunum exposed to experimental ischemia. Vascular permeability, neutrophil accumulation and serosal scarring were compared in treated and untreated intestine. Results: CR maintained a n...
Evaluation of activated neutrophils in the blood of horses with colic. To evaluate the activation status of neutrophils in blood samples obtained from horses with naturally occurring colic associated with strangulating obstruction, nonstrangulating obstruction, or inflammatory bowel disease. Methods: 30 horses with naturally occurring colic and 30 healthy control horses. Methods: Activation status of neutrophils was determined by assessing the number of neutrophils that could pass through filters with 5-microm pores, cell-surface CD11-CD18 expression, and alterations in size and granularity of neutrophils. Results: Horses with impaction or gas colic did not have ...
Effects of acetylcysteine and migration of resident eosinophils in an in vitro model of mucosal injury and restitution in equine right dorsal colon. To evaluate the in vitro protective effects of acetylcysteine and response of resident mucosal eosinophils in oxidant-induced injury to tissues of right dorsal colon of horses. Methods: 9 adult horses. Methods: Gastrointestinal mucosa was damaged in vitro with 3 mM hypochlorous acid (HOCl), with and without prior exposure to 6mM acetylcysteine. Control tissues were not exposed to HOCl or acetylcysteine. Control and damaged tissues were incubated in Krebs-Ringer-bicarbonate solution and tissue resistance measured during 240 minutes. Tissue permeability to radiolabeled mannitol was also used to ...
Inhibition of in vitro maturation of equine oocytes by interleukin 1 beta via specific IL-1 receptors. Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) inhibits the LH-induced resumption of meiosis of equine oocytes in vitro. The present study was performed to clarify this inhibitory effect of IL-1 beta by testing increasing concentrations of IL-1 beta, and by measuring the effect of addition of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) to the culture medium. The effect of IL-1 beta on epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced resumption of meiosis was also studied. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected from subordinate follicles on ovaries obtained from an abattoir. In five distinct experiments, COCs were cultured...
Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in horses is characterized by IFN-gamma and IL-8 production in bronchoalveolar lavage cells. In horses prone to developing recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), we tested the hypotheses that the cytokine profile in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells of affected horses would reflect a polarized Th-2 response; that cytokine and chemokine alterations would occur within 24 h of allergen exposure; and that allergen exposure would induce alterations in the expression of the transcription factor t-bet (t-box-expressed in T-cells). The expression levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-13, Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), t-bet, IL-8 and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) wer...
Endometrial IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha, mRNA expression in mares resistant or susceptible to post-breeding endometritis. Effects of estrous cycle, artificial insemination and immunomodulation. Endometrial mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) was assessed in mares resistant (RM) or susceptible (SM) to persistent post-breeding endometritis (PPBE). Eight RM and eight SM, were selected based on reproductive records and functional tests out of a herd of 2,000 light cross-type mares. Three experiments were done to study transcription patterns in (i) basal conditions; (ii) after artificial insemination (AI); and (iii) after administration of an immunomodulator at time of artificial ...
Protein kinase C (PKC) isotype profile in eosinophils from ponies with sweet itch and role in histamine-induced eosinophil activation. Eosinophils have been implicated in the pathogenesis of the seasonal equine allergic skin disease, sweet itch. Protein kinase C (PKC) is involved in regulating eosinophil function and antigen challenge has been reported to alter PKC isotype expression in blood eosinophils from allergic human subjects. Here we have compared the pattern of PKC isotype expression in eosinophils from sweet itch ponies with that in cells from normal ponies both during the active and inactive phases of the disease. A role for PKC in histamine-induced eosinophil activation was also investigated. Conventional PKCs alp...
Development and application of a scoring system for prognostic evaluation of equine liver biopsies. The study was designed to investigate the prognostic value of liver biopsy during investigation of cases of suspected liver disease in mature horses. Objective: That liver biopsy is the most prognostically useful technique in common usage in the investigation of suspected liver disease. Methods: This study examined the prognostic value of liver biopsy during the investigation of suspected liver disease in 73 mature horses. Histopathological variables comprising fibrosis, irreversible cytopathology, inflammatory infiltration, haemosiderin accumulation and biliary hyperplasia were found to be si...
Differences in polymorphonucleocyte function and local inflammatory response between horses and ponies. Wound healing proceeds faster in ponies than in horses and complications during healing, such as wound infection, occur less frequently in ponies. Earlier studies suggested that this difference might be related to differences in the initial post traumatic inflammatory response. Objective: That polymorphonuclear leucocyte (PMN) function and profiles of humoral factors in local inflammatory processes are different in horses and ponies. Methods: PMNs were isolated from venous blood of horses and ponies. Chemotaxis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was determined. Tissue cages were impl...
Evaluation of various compounds to inhibit activity of matrix metalloproteinases in the tear film of horses with ulcerative keratitis. To examine in vitro effects of various antiproteolytic compounds on activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and -9 in the tear film of horses with active corneal ulcers. Methods: Samples of tear film obtained from the eyes of 34 horses with active ulcerative keratitis. Methods: Horses were sedated, and tear samples were collected from the lower fornix of 34 ulcerated eyes by use of capillary tubes. The protease inhibitors 0.2% EDTA, 0.1% doxycycline, 10% N-acetylcysteine (NAC), 0.1% solution of a modified dipeptide that contains hydroxamic acid (ie, ilomostat), 0.1% alpha1-proteinase inhi...
Cloning, expression and biological activity of equine interleukin (IL)-5. The cytokine, interleukin (IL)-5 stimulates eosinophil differentiation, activation and survival and can prime these cells, increasing the response to other mediators. In view of its many effects on eosinophils, IL-5 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic disease in man. Here we report the cloning of equine IL-5 and expression of the recombinant protein by transfection of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The cloned cDNA sequence consisted of 405 nucleotides and encoded a protein of 135 amino acids. There is >85% identity with feline, bovine, ovine, canine, and human IL-5 sequence...
Endotoxin contamination contributes to the pulmonary inflammatory and functional response to Aspergillus fumigatus extract inhalation in heaves horses. Mould extract inhalation challenges have been used extensively in the investigation of heaves. Such challenges have induced pulmonary neutrophilic inflammation and dysfunction, consistent with, but less severe than the natural disease. However, the method of mould extract production is likely to result in endotoxin contamination. Objective: To investigate whether insufficient dose delivery was responsible for the shortfall in response to inhaled extract compared with natural disease, and whether endotoxin contamination of mould extract contributed to the pulmonary inflammation and dysfunction....
Flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells induced by experimental endotoxemia in horse. Cellular activation and functional cell surface markers were evaluated during experimentally-induced endotoxemia in healthy horses. Eight healthy adult horses were infused a low dose of endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli O26: B6, 30 ng/kg of body weight, IV) and five control horses were given an equivalent volume of sterile saline solution. Venous blood samples were collected for flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and to measure plasma endotoxin concentrations. Clinical signs of endotoxemia were recorded at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 min, 1, 2, 3, 4...
Nonulcerative keratouveitis as a manifestation of Leptospiral infection in a horse. A 2-year-old Thoroughbred filly presented with ocular pain and epiphora of the left eye. The pupil was miotic and the cornea edematous near the ventro-temporal limbus, but did not retain any fluorescein. The topical antibiotics and atropine and diclofenac, and systemic flunixin meglumine and antibiotic therapy did not resolve the condition. A pink and fleshy infiltrate developed near the limbus indicating nonulcerative keratouveitis. The anterior uveitis deteriorated as manifested by the presence of dyscoria, hypopyon, and organized fibrin in the anterior chamber. Ocular signs were improved by...
The effect of link peptide on proteoglycan synthesis in equine articular cartilage. The basal rate of in vitro proteoglycan (PG) synthesis in explants of equine articular cartilage was subject to considerable variation in animals of the same age but was greater in younger than older animals. Synthesis of PGs in explant cultures was stimulated by a synthetic link peptide, identical in sequence to the N-terminus of the link protein (LP) of PG aggregates, in a similar manner to that demonstrated previously for human articular cartilage [Biochem. Soc. Trans. 25 (1997) 427; Arthritis Rheum. 41 (1998) 157]. Stimulation occurred in tissue from animals ranging from 1 to 30 years old ...
[Thermal injury and wound healing of the endometrium subsequent to minimally invasive transendoscopic use of Nd:YAG-laser-and electrosurgery in horses]. Transendoscopic thermal preparation techniques like laser- or electrosurgery have proved to be most reliable for minimal invasive intrauterine surgery during operative hysteroscopy in mares. To determine the effect of Nd:YAG laser surgery on the endometrium and the complete uterine wall compared with electrosurgery, standard lesions were obtained by transendoscopic monopolar electrosurgery (loop electrode, cutting blade) and Nd:YAG laser surgery (contact, bare fibre, 25 Watt, exposure time four seconds, non contact, 80 Watt, exposure time four seconds) in five healthy mares on days d 0, 7, 14,...
Lipopolysaccharide and interferon gamma activate nuclear factor kappa B and induce cyclo-oxygenase-2 in equine vascular smooth muscle cells. Equine endotoxaemia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in horses caused by the interaction of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with cells such as macrophages and vascular smooth muscle. In this study we isolated equine vascular smooth muscle from a variety of vessels and stimulated it with LPS and human interferon (hIFN)-gamma. Using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR) and Western blot analysis we show that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is readily expressed in equine vascular smooth muscle. Vascular smooth muscle cells produced prostaglandin E2 in response to LP...
Biochemical characterisation of navicular hyaline cartilage, navicular fibrocartilage and the deep digital flexor tendon in horses with navicular disease. The study hypothesis was that navicular disease is a process analogous to degenerative joint disease, which leads to changes in navicular fibrocartilage and in deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) matrix composition and that the process extends to the adjacent distal interphalangeal joint. The objectives were to compare the biochemical composition of the navicular articular and palmar cartilages from 18 horses with navicular disease with 49 horses with no history of front limb lameness, and to compare navicular fibrocartilage with medial meniscus of the stifle and collateral cartilage of the hoof...
