DeNotta SL, Divers TJ.The gastrointestinal tract and liver comprise key components of the equine digestive system and together have important functions in metabolism, digestion, absorption, detoxification, and synthesis. Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver are common in clinical practice and can cause a variety of clinical signs. Hematologic and biochemical analysis can be helpful for identifying organ dysfunction, narrowing down the differential diagnostic list, and monitoring progress and response to treatment. This article details hematologic and biochemical tests that are important in the evaluati...
Zhao K, Chi Y, Shen X.As a consequence of contracted and fenced grassland, the incidence of edema pathema in the Hequ horse is rising. The main pathological symptoms are edema, emaciation, anemia, heterophilia, inappetence, and dyskinesia. To study the cause of edema disease in Hequ horse, the Hequ horse farm with a high incidence was chosen as the experimental pasture, and the Azi husbandry experimental station without edema disorder was the control pasture. The research methods in this paper are included: (1) The mineral contents in soil, forage, blood, and liver were analyzed. (2) Routine parameters and biochemi...
Mattei DN, Kopper JJ, Sanz MG.Equine coronavirus (ECoV) is a known cause of fever, anorexia, and lethargy in adult horses. Although there are multiple reports of ECoV outbreaks, less is known about the clinical presentation of individual horses during a nonoutbreak situation. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical presentation of horses diagnosed with ECoV infection that were not associated with an outbreak. Medical records of all horses admitted to Washington State University, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, during an 8-year period were reviewed (2010-2018). The five horses included in this study were older ...
Turkan F, Harbi Calimli M, Akgun A, Gulbagca F, Sen F.Benzimidazoles are antiparasitic drugs having an extensive application field like agriculture, medicine, and especially in veterinary medicine. In this study, we report the effect of some benzimidazole drugs such as ricobendazole (RBZ), thiabendazole (TBZ), albendazole (ALBA) and oxfendazole (OFZ) on glutathione s-transferase (GST) enzyme activity. The kinetics studies, IC and Ki values of the tested drugs on GSTs enzyme activity were investigated. The obtained ranking of IC values were found to be approximately RBZ (53.31 μM, r 0.9778) < OFZ (57.75 μM, r 0.9630) < ALBA (63.00 μM, r 0...
Starzonek J, Roscher K, Blu00fcher M, Blaue D, Schedlbauer C, Hirz M, Raila J, Vervuert I.In horses and ponies numerous medical conditions are known to be linked with inflammation in different tissues, especially in the liver. Besides affecting other metabolic pathways such as the expression of certain interleukins (IL), inflammation is associated with stress of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In particular, ER stress leads to adaptive stress response and can be measured by several markers of inflammatory and stress signalling pathways, like nuclear factor κB (NF-kB). Objective: To investigate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory reactions and their modulation in horses a...
Marycz K, Szu0142apka-Kosarzewska J, Geburek F, Kornicka-Garbowska K.Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is characterized by adiposity, insulin dysregulation and increased risk for laminitis. Increased levels of specific liver enzymes in the peripheral blood are typical findings in horses diagnosed with EMS. Current management of EMS is based on caloric restriction and increased physical activity. However, new potential treatment options are arising such as the transplantation of autologous adipose stem cells (ASC). However, cytophysiological properties of ASC derived from EMS horses are impaired which strongly limits their therapeutic potential. We hypothesized, t...
Gonzales-Viera O, Fritz H, Mete A.A 7-month-old female mixed breed foal with a 2-day history of recumbency and inability to open its mouth convulsed acutely and died and was submitted for necropsy examination. The foal was thin and large patches of haemorrhage were present throughout the peritoneal wall, the diaphragmatic surfaces and the retroperitoneum. Numerous nematode larvae were visible on the serosal surfaces and penetrated and embedded into the subserosa associated with the haemorrhages. The dorsal portion of the abdominal diaphragm had a partial tear and large numbers of nematodes were within the muscle fibres. Histol...
Needles RK, Dubois MS.This case report documents an unusual case of persistent colic in a horse caused by an anomalous vascularized band of tissue running between the visceral surface of the liver and the mesentery of the large colon at the level of the sternal/diaphragmatic flexures. The horse was presented with a history of exhibiting signs of mild persistent colic that were suspected to be caused by displacement of the large colon. Volvulus of the large colon was identified during exploratory celiotomy. The band of tissue was transected, and the displacement corrected. The horse made an uneventful recovery. . Ce...
Boos GS, Nobach D, Failing K, Eickmann M, Herden C.A suitable RNA extraction protocol was established to gain high quality RNA from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues to perform reliable molecular assays either applicable for using FFPE tissue archives or tissues with harsh formalin-fixation. Eighteen FFPE samples from the central nervous system of horses, stored up to 11 years, were used as archive cases. To test the influence of the fixation period, brain, liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle tissue fragments from another horse, were treated either with water or tris-acetate-EDTA buffer after fixation under different timepoints with 10...
Howell AK, Malalana F, Beesley NJ, Hodgkinson JE, Rhodes H, Sekiya M, Archer D, Clough HE, Gilmore P, Williams DJL.Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke) affects grazing animals including horses but the extent to which it affects UK horses is unknown. Objective: To define how liver fluke affects the UK horse population. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional, observational study. Methods: An F. hepatica excretory-secretory antibody detection ELISA with a diagnostic sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 97% was validated and used to analyse serum samples. An abattoir study was performed to determine prevalence. A case-control study of 269 horses compared fluke exposure between horses with liver disease and control...
Machado M, Miguel MP, Terra JP, Ferreira JA, Riet-Correa F, de Castro MB.An outbreak of acute poisoning of horses by Enterolobium contortisiliquum pods is reported in the state of Goiás, Brazil. Three horses presented apathy, hyporexia, prostration, jaundice, recumbency and died in 24-48 hours. The main pathological findings were a yellowish liver with an enhanced lobular pattern, multifocal hepatic necrosis mostly in the midzones of lobules and sometimes with a random distribution across the hepatic lobes and swelling of hepatocytes. E. contortisiliquum trees has a wide distribution in South America and cases of poisoning have not been reported in horses.
Knych HK, Baden RW, Gretler SR, McKemie DS.Despite their widespread popularity as sport and companion animals and published and anecdotal reports of vast difference in drug disposition and pharmacokinetics between individuals, studies describing equine drug metabolism are limited. It has been theorized that similar to humans, members of the CYP2D family in horses may be polymorphic in nature leading to differences in metabolism of substrates. This study aims to build on the limited current knowledge regarding P450 mediated metabolism in horses by describing the metabolism of the polymorphic CYP2D6 probe drug codeine in vitro. Codeine, ...
Gulmez C, Atakisi O.It was aimed to investigate the effects of kumiss a fermented mare horse beverage on the sirtuin deacetylases in the oxidative stress which had been induced by 1,2-dimethyl hydrazine (DMH). Forty BALB/C male mice were divided into four groups as control, kumiss (2 × 10 cfu/mL), DMH (20 mg/kg), and kumiss + DMH (2 × 10 cfu/mL + 20 mg/kg). At the end of 20-week regimen, SIRT2, SIRT3 protein expressions by western blotting, immunolocalizations, and inhibitory anti-oxidant activity analysis in liver, colon, and kidney tissues were performed. SIRT2 and SIRT3 expressions in DMH g...
Tegtmeyer B, Echelmeyer J, Pfankuche VM, Puff C, Todt D, Fischer N, Durham A, Feige K, Baumgu00e4rtner W, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JV.Equine hepacivirus (EqHV) in equids represents the closest homologue to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infecting humans. A majority of HCV infected patients develop a chronic course of infection leading to liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver failure. However, in horses mostly transient mild subclinical infections are reported for EqHV to date. EqHV can be involved in chronic liver diseases of horses. Biochemical parameters in serum samples were measured. Viral load was determined using qPCR. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of serum was performed. Liver tissue was stained with haematoxylin and eosin ...
Schedlbauer C, Blaue D, Gericke M, Blu00fcher M, Starzonek J, Gittel C, Brehm W, Vervuert I.Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is known as determining part of human obesity. The impact of body weight (BW) gain on liver metabolism has not been extensively investigated yet. Objective: To investigate hepatic alterations caused by increasing BW in ponies and horses. Methods: A total of 19 non-obese equines (10 Shetland ponies, geldings; nine Warmblood horses, geldings). Methods: Animals received 200% of their metabolizable maintenance energy requirements for 2 years. Serum alkaline phosphatase, glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and gamma-glutamyl transferas...
Tomlinson JE, Van de Walle GR, Divers TJ.Theiler disease (serum hepatitis or idiopathic acute hepatic necrosis) has long been suspected to have a viral etiology. Four viruses have been described in association with hepatitis in horses. Further investigation suggests equine pegivirus and Theiler disease-associated virus (a second pegivirus) are neither hepatotropic nor pathogenic. Nonprimate hepacivirus (NPHV) causes subclinical disease in experimental models and has been associated with hepatitis in some clinical cases. Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) experimentally causes subclinical-to-clinical liver disease and is found in th...
Mercer MA, McKenzie HC, Davis JL, Wilson KE, Hodgson DR, Cecere TE, McIntosh BJ.There are no published studies on the pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen at the dosage used clinically (20 mg/kg), nor has the safety of multiple doses in horses been investigated. Objective: Define the pharmacokinetic parameters of oral acetaminophen at 20 mg/kg in adult horses as a single dose, and twice daily for 14 days to assess the safety of multiple dosing. Methods: Pharmacokinetic study, multiple dose safety study. Methods: Eight healthy Thoroughbred geldings were given acetaminophen (20 mg/kg; 500 mg tablets) orally as a single dose followed by doses every 12 h for 14 days. Seri...
Ramsay JD, Evanoff R, Mealey RH, Simpson EL.In racehorses, serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity is positively correlated with cumulative days in training and, when ≥100 IU/L, has been associated with poor performance. The prevalence of increased GGT activity in North American Thoroughbreds and its aetiopathogenesis are unknown. Four emerging viruses, pegivirus E (PgV E; equine pegivirus), hepacivirus A (HcV A; equine hepacivirus), pegivirus D (PgV D; Theiler's disease virus), and equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) have been identified in horses with clinical and subclinical hepatopathy. Available prevalence data indicate ...
Tirosh-Levy S, Perl S, Valentine BA, Kelmer G.Hepatoblastoma was diagnosed in a 3-year-old Thoroughbred gelding presented with forelimb lameness with bilateral fatigue fractures of the proximal third metacarpal bones. An abdominal mass was detected on ultrasound examination of the abdomen. Absolute erythrocytosis was diagnosed after clinical and haematological evaluation. The fractured metacarpal bones were surgically removed but complications after surgery were fatal. The liver mass was diagnosed as a hepatoblastoma based on histology and immunochemical staining. The combination of hepatoblastoma and fatigue fractures has not been descri...
Adolph S, Schedlbauer C, Blaue D, Schu00f6niger A, Gittel C, Brehm W, Fuhrmann H, Vervuert I.Fatty acids, as key components of cellular membranes and complex lipids, may play a central role in endocrine signalling and the function of adipose tissue and liver. Thus, the lipid fatty acid composition may play a role in health status in the equine. This study aimed to investigate the fatty acid composition of different tissues and liver lipid classes by comparing Warmblood horses and Shetland ponies under defined conditions. We hypothesized that ponies show different lipid patterns than horses in adipose tissue, liver and plasma. Six Warmblood horses and six Shetland ponies were housed an...
Milnes E, Delnatte P, Dutton CJ, Brouwer E, Cai HY, Smith DA, Peregrine AS.A 23-yr-old captive-born Przewalski's horse mare ( Equus przewalskii) was euthanized at a Canadian zoo because of severe colic resulting from rupture of a jejunal pseudodiverticulum. An incidental finding of an encysted larval cestode within a hepatic granuloma was diagnosed on histopathology. Gel-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on liver tissue was positive for Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, and deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing of the PCR product was 100% homologous with Echinococcus equinus. This appears to be the first molecular confirmation of E. equinus in North America, and the...
Tomlinson JE, Tennant BC, Struzyna A, Mrad D, Browne N, Whelchel D, Johnson PJ, Jamieson C, Lu00f6hr CV, Bildfell R, McKenzie EC, Laverack M....A novel equine parvovirus (EqPV-H) was recently discovered in the equine liver with Theiler's disease. Objective: To determine the prevalence of EqPV-H infection in naturally occurring Theiler's disease cases and in-contact horses in the absence of historical equine biologic product administration. Methods: Ten cases of Theiler's disease from 6 separate properties were included in the study, based on the criteria of acute onset of clinical signs of liver failure with laboratory or histopathologic findings characteristic of Theiler's disease and no history of receiving an equine biologic produc...
Tomlinson JE, Kapoor A, Kumar A, Tennant BC, Laverack MA, Beard L, Delph K, Davis E, Schott Ii H, Lascola K, Holbrook TC, Johnson P, Taylor SD....Three flaviviruses (equine pegivirus [EPgV]; Theiler's disease-associated virus [TDAV]; non-primate hepacivirus [NPHV]) and equine parvovirus (EqPV-H) are present in equine blood products; the TDAV, NPHV, and EqPV-H have been suggested as potential causes of serum hepatitis. Objective: To determine the prevalence of these viruses in horses with equine serum hepatitis. Methods: Eighteen horses diagnosed with serum hepatitis, enrolled from US referral hospitals. Methods: In the prospective case study, liver, serum, or both samples were tested for EPgV, TDAV, NPHV, and EqPV-H by PCR. Results: Bot...
Theelen MJP, Beukers M, Grinwis GCM, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.Iron toxicosis is rarely reported in horses and chronic excessive oral iron intake has not been reported to cause clinical symptoms in equids. Objective: This case series describes 21 genetically unrelated horses and one donkey with chronic iron overload causing haemochromatosis and hepatopathy. Methods: Case series. Methods: All equids showing clinical signs compatible with chronic liver disease presented to Utrecht University and diagnosed with iron overload and haemochromatosis based on histopathological evaluation of liver tissue and/or blood transferrin saturation levels of >80% and pr...
Morgan RA, Keen JA, Homer N, Nixon M, McKinnon-Garvin AM, Moses-Williams JA, Davis SR, Hadoke PWF, Walker BR.Equine Cushing disease [pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID)] is a common condition of older horses, but its pathophysiology is complex and poorly understood. In contrast to pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism in other species, PPID is characterized by elevated plasma ACTH but not elevated plasma cortisol. In this study, we address this paradox and the hypothesis that PPID is a syndrome of ACTH excess in which there is dysregulation of peripheral glucocorticoid metabolism and binding. In 14 horses with PPID compared with 15 healthy controls, we show that in plasma, cortisol levels...
Hazlett M, Stalker M, Lake M, Peregrine A.A miniature horse which died following humane seizure from an Ontario farm was emaciated with serous atrophy of fat. Autopsy revealed hepatic atrophy and moderate periportal fibrosis. Eggs and trematodes seen in the liver were identified as This appears to be the first reported case of infection of equids in North America with Un cheval miniature qui est mort à la suite d’une saisie humanitaire dans une ferme de l’Ontario était émacié et avait une atrophie séreuse des tissus adipeux. L’autopsie a révélé une atrophie hépatique et une fibrose périportale modérée. Des oeufs e...
Nanayakkara SN, Rahnama S, Harris PA, Anderson ST, de Laat MA, Bailey S, Sillence MN.Although it is well established that equine laminitis can be triggered by extreme hyperinsulinemia, the mechanism of insulin action is not known. High concentrations of insulin lead to separation of the weight-bearing apparatus from the hoof wall and are associated with an increased cycle of cell death and proliferation in the lamellae. Gene expression and immunohistochemistry studies have indicated that the lamellae are sparsely populated with insulin receptors, whereas IGF-1 receptors (IGF-1R) are abundant, suggesting that the action of insulin may be mediated by insulin binding to the IGF-1...
Verhoef JNC, Allen AL, Harding JCS, Al-Dissi AN.Chronic liver disease is an important cause of illness in horses, and treatment is mainly supportive. Research into new treatment modalities for humans has shown promising data regarding metallothionein (MT), which has been shown to possess regenerative, antifibrotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to examine the relationship between hepatic MT expression and the histopathologic markers of hepatic inflammation, fibrosis and bile duct proliferation, as well as cellular regeneration in 77 selected cases of chronic liver disease in horses. We hypothesized that higher MT expres...
Choi TLS, Wong JKY, Kwok WH, Curl P, Mechie S, Wan TSM.Methylstenbolone (2,17α-dimethyl-5α-androst-1-en-17β-ol-3-one) is a synthetic anabolic and androgenic steroid (AAS) sold as an oral 'nutritional supplement' under the brand names 'Ultradrol', 'M-Sten' and 'Methyl-Sten'. Like other AASs, methylstenbolone is a prohibited substance in both human and equine sports. This paper describes the studies of the in vitro and in vivo metabolism of methylstenbolone in horses using LC/HRMS, GC/MS and GC/MS/MS. Phase I in vitro metabolic study of methylstenbolone was performed using homogenised horse liver. Hydroxylation was the only biotransformation obse...
Marycz K, Kornicka K, Szlapka-Kosarzewska J, Weiss C.Nowadays, endocrine disorders have become more frequent in both human and veterinary medicine. In horses, reduced physical activity combined with carbohydrate and sugar overload may result in the development of the so-called equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). EMS is characterized by insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, elevated blood triglyceride concentrations and usually obesity. Although the phenotypic features of EMS individuals are well known, the molecular mechanism underlying disease development remains elusive. Therefore, in the present study, we analyzed insulin-sensitive tissues, i.e....
Gelderblom WC, Jaskiewicz K, Marasas WF, Thiel PG, Horak RM, Vleggaar R, Kriek NP.Cultures on corn of Fusarium moniliforme MRC 826 are known to cause leukoencephalomalacia in horses and to be toxic and hepatocarcinogenic in rats. Culture material of this F. moniliforme isolate has also been shown to exhibit cancer-promoting activity in a short-term cancer initiation-promotion bioassay with diethylnitrosamine-initiated rats and the induction of gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase-positive (GGT+) foci as an endpoint after 4 weeks of promotion. This bioassay was used as a monitoring system to isolate cancer-promoting compounds from cultures of F. moniliforme MRC 826. Culture materia...
Drexler JF, Corman VM, Mu00fcller MA, Lukashev AN, Gmyl A, Coutard B, Adam A, Ritz D, Leijten LM, van Riel D, Kallies R, Klose SM, Gloza-Rausch F....Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is among the most relevant causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Research is complicated by a lack of accessible small animal models. The systematic investigation of viruses of small mammals could guide efforts to establish such models, while providing insight into viral evolutionary biology. We have assembled the so-far largest collection of small-mammal samples from around the world, qualified to be screened for bloodborne viruses, including sera and organs from 4,770 rodents (41 species); and sera from 2,939 bats (51 species). Three highly divergent...
Marasas WF.This article describes the events leading to the discovery of the fumonisins in South Africa in 1988 and highlights the first 10 years (1988-1998) of fumonisin research. The predominant fungus isolated from moldy corn implicated in a field outbreak of equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) in South Africa in 1970 was Fusarium verticillioides (F. moniliforme). This fungus was also prevalent in moldy home-grown corn consumed by people in high-incidence areas of esophageal cancer (EC) in the Transkei region of South Africa. Culture material on corn of F. verticillioides strain MRC 826, which was iso...
Ramsay JD, Evanoff R, Wilkinson TE, Divers TJ, Knowles DP, Mealey RH.Equine hepacivirus (EHCV; nonprimate hepacivirus) is a hepatotropic member of the Flaviviridae family that infects horses. Although EHCV is the closest known relative to hepatitis C virus (HCV), its complete replication kinetics in vivo have not been described, and direct evidence that it causes hepatitis has been lacking. In this study, we detected EHCV in 2 horses that developed post-transfusion hepatitis. Plasma and serum from these horses were used to experimentally transmit EHCV to 4 young adult Arabian horses, two 1-month-old foals (1 Arabian and 1 Arabian-pony cross), and 2 foals (1 Ara...
Dutton MF.The fumonisins (FBs) are a group of closely related mycotoxins that are prevalent in maize. They were isolated from strains of Fusarium moniliforme (Sheldon), which were implicated in the aetiology of human oesophageal cancer in the Transkei, South Africa. Their discovery explained the cause of equine encephalomalacia, or "hole in the head" syndrome, when it was found by feeding trials in horses that they elicited the disease. Subsequently, they were found to cause hepatic cancer in rats and pulmonary oedema in pigs, with most animal species tested showing liver and kidney damage. FB1 is the m...
Marycz K, Kornicka K, Szlapka-Kosarzewska J, Weiss C.Nowadays, endocrine disorders have become more frequent in both human and veterinary medicine. In horses, reduced physical activity combined with carbohydrate and sugar overload may result in the development of the so-called equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). EMS is characterized by insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, elevated blood triglyceride concentrations and usually obesity. Although the phenotypic features of EMS individuals are well known, the molecular mechanism underlying disease development remains elusive. Therefore, in the present study, we analyzed insulin-sensitive tissues, i.e....
Marasas WF.Fusarium moniliforme is one of the predominant fungi associated with corn intended for human and animal consumption world-wide. Fumonisins, food-borne carcinogens that occur naturally in corn, were first isolated and chemically characterized in South Africa in 1988. The major metabolite, fumonisin B1 (FB1), was subsequently shown to cause leukoencephalomalacia (LEM) in horses, pulmonary edema syndrome (PES) in pigs, and liver cancer in rats. FB1 is also a cancer promoter and initiator in rat liver; hepatotoxic to horses, pigs, rats, and vervet monkeys; cytotoxic to mammalian cell cultures; and...
Rice NR, Lequarre AS, Casey JW, Lahn S, Stephens RM, Edwards J.The amount and distribution of viral DNA were established in a horse acutely infected with the Wyoming strain of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). The highest concentration of viral DNA were found in the liver, lymph nodes, bone marrow, and spleen. The kidney, choroid plexus, and peripheral blood leukocytes also contained viral DNA, but at a lower level. It is estimated that at day 16 postinoculation, almost all of the viral DNA was located in the tissues, with the liver alone containing about 90 times more EIAV DNA than the peripheral blood leukocytes did. Assuming a monocyte-macrophage ...
Tomlinson JE, Tennant BC, Struzyna A, Mrad D, Browne N, Whelchel D, Johnson PJ, Jamieson C, Lu00f6hr CV, Bildfell R, McKenzie EC, Laverack M....A novel equine parvovirus (EqPV-H) was recently discovered in the equine liver with Theiler's disease. Objective: To determine the prevalence of EqPV-H infection in naturally occurring Theiler's disease cases and in-contact horses in the absence of historical equine biologic product administration. Methods: Ten cases of Theiler's disease from 6 separate properties were included in the study, based on the criteria of acute onset of clinical signs of liver failure with laboratory or histopathologic findings characteristic of Theiler's disease and no history of receiving an equine biologic produc...
Tomlinson JE, Kapoor A, Kumar A, Tennant BC, Laverack MA, Beard L, Delph K, Davis E, Schott Ii H, Lascola K, Holbrook TC, Johnson P, Taylor SD....Three flaviviruses (equine pegivirus [EPgV]; Theiler's disease-associated virus [TDAV]; non-primate hepacivirus [NPHV]) and equine parvovirus (EqPV-H) are present in equine blood products; the TDAV, NPHV, and EqPV-H have been suggested as potential causes of serum hepatitis. Objective: To determine the prevalence of these viruses in horses with equine serum hepatitis. Methods: Eighteen horses diagnosed with serum hepatitis, enrolled from US referral hospitals. Methods: In the prospective case study, liver, serum, or both samples were tested for EPgV, TDAV, NPHV, and EqPV-H by PCR. Results: Bot...
Chauret N, Gauthier A, Martin J, Nicoll-Griffith DA.As domestic animals such as cat, horse, and dog increasingly become the clinical targets for drug discovery programs, the need to understand how these animals metabolize xenobiotics becomes more important. In the present study, substrates and inhibitors that were reported to be selective for particular P450 isozymes were used as probes to study in vitro metabolism in horse, dog, cat, and human liver microsomes. Seven selective catalytic activity markers for cytochrome P450-mediated reactions were measured: phenacetin O-deethylase (P4501A1/2), coumarin 7-hydroxylase (P4502A6), tolbutamide hydro...
Voss KA, Norred WP, Plattner RD, Bacon CW.Currently there is no convenient bioassay to determine the potential toxicity of corn naturally contaminated with Fusarium moniliforme. A short-term bioassay would be useful for future investigations aimed at isolating as yet unidentified toxins produced by this fungus. Two groups of five male Sprague-Dawley rats were each fed one of two F. moniliforme contaminated corn samples, designated CS-1 and CS-2, that were associated with separate field cases of equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM). A control group, also consisting of five male rats, was fed uncontaminated seed corn. All animals survive...
Domijan AM.Fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium spp. moulds that contaminate crop, predominantly maize, all around the world. More than 15 types of fumonisins have been indentified so far, but FB(1) is the most abundant and toxicologically the most significant one. FB(1) has a wide range of toxic effects, depending on animal species. In horses FB(1) causes equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM), in pigs pulmonary oedema and in experimental rodents nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. In humans exposure to FB(1) is linked with higher incidence of primary liver cancer and oesophageal cance...
Johnson RJ, Rivard C, Lanaspa MA, Otabachian-Smith S, Ishimoto T, Cicerchi C, Cheeke PR, Macintosh B, Hess T.Fructose is a simple sugar present in honey and fruit, but can also exist as a polymer (fructans) in pasture grasses. Mammals are unable to metabolize fructans, but certain gram positive bacteria contain fructanases and can convert fructans to fructose in the gut. Recent studies suggest that fructose generated from bacteria, or directly obtained from the diet, can induce both increased intestinal permeability and features of metabolic syndrome, especially the development of insulin resistance. The development of insulin resistance is driven in part by the metabolism of fructose by fructokinase...
MacGillivray KC, Sweeney RW, Del Piero F.The clinical and pathologic findings are reviewed for 14 horses with metastatic melanoma. All were older gray horses, with an average age of 16 years. The most common sites of primary tumors were the ventral tail, perineum, and parotid salivary gland. Metastases were found in multiple locations and caused a variety of clinical syndromes. The most common sites for metastases were the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, lungs, and surrounding or within blood vessels throughout the body. Many of the horses had dermal melanomas for years (range 1-6 years) before succumbing to metastatic d...
Court MH, Von Moltke LL, Shader RI, Greenblatt DJ.The 6-hydroxylation of chlorzoxazone (CLZ) is currently being used in both in vivo and in vitro studies to quantify cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) activity in humans. Comparatively little is known with regard to the biotransformation of this drug in other species. The NADPH-dependent biotransformation of CLZ was therefore studied using hepatic microsomes derived from humans and ten other mammalian species. In all species, 6-hydroxychlorzoxazone (6OH-CLZ) was the only metabolic product that could be identified by HPLC with ultraviolet detection. Enzyme kinetic analysis was used to characterize th...
Finno CJ, Bordbari MH, Valberg SJ, Lee D, Herron J, Hines K, Monsour T, Scott E, Bannasch DL, Mickelson J, Xu L.Specific spontaneous heritable neurodegenerative diseases have been associated with lower serum and cerebrospinal fluid α-tocopherol (α-TOH) concentrations. Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy (eNAD) has similar histologic lesions to human ataxia with vitamin E deficiency caused by mutations in the α-TOH transfer protein gene (TTPA). Mutations in TTPA are not present with eNAD and the molecular basis remains unknown. Given the neuropathologic phenotypic similarity of the conditions, we assessed the molecular basis of eNAD by global transcriptome sequencing of the cervical spinal cord. Differential...
Oelrichs PB, Calanasan CA, MacLeod JK, Seawright AA, Ng JC.Regular ingestion of Eupatorium adenophorum [Ageratina adenophora (Spreng.)] or Crofton weed causes chronic pulmonary disease in horses mainly in Australia, New Zealand, and the Himalayas. The disease is characterized by pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, emphysema, alveolar epithelisation and reduced tolerance to exercise. Horses apparently are the only animals affected and there are numerous reports of farms losing all their horses. The disorder was produced experimentally in horse feeding trials, and it was shown that characteristic lesions occurred in the lungs. In studies with laboratory an...
Berg LC, Thomsen PD, Andersen PH, Jensen HE, Jacobsen S.mRNA expression of the acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) in histologically normal tissues derived from horses (n=13) and cattle (n=4) was investigated by quantitative reverse-transcriptase real-time polymerase-chain reaction. As expected, high constitutive SAA mRNA expression was demonstrated in hepatic tissue in both species. In horses, moderate (>1% of the hepatic expression) SAA mRNA expression was detected in the lung, mammary gland, pancreas, synovial membrane, thymus, thyroid gland and uterus. Other equine tissues and organs sampled included adipose tissue, adrenal gland, aort...
Badenhorst M, de Heus P, Auer A, Tegtmeyer B, Stang A, Dimmel K, Tichy A, Kubacki J, Bachofen C, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JMV.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) research is in its infancy. Information regarding prevalence, geographical distribution, genetic diversity, pathogenesis and risk factors enhances understanding of this potentially fatal infection. Objective: Determining the prevalence of EqPV-H in Austrian equids. Investigating factors increasing probability of infection, liver-associated biochemistry parameters, concurrent equine hepacivirus (EqHV) infection and phylogenetic analysis of Austrian EqPV-H variants. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Sera from 259 horses and 13 donkeys in Austria were a...
Kumar S, Gupta AK, Pal Y, Dwivedi SK.The therapeutic efficacy of imidocarb, artesunate, arteether, buparvaquone and arteether+buparvaquone combination was evaluated against Babesia equi of Indian origin in splenectomised donkeys with experimentally induced acute infection. Efficacies of these drugs were tested by administering each drug or drug combination to groups of donkeys (having three donkeys each group). One group of donkey was kept as untreated control for comparing the results. Parasitaemia, haematology (WBC, RBC, PCV, granulocytes and haemoglobin), biochemical parameters (SAST, SALT, alkaline phosphatase, albumin/globul...
Horvath S, Haghani A, Peng S, Hales EN, Zoller JA, Raj K, Larison B, Robeck TR, Petersen JL, Bellone RR, Finno CJ.Cytosine methylation patterns have not yet been thoroughly studied in horses. Here, we profile n = 333 samples from 42 horse tissue types at loci that are highly conserved between mammalian species using a custom array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). Using the blood and liver tissues from horses, we develop five epigenetic aging clocks: a multi-tissue clock, a blood clock, a liver clock and two dual-species clocks that apply to both horses and humans. In addition, using blood methylation data from three additional equid species (plains zebra, Grevy's zebras and Somali asses), we develop anoth...
Cheeke PR.Plant toxins are the chemical defenses of plants against herbivory. Grasses have relatively few intrinsic toxins, relying more on growth habit to survive defoliation and endophytic fungal toxins as chemical defenses. Forage grasses that contain intrinsic toxins include Phalaris spp. (tryptamine and carboline alkaloids), sorghums (cyanogenic glycosides), and tropical grasses containing oxalates and saponins. Toxic effects of these grasses include neurological damage (Phalaris staggers), hypoxia (sudangrass), saponin-induced photosensitization (Brachiaria and Panicum spp.), and bone demineraliza...
Reuter G, Maza N, Pankovics P, Boros A.Non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV) is a recently identified hepacivirus (family Flaviviridae) in dog and horse; however, the disease associations remain unknown. This study reports the detection of natural NPHV infection in a horse with apparent hepatitis, liver damage and high-level viraemia. NPHV could be hepatotropic and associated with hepatitis in horses.
Smith PL, Bousfield GR, Kumar S, Fiete D, Baenziger JU.Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and lutropin (eLH) are heterodimeric glycoprotein hormones which are synthesized in the placenta and pituitary, respectively. The beta subunits of eCG and eLH, like their alpha subunits, arise from a single gene and have identical amino acid sequences. In contrast, the beta subunits of CG and LH in primates arise from different genes and differ in sequence. We have examined the structures of the Asn-linked oligosaccharides on eCG and eLH. eCG bears di- and tri-branched Asn-linked oligosaccharides terminating with Sia alpha 2,3 or 6Gal beta 1,4GlcNAc. In cont...
Gupta RC, Canerdy TD, Skaggs P, Stocker A, Zyrkowski G, Burke R, Wegford K, Goad JT, Rohde K, Barnett D, DeWees W, Bagchi M, Bagchi D.The present investigation evaluated arthritic pain in horses receiving daily placebo, undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) at 320, 480, or 640 mg (providing 80, 120, and 160 mg active UC-II, respectively), and glucosamine and chondroitin (5.4 and 1.8 g, respectively, bid for the first month, and thereafter once daily) for 150 days. Horses were evaluated for overall pain, pain upon limb manipulation, physical examination, and liver and kidney functions. Evaluation of overall pain was based upon a consistent observation of all subjects during a walk and a trot in the same pattern on the same sur...
Johansson J, von Bahr-Lindstru00f6m H, Jeck R, Woenckhaus C, Ju00f6rnvall H.The primary structure of the mitochondrial form of horse liver aldehyde dehydrogenase has been determined, utilizing peptide analyses and homology with other enzyme forms. The subunit exhibits N-terminal heterogeneity in size similar to that for the corresponding human mitochondrial protein, the longest form having 500 residues. Catalase was identified as a contaminant of the preparations. All four pairs within a set of aldehyde dehydrogenases can now be compared, including the same two species variants (horse and human) for both the cytosolic and mitochondrial enzyme, revealing characteristic...