Proteins are essential macromolecules that play diverse roles in the physiology and health of horses. They are composed of amino acids and are involved in various biological processes, including tissue growth, repair, and the synthesis of enzymes and hormones. Dietary proteins are a key component of equine nutrition, influencing muscle development, immune function, and overall performance. Horses require a balanced intake of essential amino acids, which must be obtained through their diet, as they cannot be synthesized endogenously. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the types, functions, and dietary requirements of proteins in horses, as well as their impact on equine health and performance.
McCoy AM, Kemper AM, Boyce MK, Brown MP, Trumble TN.Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) is a common and significant problem in equine athletes. It is a disease of the entire joint, with the synovium thought to be a key player in disease onset and progression due to its role in inflammation. The development of effective tools for early diagnosis and treatment of PTOA remains an elusive goal. Altered gene expression represents the earliest discernable disease-related change, and can provide valuable information about disease pathogenesis and identify potential therapeutic targets. However, there is limited work examining global gene expression c...
Lambertini C, Zannoni A, Romagnoli N, Bombardi C, Morini M, Dondi F, Bernardini C, Forni M, Rinnovati R, Spadari A.Large colon volvulus in horses is associated with a poor prognosis, especially when ischemic-reperfusion injury of the affected intestinal tract develops. Proteinase-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution and expression of PAR2 in colonic pelvic flexure of horses spontaneously affected by large colon volvulus (CVH group). Eight horses admitted for severe abdominal colon volvolus and which underwent surgery were included. Colon samples were collected after enter...
Vieira LA, Matás C, Torrecillas A, Saez F, Gadea J.Seminal plasma (SP) plays a crucial role in sperm protection and functionality. However, the effect of SP on the sperm cryopreservation is dependent on the stallion and SP composition. The use of epididymal spermatozoa incubated in the presence of SP could help the identification of the components of SP that are able to confer protection upon the spermatozoa during freezing. The aims of this study were (i) to identify SP components involved in the potential protection of epididymal spermatozoa during the freeze-thawing process and (ii) to identify and evaluate the proteins likely related to sp...
Autry JM, Karim CB, Perumbakkam S, Finno CJ, McKenzie EC, Thomas DD, Valberg SJ.Ca regulation in equine muscle is important for horse performance, yet little is known about this species-specific regulation. We reported recently that horse encode unique gene and protein sequences for the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca-transporting ATPase (SERCA) and the regulatory subunit sarcolipin (SLN). Here we quantified gene transcription and protein expression of SERCA and its inhibitory peptides in horse gluteus, as compared to commonly-studied rabbit skeletal muscle. RNA sequencing and protein immunoblotting determined that horse gluteus expresses the gene (SERCA1) as the predomin...
Rosa B.Xenobiotic transport proteins play an important role in determining drug disposition and pharmacokinetics. Our understanding of the role of these important proteins in humans and pre-clinical animal species has increased substantially over the past few decades, and has had an important impact on human medicine; however, veterinary medicine has not benefitted from the same quantity of research into drug transporters in species of veterinary interest. Differences in transporter expression cause difficulties in extrapolation of drug pharmacokinetic parameters between species, and lack of knowledg...
Borges-Silva W, de Jesus RF, Ferreira R, Gondim LFP. and are protozoan parasites endemic to the Americas. The former is the major cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, and the latter is associated with pulmonary sarcocystosis in birds. The opossum is the definitive host of these parasites in North America. Four species are found in Brazil, and in most reports in this country, species shed by opossums have been classified as -like. It is unknown whether reports on -seropositive horses in Brazil are also derived from exposure of horses to -like. The aim of this study was to test the sera reactivity of 409 horses in Brazil using antigen...
De-Simone SG, Provance DW.Affinity chromatography is a separation method based on a specific binding interaction between an immobilized ligand and its binding partner. An important class of ligands for the effective separation and purification of biotechnologically important substances is lectins, a group of naturally occurring molecules widely found in plants that display a range of specificities to bind different sugars. As sugars are often added to proteins through the process of glycosylation, ∼1/3 of all genetically encoded proteins are glycosylated, numerous cognate pairs of lectins with glycosylation groups ha...
Cymerys J, Słońska A, Chodkowski M, Golke A, Krzyżowska M, Bańbura MW.Equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) causes respiratory disease, abortion and neurological disorders in horses. Similarly, to other alphaherpesviruses, EHV-1 is neurotropic and establishes latency in the neurons of its natural host. Despite the fact that many studies have been devoted to the pathogenesis of various clinical forms of EHV-1 infection, mechanisms of the neuronal damage are still not fully understood. The aim of this study was to define the phosphorylation status of tau protein in neuronal cell culture infected with EHV-1. Phosphorylation of tau was tested at tau-ser199/ser202, tau-ser404,...
Nocera I, Bonelli F, Meucci V, Rinnovati R, Spadari A, Intorre L, Pretti C, Sgorbini M.Literature on the protein carbonyl content (PCC) evaluation in horses is scarce, thus the aims were to evaluate the PCC in healthy and SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) horses and to investigate the performances of PCC in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratio in identifying SIRS positive and negative horses. A total of 72 adult horses were included. All the horses underwent to a complete physical examination, blood analysis, and were evaluated for the SIRS status. Blood samples were collected once in healthy horses and at admission time, then 24, 48, 72, and 96 h...
Sanz MG, Schnider DR, Mealey KA.Relative to other species, horses seem particularly susceptible to oxidative stress. Plasma albumin plays an important role in preventing oxidative damage, in part due to its methionine (MET) content. Equine albumin is highly unusual in that it contains no MET residues. Whether or not this causes deficient antioxidant capacity in equine plasma relative to that of other species has not yet been explored. The objective of this study was to compare the redox status of equine (no MET) to that of bovine (moderate amount of MET) plasma. Plasma was collected from healthy, nonpregnant Quarter Horse ma...
Journal of proteomicsOctober 8, 2020
Volume 231 104007 doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.104007
Donkey's milk (DM) has been extensively investigated as a valuable substitute of breast milk, often suitable to manage cow's milk protein allergy in infants. DM exhibits potent inhibitory properties against numerous microbial species. Although oligosaccharides and lipids might contribute to the antimicrobial potential, the current inventory of proteins is not able to justify the low count of microorganisms generally observed in DM. The shotgun proteomic analysis of fractionated DM disclosed a set of 94 gene products, 41% of which have documented antimicrobial activity or are involved in transf...
Pliszczak-Król A, Gemra M, Kozdrowski R, Zalewski D, Iwaszko A.Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO), also called severe asthma or heaves, is a chronic disease in adult horses caused by aeroallergens from straw or hay. Disturbances in hemostasis (intensified coagulation and depressed fibrinolysis) are considered one of the prominent reasons of inflammatory process, injury and dysfunction of the lungs. The aim of the study was to evaluate chosen parameters of hemostasis in horses with active form of RAO. Ten RAO-horses (group R) and ten healthy horses (group C) were exposed to straw and hay allergen challenge. The prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thro...
de Roodt AR, Lanari LC, Lago NR, Bustillo S, Litwin S, Morón-Goñi F, Gould EG, van Grootheest JH, Dokmetjian JC, Dolab JA, Irazú L, Damin CF.Samples of Apis mellifera mellifera venom from different hives in two regions of the Buenos Aires province and its pool were analyzed for their lethal potency, myotoxic, defibrinogenating, hemolytic and inflammatory-edematizing activity and for the histological alterations they produce in the heart, lungs, kidneys, skeletal muscle and liver of mice. In vitro studies focused on the venom's hemolytic activity in different systems and species (horse, man, sheep and rabbit), the cytotoxicity in cellular lines, and on the proteolytic and coagulant activity in plasma and fibrinogen. Hemolytic activi...
Puangthong C, Sukhong P, Saengnual P, Srikuea R, Chanda M.The expressions of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and vitamin D-metabolising enzymes (CYP27B1 and CYP24A1) in skeletal muscle have been reported. However, the regulation of this vitamin D system in horse skeletal muscle after high-intensity exercise has not yet been elucidated. Objective: To investigate the effect of high-intensity exercise on the expression of vitamin D system-related proteins in horse skeletal muscle and its associations with skeletal muscle stem cell (SMSC) activity and serum 25(OH)D level. Methods: Longitudinal study. Methods: Six healthy ponies (5 geldings, 1 mare; age 6.3 ±...
Autry JM, Karim CB, Cocco M, Carlson SF, Thomas DD, Valberg SJ.We have analyzed protein expression and enzyme activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-transporting ATPase (SERCA) in horse gluteal muscle. Horses exhibit a high incidence of recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis, with myosolic Ca2+ proposed, but yet to be established, as the underlying cause. To better assess Ca2+ regulatory mechanisms, we developed an improved protocol for isolating sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) vesicles from horse skeletal muscle, based on mechanical homogenization and optimized parameters for differential centrifugation. Immunoblotting identified the peak subcellular fract...
Khan FA, Diel de Amorim M, Chenier TS.Quantitative analysis of the uterine flush fluid proteome of mares in oestrus and dioestrus has been previously reported. The objectives of this study were to: a) evaluate qualitative differences in the uterine flush fluid proteome between mares in oestrus and mares in dioestrus and b) perform a functional classification of proteins either unique to each stage or common between the two stages. Uterine flush fluid samples were collected from 8 light breed mares in either oestrus (n = 5) or dioestrus (n = 3). Proteomic analysis of the samples was conducted using liquid chromatography-tandem ...
Barreto ÍMLG, Urbano SA, Oliveira CAA, Macêdo CS, Borba LHF, Chags BME, Rangel AHN.The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition and lipid profile of colostrum and milk of purebred Quarter Horse mares. Thirty-four (34) purebred mares were selected, which were then separated into groups according to age, birth order and lactation stage. Colostrum samples were collected in the first six hours after delivery and milk samples from the 7th postpartum day, with intervals of 14 days until the end of lactation. The samples were refrigerated and sent to the Milk Laboratory of the University (Laboleite-UFRN), where they were analyzed for chemical composition...
Jung Y, Yoon M.Endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine factors orchestrate the development and physiology of the stallion reproductive system. Oxytocin (OXT) is one of the critical endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine factors for the male reproductive system. Previous studies have investigated OXT receptor (OXTR) expression in testes and epididymides, including humans, marmosets, macaques, swine, and sheep. This study aimed to explore (1) OXTR localization in the testes and epididymides and (2) the seasonal modification of OXTR expression in the testes. Adult stallion testis and epididymis samples were prepared u...
Terhaar HM, Allbaugh RA, Mochel JP, Sebbag L.To determine total protein content (TPC) and serum albumin levels in the tears of horses with healthy or diseased eyes. Methods: Forty-two horses with healthy eyes and 11 horses with unilateral (n = 10) or bilateral (n = 1) ocular disease. Methods: Each eye underwent an ophthalmic examination including detailed conjunctivitis scoring and tear collection with Schirmer strips. TPC and serum albumin levels were quantified in tear samples and compared among healthy eyes, affected eyes, and contralateral unaffected eyes. The impact of the following variables on lacrimal protein levels were asse...
Bubenickova F, Postlerova P, Simonik O, Sirohi J, Sichtar J.Seminal plasma (SP) is the natural environment for spermatozoa and contains a number of components, especially proteins important for successful sperm maturation and fertilization. Nevertheless, in standard frozen stallion insemination doses production, SP is completely removed and is replaced by a semen extender. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of the selected seminal plasma protein groups that might play an important role in reducing the detrimental effects on spermatozoa during the cryopreservation process. SP proteins were separated according to their ability to bind to hepar...
Loos CMM, McLeod KR, Stratton SC, van Doorn DA, Kalmar ID, Vanzant ES, Urschel KL.Activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR)-controlled anabolic signaling pathways in skeletal muscle of rodents and humans is responsive to the level of dietary protein supply, with maximal activation and rates of protein synthesis achieved with 0.2 to 0.4 g protein/kg body weight (BW). In horses, few data are available on the required level of dietary protein to maximize protein synthesis for maintenance and growth of skeletal muscle. To evaluate the effect of dietary protein level on muscle mTOR pathway activation, five mares received different amounts of a protein supplement t...
Myers R, Cembran A, Fernandez-Funez P.Prion diseases are a group of neurodegenerative diseases endemic in humans and several ruminants caused by the misfolding of native prion protein (PrP) into pathological conformations. Experimental work and the mad-cow epidemic of the 1980s exposed a wide spectrum of animal susceptibility to prion diseases, including a few highly resistant animals: horses, rabbits, pigs, and dogs/canids. The variable susceptibility to disease offers a unique opportunity to uncover the mechanisms governing PrP misfolding, neurotoxicity, and transmission. Previous work indicates that PrP-intrinsic differences (s...
Baieli MF, Urtasun N, Hirsch DB, Miranda MV, Cascone O, Wolman FJ.Equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) is a hormone widely used in superovulation protocols because of its follicle-stimulating action, which increases reproductive efficiency in animals of productive interest. It contains 45% carbohydrate, 10% of which is N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid). The eCG purification procedures from equine serum or plasma are mainly based on chromatographic methods. However, before these procedures, it is necessary to follow sample pre-conditioning steps, such as several precipitation stages and/or ultrafiltration/diafiltration processes. In this work, an efficien...
Camacho Benítez A, Vasconcellos R, Lombide P, Viotti H, Pérez W, Cazales N, Cavestany D, Martin GB, Pedrana G.Heat shock proteins play a crucial role in cellular development, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) has been localised in the human endometrium, where its immunoexpression changes during the menstrual cycle. Similar studies have not been done for the equid species, so the present study aimed to describe endometrial HSP90 immunoexpression in mare endometrium. Endometrial biopsies were formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded, and sections were stained with haematoxylin-eosin in preparation for HSP90 immunohistochemistry. Immunostaining and morphometric analy...
Choi Y, Yoon M.Androstenone is the first mammalian steroidal pheromone to be identified. Pheromones are chemicals that animals use to communicate within a species. Pheromone detections are related to vomeronasal organ (VNO) and olfactory epithelium (OE) in mammals. Olfactory Receptor Family 7 Subfamily D Member 4 (OR7D4) is an odorant receptor that responds to androstenone. Several studies indicated that spray with androstenone changes behaviors of the boar and dogs. However, the expression of OR7D4 in VNO and OE was not reported in mammals except human. Thus, the main objectives of this study were to invest...
Valberg SJ.There are 5 single-gene mutations that are known to cause muscle disease in horses. These mutations alter the amino acid sequence of proteins involved in cell membrane electrical conduction, muscle energy metabolism, muscle contraction, and immunogenicity. The clinical signs depend on the pathway affected. The likelihood that an animal with a mutation will exhibit clinical signs depends on the mode of inheritance, environmental influences, and interactions with other genes. Selection of a genetic test for use in diagnostic or breeding decisions requires a knowledge of clinical signs, mode of i...
Lombardi F, Palumbo P, Augello FR, Giusti I, Dolo V, Guerrini L, Cifone MG, Giuliani M, Cinque B.The ability of a collagen-based matrix to support cell proliferation, migration, and infiltration has been reported; however, the direct effect of an aqueous collagen suspension on cell cultures has not been studied yet. In this work, the effects of a high-concentration aqueous suspension of a micronized type I equine collagen (EC-I) have been evaluated on a normal mouse fibroblast cell line. Immunofluorescence analysis showed the ability of EC-I to induce a significant increase of type I and III collagen levels, parallel with overexpression of crucial proteins in collagen biosynthesis, matura...
Data in briefJune 20, 2020
Volume 31 105887 doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.105887
Martín-Cano FE, Gaitskell-Phillips G, Ortiz-Rodríguez JM, Silva A, Gil C, Ortega-Ferrusola C, Peña FJ.This paper provides the dataset of proteins of stallion ejaculates before and after cryopreservation. The data report the analysis and identification of stallion sperm proteins obtained from the same ejaculates and split in two subsamples. The first aliquot consisted on fresh spermatozoa and the second aliquot was frozen and thawed spermatozoa. Samples were analyzed using a UHPLC/MS/MS system consisting of an Agilent 1290 infinity series UHPLC coupled to an Agilent 6550 Q-TOF mass spectrometer (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). We provide a data set of 2226 different proteins, with ...
Campolo A, Frantz MW, de Laat MA, Hartson SD, Furr MO, Lacombe VA.Endocrinopathic laminitis is pathologically similar to the multi-organ dysfunction and peripheral neuropathy found in human patients with metabolic syndrome. Similarly, endocrinopathic laminitis has been shown to partially result from vascular dysfunction. However, despite extensive research, the pathogenesis of this disease is not well elucidated and laminitis remains without an effective treatment. Here, we sought to identify novel proteins and pathways underlying the development of equine endocrinopathic laminitis. Healthy Standardbred horses ( = 4/group) were either given an electrolyte in...
Wang W, Mukai K, Takahashi K, Ohmura H, Takahashi T, Hatta H, Kitaoka Y.The aim of this study was to investigate effects of short-term hypoxic training on lactate metabolism in the gluteus medius muscle of Thoroughbreds. Using crossover design (3 months washout), eight Thoroughbred horses were trained for 2 weeks in normoxia (F O = 21%) and hypoxia (F O = 18%) each. They ran at 95% maximal oxygen consumption (V̇O ) on a treadmill inclined at 6% for 2 min (3 days/week) measured under normoxia. Before and after each training period, all horses were subjected to an incremental exercise test (IET) under normoxia. Following the 2-week trainings, V̇O in IET ...
Griko YV, Freire E, Privalov G, van Dael H, Privalov PL.The energetics of the temperature-induced unfolding of equine lysozyme was studied calorimetrically and compared with that of two structurally homologous proteins: hen egg white lysozyme and alpha-lactalbumin. The structure of each of these proteins is characterized by the presence of a deep cleft that divides the molecule into two regions called the alpha and beta domains. In equine lysozyme and alpha-lactalbumin the latter domain specifically binds Ca2+. It is shown that, in contrast to hen egg white lysozyme in which the alpha and beta domains unfold as a single cooperative unit, in equine ...
Alves AG, Stewart AA, Dudhia J, Kasashima Y, Goodship AE, Smith RK.Tendon and ligament injuries have proved difficult to treat effectively. Cell-based therapies offer the potential to harness the complex protein synthetic machinery of the cell to induce a regenerative response rather than fibrous scarring. This article reviews the current state of play with respect to the clinically used cell preparations for the treatment of tendon and ligaments overstrain injuries.
Kim SK, Buczynski KA, Caughman GB, O'Callaghan DJ.The equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) immediate-early (IE) phosphoprotein is essential for the activation of transcription from viral early and late promoters and regulates transcription from its own promoter. The IE protein of 1487 amino acids contains a serine-rich tract (SRT) between residues 181 and 220. Deletion of the SRT decreased transactivation activity of the IE protein. Previous results from investigation of the ICP4 protein, the IE homolog of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), revealed that a domain containing a serine-rich tract interacts with EAP (Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small nuclear...
Sugino H, Bousfield GR, Moore WT, Ward DN.The complete amino acid sequence of the beta-subunit of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG beta) has been established by both automated Edman and manual 5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl-Edman degradations. Specific fragments were produced by cleavage with Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease, trypsin, or dilute HCl. For the sequence analyses of the heavily glycosylated COOH-terminal portion, a chemical deglycosylation procedure with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid was employed. The peptide chain of eCG beta consists of 149 amino acid residues. Five or more oligosaccharide chains are attached t...
Bonilla-Correal S, Noto F, Garcia-Bonavila E, Rodríguez-Gil JE, Yeste M, Miro J.Aquaporins (AQPs) are transmembrane proteins found in all cells and are responsible for the transport of water and small solutes. While these proteins have been found in the spermatozoa of humans, rodents, pigs and cattle, where not only do they play a role for the regulation of sperm volume but are also related with the sperm resilience to withstand freeze-thawing procedures, their presence in stallion sperm is yet to be reported. Therefore, the objectives of this work were as follows: (i) to determine whether AQP3, AQP7 and AQP11 are present in stallion sperm and (ii) to investigate whether ...
Salamon Z, Tollin G.Cyclic voltammetry has been used to study the effects of interactions between horse cytochrome c and solid-supported planar lipid membranes, comprised of either egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) or PC plus 20 mol.% cardiolipin (CL), on the redox potential and the electrochemical electron transfer rate between the protein and a semiconductor electrode. Experiments were performed over a wide range of cytochrome c concentrations (0-440 microM) at low (20 mM) and medium (160 mM) ionic strengths. Three types of electrochemical behavior were observed, which varied as a function of the experimental condit...
Ascenzi P, Ciaccio C, Sinibaldi F, Santucci R, Coletta M.Upon interaction with bovine heart cardiolipin (CL), horse heart cytochrome c (cytc) changes its tertiary structure disrupting the heme-Fe-Met80 distal bond, reduces drastically the midpoint potential out of the range required for its physiological role, binds CO and NO with high affinity, and displays peroxidase activity. Here, the effect of CL on peroxynitrite isomerization by ferric cytc (cytc-Fe(III)) is reported. In the absence of CL, hexa-coordinated cytc does not catalyze peroxynitrite isomerization. In contrast, CL facilitates cytc-Fe(III)-mediated isomerization of peroxynitrite in a d...
Cauchard J, Sevin C, Ballet JJ, Taouji S.The aim of this study was to evaluate serum IgG antibody levels and opsonizing activity in foals from pregnant mares immunized with either proteins from an R. equi strain containing virulence-associated protein A (VapA), an immunodominant surface-expressed lipoprotein encoded by a virulence plasmid crucial for virulence in foals, or a whole killed virulent R. equi preparation. Forty-eight pregnant mares were distributed into three groups, i.e. 24 immunized with R. equi VapA protein antigen associated with a water-based nanoparticle adjuvant (Montanide IMS 3012), 8 immunized with whole killed R...
Bouwman FG, van Ginneken MM, Noben JP, Royackers E, de Graaf-Roelfsema E, Wijnberg ID, van der Kolk JH, Mariman EC, van Breda E.The major aim of the present study was to investigate the proteome of standardbred horses at different stages of training and intensified training. We searched for biomarkers using small skeletal muscle biopsies of live animals. 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry were successfully applied to investigate training-induced differential expression of equine muscle biopsy proteins. Despite the poor resolution of the equine genome and proteome, we were able to identify the proteins of 20 differential spots representing 16 different proteins. Evaluation of those proteins complies with adapt...
Bucci D, Isani G, Spinaci M, Tamanini C, Mari G, Zambelli D, Galeati G.Spermatozoa, as other eukaryotic cells, need hexoses to produce energy to maintain membrane homeostasis, to move along the female genital tract and to carry the male genome to the female gamete. GLUTs are a family of proteins that permit and improve the passive transport of hexoses inside cells. This study was aimed at investigating the presence and localization of GLUTs 1, 2, 3 and 5 in boar, stallion and dog spermatozoa by both immunofluorescence and western blotting. GLUTs exhibited a peculiar distribution along the sperm cell depending on the isoforms considered, the hexose they transport ...
Ollivier FJ, Brooks DE, Kallberg ME, Komaromy AM, Lassaline ME, Andrew SE, Gelatt KN, Stevens GR, Blalock TD, van Setten GB, Schultz GS.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...
Regis WC, Fattori J, Santoro MM, Jamin M, Ramos CH.The work in the literature on apomyoglobin is almost equally divided between horse and sperm whale myoglobins. The two proteins share high homology, show similar folding behavior, and it is often assumed that all folding phenomena found with one protein will also be found with the other. We report data at equilibrium showing that horse myoglobin was 2.1 kcal/mol less stable than sperm whale myoglobin at pH 5.0, and aggregated at high concentrations as measured by gel filtration and analytical ultracentrifugation experiments. The higher stability of sperm whale myoglobin was identified for both...
Sanchez-Teran AF, Bracamonte JL, Hendrick S, Riddell L, Musil K, Hoff B, Rubio-Martínez LM.The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of through-and-through joint lavage on systemic and synovial serum amyloid A (SAA), total protein, nucleated cell count and percentage of neutrophils in the synovial fluid of six healthy horses. A prospective experimental study was performed where one healthy tarsocrural joint of each horse was randomly assigned to receive repeated through-and-through joint lavage at 0, 48 and 96 h. Synovial fluid and blood samples were collected at 0 (baseline), 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h. Systemic and synovial SAA, total protein, nucleated cell count a...
Rappocciolo G, Birch J, Ellis SA.There is good evidence that cytotoxic T lymphocytes play an important role in the clearance of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV1) in horses. We have demonstrated that, in common with other alphaherpesviruses, EHV1 infection can lead to dramatic down-regulation of MHC class I expression at the cell surface, a common strategy for pathogen evasion of the host immune response. This down-regulation is specific for MHC class I and does not reflect a general shut-off of host-cell protein synthesis. The use of monoclonal antibodies that recognize different MHC class I epitopes has demonstrated that the effec...
Molenkamp R, Greve S, Spaan WJ, Snijder EJ.Equine arteritis virus (EAV), the prototype arterivirus, is an enveloped plus-strand RNA virus with a genome of approximately 13 kb. Based on similarities in genome organization and protein expression, the arteriviruses have recently been grouped together with the coronaviruses and toroviruses in the newly established order Nidovirales. Previously, we reported the construction of pEDI, a full-length cDNA copy of EAV DI-b, a natural defective interfering (DI) RNA of 5.6 kb (R. Molenkamp et al., J. Virol. 74:3156-3165, 2000). EDI RNA consists of three noncontiguous parts of the EAV genome fused ...
Wilson AD, Heesom KJ, Mawby WJ, Mellor PS, Russell CL.IgE-mediated type 1 hypersensitivity reactions to the bites of insects are a common cause of skin disease in horses. Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is most frequently associated with bites of Culicoides spp. and occurs in all parts of the world where horses and Culicoides coexist. The main allergens that cause IBH are probably some of the abundant proteins in the saliva of Culicoides associated with blood feeding. Western blots of Culicoides proteins separated by 1D gel-electrophoresis detected strong IgE responses in all horses with IBH to antigens in protein extracts from wild caught Cul...
Esparza I, Brock JH.The effect of trypsin digestion on iron-saturated and iron-free (apo) human, rabbit, bovine, pig and horse tranferrins has been studied. Iron-binding fragments were produced only from iron-saturated pig and bovine transferrins although some cleavage of the polypeptide chain occurred in all cases. The apo-transferrins were generally degraded to a greater extent than the corresponding iron-saturated proteins. The ability of the different transferrins to donate iron to rabbit reticulocytes varied in the order rabbit approximately pig greater than human approximately horse greater than bovine. Try...
Nygaard TK, Liu M, McClure MJ, Lei B.Heme is a preferred iron source of bacterial pathogens. Streptococcus equi subspecies equi is a bacterial pathogen that causes strangles in horses. Whether S. equi has a heme acquisition transporter is unknown. Results: An S. equi genome database was blasted with the heme binding proteins Shp and HtsA of Streptococcus pyogenes, and found that S. equi has the homologue of Shp (designated SeShp) and HtsA (designated SeHtsA). Tag-free recombinant SeShp and SeHtsA and 6xHis-tagged SeHtsA (SeHtsAHis) were prepared and characterized. Purified holoSeShp and holoSeHtsA bind Fe(II)-protoporphyrin IX (h...
Wilhelm K, Darinskas A, Noppe W, Duchardt E, Mok KH, Vukojević V, Schleucher J, Morozova-Roche LA.Protein oligomeric complexes have emerged as a major target of current research because of their key role in aggregation processes in living systems and in vitro. Hydrophobic and charged surfaces may favour the self-assembly process by recruiting proteins and modifying their interactions. We found that equine lysozyme assembles into multimeric complexes with oleic acid (ELOA) at the solid-liquid interface within an ion-exchange chromatography column preconditioned with oleic acid. The properties of ELOA were characterized using NMR, spectroscopic methods and atomic force microscopy, and showed...
Robertson AT, Caughman GB, Gray WL, Baumann RP, Staczek J, O'Callaghan DJ.Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) gene expression is coordinately regulated in an alpha, beta, gamma fashion. Viral alpha gene products include a 6.0-kb immediate early (IE) mRNA species (W. L. Gray et al., 1987, Virology 158, 79-87) and at least four closely related IE polypeptides (IEPs) (G.B. Caughman et al., 1985, Virology 145, 49-61). In this report, we describe results obtained from a series of in vitro translation experiments which were performed in an effort to characterize the IEPs and identify the mechanism by which individual IE protein species are generated. Our data indicate that ...
Johansson J, von Bahr-Lindström H, Jeck R, Woenckhaus C, Jörnvall 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...
Post F, Doster W, Karvounis G, Settles M.The geminate recombination kinetics of CO-myoglobin strongly deviates from single exponential behavior in contrast to what is expected for unimolecular reactions (1). At low temperatures, this result was attributed to slowly exchanging conformational states which differ substantially in barrier height for ligand binding. Above 160 K the kinetics apparently slow down with temperature increase. Agmon and Hopfield (2) explain this result in terms of structural relaxation perpendicular to the reaction coordinate, which enhances the activation energy. In their model, structural relaxation homogeniz...
Okoko T, Blagova EV, Whittingham JL, Dover LG, Wilkinson AJ.Virulence and host range in Rhodococcus equi depends on the variable pathogenicity island of their virulence plasmids. Notable gene products are a family of small secreted virulence-associated proteins (Vaps) that are critical to intramacrophagic proliferation. Equine-adapted strains, which cause severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals, produce a cell-associated VapA that is necessary for virulence, alongside five other secreted homologues. In the absence of biochemical insight, attention has turned to the structures of these proteins to develop a functional hypothesis. Recent studies have ...
Gatti JL, Druart X, Guérin Y, Dacheux F, Dacheux JL.SDS-PAGE analysis of luminal fluid from the ram testis and epididymis revealed a protein of about 105 kDa in the fluid in the caput epididymal region. The molecular mass of this fluid protein shifted from 105 kDa to 94 kDa in the distal caput epididymidis and remained at 94 kDa in the lower regions of the epididymis. The possible sperm origin of this protein was suggested by the decrease in intensity of a 105-kDa compound on the sperm plasma membrane extract and by its total disappearance from the fluid of animals with impaired sperm production caused by scrotal heating. The 94-kDa protein was...
Gabryś J, Gurgul A, Szmatoła T, Kij-Mitka B, Andronowska A, Karnas E, Kucharski M, Wojciechowska-Puchałka J, Kochan J, Bugno-Poniewierska M.Cumulus cell (CC) expansion is pivotal for oocyte maturation, during which CCs release factors that initiate paracrine signaling within the follicular fluid (FF). The FF is abundant in extracellular vesicles (EVs) that facilitate intercellular communication. Although bovine and murine EVs can control cumulus expansion, these effects have not been observed in equines. This study aimed to assess the impact of FF-derived EVs (ffEVs) on equine CC expansion, viability, and transcriptome. Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) that underwent in vitro maturation (IVM) in the presence (200 µg protein/mL) or...
Anton F, Leverkoehne I, Mundhenk L, Thoreson WB, Gruber AD.The human hCLCA1 and murine mCLCA3 (chloride channels, calcium-activated) have recently been identified as promising therapeutic targets in asthma. Recurrent airway obstruction in horses is an important animal model of human asthma. Here, we have cloned and characterized the first equine CLCA family member, eCLCA1. The 913 amino acids eCLCA1 polypeptide forms a 120-kDa transmembrane glycoprotein that is processed to an 80-kDa protein in vivo. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in the eCLCA1 coding region in 14 horses, resulting in two amino acid changes (485H/R and 490V/L). Ho...
