Species comparison in horses involves examining the physiological, anatomical, and behavioral differences and similarities between horses and other animal species. This area of study can provide insights into the evolutionary adaptations and ecological roles of horses. Researchers often focus on aspects such as digestive systems, locomotion, sensory capabilities, and social structures to understand how horses have evolved to meet their environmental and survival needs. Comparative studies may also explore genetic differences and similarities, contributing to a broader understanding of species evolution and adaptation. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research and scholarly articles that analyze various aspects of species comparison involving horses, highlighting significant findings and methodologies used in the field.
Cambier C, Di Passio N, Clerbaux T, Amory H, Marville V, Detry B, Frans A, Gustin P.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of regulating factors on the oxygen equilibrium curve (OEC) under standard conditions and then to calculate the oxygen extraction between arterial and jugular venous blood in healthy Standardbred horses. The results were compared to those previously obtained in humans and cattle, using the same experimental method. The partial oxygen pressure at 50% saturation of haemoglobin, measured under standard conditions (standard P50), was 24.8+/-2.0 (SD of mean) mmHg. This value was similar to the cattle standard P50 (25.0+/-1.4 mmHg, SD of mean) bu...
Matthee S, Krecek RC, McGeoch MA.The intestinal helminth communities of 8 horses, 12 donkeys, 21 Hartmann's mountain zebras, and 44 Burchell's zebras were compared using the original data from 6 studies in South Africa and Namibia. Necropsy and worm recovery techniques were comparable between the studies. Sixty helminth species (58 nematode, 1 cestode, and 1 trematode species) were recorded. There were significant differences in the helminth community structures of the 4 Equus species. The helminth communities of the 2 closely related zebra subspecies were most similar, and they jointly shared 7 helminth species with donkeys ...
Fischer KD.A number of surgical interventions in ancient veterinary medicine were modelled on the same procedures in human medicine. This is discussed in some detail for the prolapse of the uterus and the couching of the cataract in horses. In the introductory section, the importance of Switzerland and neighbouring areas for the transmission of ancient veterinary medicine is highlighted.
van der Heide R, Koopmans MP, Shekary N, Houwers DJ, van Duynhoven YT, van der Poel WH.To gain more insight into interspecies transmission of rotavirus group A, human and animal fecal samples were collected between 1997 and 2001 in The Netherlands. A total of 110 human stool samples were successfully P and G genotyped by reverse transcriptase PCR. All strains belonged to the main human rotavirus genotypes G1 to G4, G9, [P4], [P6], [P8], and [P9]. [P8]G1 was predominant, and 5.5% belonged to the G9 genotype. Eleven percent of all P[8] genotypes could be genotyped only by a recently published modified primer. Rotavirus-positive fecal samples from 28 calf herds were genotyped by DN...
Gustafson-Seabury A, Raudsepp T, Goh G, Kata SR, Wagner ML, Tozaki T, Mickelson JR, Womack JE, Skow LC, Chowdhary BP.High-resolution gene maps of individual equine chromosomes are essential to identify genes governing traits of economic importance in the horse. In pursuit of this goal we herein report the generation of a dense map of horse chromosome 22 (ECA22) comprising 83 markers, of which 52 represent specific genes and 31 are microsatellites. The map spans 831 cR over an estimated 64 Mb of physical length of the chromosome, thus providing markers at approximately 770 kb or 10 cR intervals. Overall, the resolution of the map is to date the densest in the horse and is the highest for any of the domesticat...
Xu J, Lasry JB, Svaren J, Wagner B, Darien BJ.P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1, CD162) is a dimeric, mucin-like, transmembrane glycoprotein constitutively expressed on leukocytes. A high baseline level of P-selectin expression in circulating equine platelets suggests a primed state toward inflammation and thrombosis via P-selectin/PSGL-1 adhesion. To investigate the potential role of equine P-selectin in these events, we first identified the cDNA sequence of equine PSGL-1 (ePSGL-1) using degenerate PCR and RACE-PCR and then compared the predicted sequence with that of human PSGL-1 (hPSGL-1). ePSGL-1 protein subunit is predicted to...
Arroyo LG, Kruth SA, Willey BM, Staempfli HR, Low DE, Weese JS.Molecular typing of Clostridium difficile isolates from animals and humans may be useful for evaluation of the possibility for interspecies transmission. The objective of this study was to evaluate C. difficile isolates from domestic animals and humans using PCR ribotyping. Isolates were also tested using PCR for the presence of genes encoding toxins A and B. One hundred and thirty-three isolates of C. difficile from dogs (n = 92), horses (n = 21) and humans (n = 20), plus one each from a cat and a calf, were evaluated. Overall, 23 ribotypes were identified. Of these, nine were identified from...
Gu W, Bertone AL.To create high-quality sequence data for the generation of an equine gene expression microarray and evaluate array performance by use of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure of synoviocytes. Methods: Public nucleotide sequence database from Equus caballus and synoviocytes from clinically normal adult horses. Methods: Computer procurement of equine gene sequences, probe design, and manufacture of an oligomicroarray were performed. Array performance was evaluated by use of patterns for equine synoviocytes in response to LPS. Results: Starting with 18,924 equine gene sequences, 3,098 equine 3' seque...
Monkos K.This paper presents the results of viscosity determinations on aqueous solutions of equine, porcine and rabbit serum albumin over a wide range of concentrations and at temperatures ranging from 5 degrees C to (42-45) degrees C. The results are compared with human and bovine serum albumin previously studied. Viscosity-temperature dependence is discussed on the basis of the modified Arrhenius formula. The effective specific volume, the activation energy and entropy of viscous flow for all investigated albumins are compared. Viscosity-concentration dependence, in turn, is discussed on the basis o...
Lees P, Landoni MF, Giraudel J, Toutain PL.This review summarises selected aspects of the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). It is not intended to be comprehensive, in that it covers neither minor species nor several important aspects of NSAID PD. The limited objective of the review is to summarise those aspects of NSAID PK and PD, which are important to an understanding of PK-PD integration and PK-PD modelling (the subject of the next review in this issue). The general features of NSAID PK are: usually good bioavailability from oral, intramuscular and subcutaneous administ...
Mealey KL, Matthews NS, Peck KE, Burchfield ML, Bennett BS, Taylor TS.To compare plasma disposition of the R(-) and S(+) enantiomers of carprofen after IV administration of a bolus dose to donkeys and horses. Methods: 5 clinically normal donkeys and 3 clinically normal horses. Methods: Blood samples were collected from all animals at time 0 (before) and at 10, 15, 20, 30, and 45 minutes and 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 24, 28, 32, and 48 hours after IV administration of a bolus of carprofen (0.7 mg/kg). Plasma was analyzed in triplicate via high-performance liquid chromatography to determine the concentrations of the carprofen enantiomers. A plasma concent...
Pomar FJ, Teerds KJ, Kidson A, Colenbrander B, Tharasanit T, Aguilar B, Roelen BA.The occurrence of pregnancies and births after embryo transfer (ET) of in vivo produced embryos is generally more successful compared to that of embryos produced in vitro. This difference in ET success has been observed when embryos of morphological equal (high) quality were used. The incidence of apoptosis has been suggested as an additional criterion to morphological embryo evaluation in order to assess embryo quality and effectively predict embryo viability. In this study, equine, porcine, ovine, caprine and bovine in vivo and in vitro produced morphologically selected high quality (grade-I...
Kacskovics I.Many of the receptors for the Fc domain of immunoglobulins in cattle, sheep, pigs and horses have been cloned and characterized recently. This review summarises recent developments and relates them to the current understanding of the primary structure, cellular specificity and binding properties of Fc receptors (FcRs). Although there is an obvious overall similarity to their human and mouse counterparts, some Fc receptors in domestic animals are unusual, perhaps most notably the bovine Fcgamma2R, which although related to other mammalian FcgammaRs, belongs to a novel gene family and the porcin...
Seltenhammer MH, Heere-Ress E, Brandt S, Druml T, Jansen B, Pehamberger H, Niebauer GW.Equine melanoma shows striking features particularly with regard to clinical development in grey horses: in contrast to malignant melanoma in humans and in solid coloured horses that are characterized by early onset of metastasis, pigment cell tumours display almost benign clinical features in ageing grey horses. Through evolution, grey horses appear to be in a favourable position in regard to the biological behaviour of melanomas. Yet unknown factors inhibiting or retarding early melanoma metastasis may be responsible for this phenomenon. In this study, immunostaining profiles and histopathol...
MacEachern KE, Smith GL, Nolan AM.Hypoxaemia accompanies dorsal recumbency in the horse and frequently complicates general anaesthesia. The physiology associated with this phenomenon is poorly understood. One possible cause of poor tolerance to dorsal recumbency is an absent or reduced response to hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). This study compared the HPV response in isolated pulmonary artery vessels from equivalent regions of equine and bovine lung. Methods: Equine and bovine, in vitro study. Methods: Equine and bovine pulmonary arteries were removed from the lungs of euthanased horses and cattle. Measurements of i...
Balasuriya UB, MacLachlan NJ.The members of the family Arteriviridae, genus Arterivirus, include equine arteritis virus (EAV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) of mice, and simian hemorrhagic fever virus (SHFV). PRRSV is the newest member of the family (first isolated in North America and Europe in the early 1990s), whereas the other three viruses were recognized earlier (EAV in 1953, LDV in 1960, and SHFV in 1964). Although arterivirus infections are strictly species-specific, the causative agents share many biological and molecular properties, inclu...
Kharchenko VA, Lichtenfels JR, Pilitt PA, Krecek RC.As part of a revision of the systematics of the Cyathostominea of equids, we determined that the single type-specimen of Cylicocyclus adersi Boulenger, 1920 is missing and a modern description of this rare species parasitic in donkeys Equus asinus L. and zebras E. burchelli (Gray) and E. zebra L. is not available. Systematists at a workshop on the systematics of the Cyathostominea of horses, convened on August 11, 1997 in Sun City, South Africa, listed C. adersi as a species inquirenda . Herein, we provide a redescription of C. adersi and propose a neotype for the species. The distinctive shap...
Di Bernardo G, Del Gaudio S, Galderisi U, Cipollaro M.Ancient DNA extracted from 2000 year-old equine bones was examined in order to amplify mitochondrial and nuclear DNA fragments. A specific equine satellite-type sequence representing 3.7%-11% of the entire equine genome, proved to be a suitable target to address the question of the presence of aDNA in ancient bones. The PCR strategy designed to investigate this specific target also allowed us to calculate the molecular weight of amplifiable DNA fragments. Sequencing of a 370 bp DNA fragment of mitochondrial control region allowed the comparison of ancient DNA sequences with those of modern hor...
Mache C.The author presents in her paper the historical background of the heraldic. In the coming four papers she will discuss the use and position of different domestic animals in heraldic.
Miller I, Friedlein A, Tsangaris G, Maris A, Fountoulakis M, Gemeiner M.We constructed a reference two-dimensional protein map for horse (Equus caballus) serum. The serum proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE); 29 different gene products were identified. Proteins represented by 25 spots/spot groups were identified by tandem nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry (MS), four by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (TOF) MS and one was sequenced by TOF-TOF technology. The identities of four proteins were deduced by similarity to the human plasma protein database. In selected cases, i.e. the immunoglobulins, immunoblotting ...
Plasenzotti R, Stoiber B, Posch M, Windberger U.Comparative animal studies showed the wide variation of whole blood and plasma viscosity, and erythrocyte aggregation among mammalian species. Whole blood viscosity and red blood cell aggregation is influenced by red cell fluidity. To evaluate differences in erythrocyte deformability in mammals, three species were investigated, whose erythrocytes have a different aggregation property: horse, as a species with high, dog with medium, and sheep with almost unmeasurable aggregation tendency. Erythrocyte deformability was tested ektacytometrically (Elongation Index [EI], LORCA, Mechatronics, Hoorn,...
Garma-Aviña A.A cytologic study of the choroid plexi of animals and humans was carried out using impression smears (imprints, imp) to understand better the cellular changes that occur in the cerebrospinal fluid in the case of disease. The samples, totaling 756 imp were from 11 dogs (239 imp), 10 horses (219 imp), 1 mule (23 imp), 3 cattle (69 imp), 1 sheep (19 imp), 2 pigs (39 imp), 1 deer (20 imp), 4 monkeys (22 imp), and 7 humans (106 imp). The samples came from individuals clinically free of neurologic disease, as well as from a few abnormal cases. Six of the 7 humans had no history of neurologic disease...
Aberle KS, Hamann H, Drögemüller C, Distl O.We compared the genetic diversity and distance among six German draught horse breeds to wild (Przewalski's Horse), primitive (Icelandic Horse, Sorraia Horse, Exmoor Pony) or riding horse breeds (Hanoverian Warmblood, Arabian) by means of genotypic information from 30 microsatellite loci. The draught horse breeds included the South German Coldblood, Rhenish German Draught Horse, Mecklenburg Coldblood, Saxon Thuringa Coldblood, Black Forest Horse and Schleswig Draught Horse. Despite large differences in population sizes, the average observed heterozygosity (H(o)) differed little among the heavy ...
Puppione DL, Fischer WH, Park M, Whitelegge JP, Schumaker VN, Golfeiz S, MacDonald MH.Apolipoprotein A-II, the second major apolipoprotein of human HDL, also has been observed in a variety of mammals; however, it is either present in trace amounts or absent in other mammals. In humans and chimpanzee, and probably in other great apes, apoA-II with a cysteine at residue 6 is able to form a homodimer. In other primates as well as other mammals, apoA-II, lacking a cysteine residue, is monomeric. However, horse HDL has been reported to contain dimeric apoA-II that following reduction forms monomers. In this report, we extend these observations by reporting on the first complete sequ...
Brown JJ, Thomson W, Clegg P, Eyre S, Kennedy LJ, Matthews J, Carter S, Ollier WE.The full extent of the polymorphism of ELA-DRA in Equidae is not yet known. Given the apparent differences in DRA polymorphisms between Equidae and other species, the aims of this study were to more fully characterize ELA-DRA, determine the extent of gene polymorphism and establish the allele-frequency distribution. An allele reference panel for the second exon of ELA-DRA was established by sequence-based typing of 69 equine DNA samples consisting of various breeds of domestic horse (Equus caballus), together with donkeys (Equus asinus), Grant's zebras (Equus boehmi) and one onager (Equus hemi...
Arrighi S, Cremonesi F, Bosi G, Domeneghini C.Specimens of testis, excurrent duct including the male accessory glands and urethra, were studied in boars, bulls, horses and donkeys, in order to localize endocrine/paracrine cells. Silver impregnation methods were used to test the argentaffinity and/or argyrophilia of cells. Immunoreactivities to chromogranin A, 5-hydroxytryptamine, somatostatin, [met]- and [leu]- enkephalins, gastrin-releasing peptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide, neuropeptide Y, substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide, beta-endorphin antisera were tested by a streptavidin-biotin method. In the testis, epididymis, du...
Ribeiro AA, Davis C, Gabella G.The superior (cranial) cervical ganglion was investigated by light microscopy in adult rats, capybaras (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and horses. The ganglia were vascularly perfused, embedded in resin and cut into semi-thin sections. An unbiased stereological procedure (disector method) was used to estimate ganglion neuron size, total number of ganglion neurons, neuronal density. The volume of the ganglion was 0.5 mm3 in rats, 226 mm3 in capybaras and 412 mm3 in horses. The total number of neurons per ganglion was 18,800, 1,520,000 and 3,390,000 and the number of neurons per cubic millimetre was...
Ginther OJ, Gastal EL, Gastal MO, Bergfelt DR, Baerwald AR, Pierson RA.Deviation in growth rates of the follicles of the ovulatory wave begins at the end of a common growth phase and is characterized by continued growth of the developing dominant follicle (F1) and regression of the largest subordinate follicle (F2). Follicle diameters during an interovulatory interval were compared between 30 mares and 30 women, using similar methods for collecting and analyzing data. Follicles were tracked and measured daily by ultrasonography. Diameter at follicle emergence (mares, 13 mm; women, 6 mm) and the required minimal attained diameter for assessment of follicles (mares...
Lamglait B, Vandenbunder-Beltrame M, Trunet E, Lemberger K.Gastric ulcers are common in domestic horses and foals, affecting at least 90% of unmedicated racehorses in active training. Despite these high prevalences in domestic horses, literature about this condition in wild equids is almost nonexistent. The presence of gastric ulcers was evaluated at necropsy in six species of wild equids that died at the Réserve Africane de Sigean, a safari park in the south of France from 2010 to 2016. Among the 55 individuals that died during that period, a description of the gastric mucosa was available in 82% (45/55) of cases. Considering the cases for which a d...
Gunn HM.The mean fibre areas of samples from m. semitendinosus, m. diaphragma and m. pectoralis transversus of thoroughbred horses and greyhounds have been compared with those in similar samples from other members of their species. Athletes (greyhounds and thoroughbreds) have larger fibres in the semitendinosus and diaphragm than their fellows. However, the mean area of pectoralis transversus is similar in the two types of animal within each species. During growth the mean fibre areas increase to a greater extent in athletes than in non-athletes. Detraining adult greyhounds for a period of one year di...
Dos-Santos MC, Arroyo C, Solano S, Herrera M, Villalta M, Segura A, Estrada R, Gutiérrez JM, León G.Antivenoms are preparations of immunoglobulins purified from the plasma of animals immunized with snake venoms. Depending on the number of venoms used during the immunization, antivenoms can be monospecific (if venom from a single species is used) or polyspecific (if venoms from several species are used). In turn, polyspecific antivenoms can be prepared by purifying antibodies from the plasma of animals immunized with a mixture of venoms, or by mixing antibodies purified from the plasma of animals immunized separately with single venom. The suitability of these strategies to produce polyspecif...
Schrenzel MD, King DP, McKnight ML, Ferrick DA.Horse (Equus caballus) immunoglobulin mu chain-encoding (IgM) variable, joining, and constant gene segments were cloned and characterized. Nucleotide sequence analyses of 15 cDNA clones from a mesenteric lymph node library identified 7 unique variable gene segments, 5 separate joining segments, and a single constant region. Based on comparison with human sequences, horse variable segments could be grouped into either family 1 of immunoglobulin (Ig) clan I or family 4 of Ig clan II subclan IV. All horse sequences had a relatively conserved 16 base pair (bp) segment in framework 3 which was reco...
Bada R, Mittal KR, Higgins R.A total of 50 Actinobacillus suis isolates were studied for their biochemical and antigenic characteristics. Of them, 40 isolates originated from different tissues of diseased pigs, and the other ten isolates were from horses with respiratory problems. There was no major biochemical difference among equine and porcine A. suis isolates. Results of tube agglutination tests showed that porcines isolates were antigenically homogeneous while equine isolates were heterogeneous.
Draper ACE, Wilson Z, Maile C, Faccenda D, Campanella M, Piercy RJ.A glutamic acid to lysine (E40K) residue substitution in superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) is associated with canine degenerative myelopathy: the only naturally occurring large animal model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The E40 residue is highly conserved across mammals, except the horse, which naturally carries the (dog mutant) K40 residue. Here we hypothesized that in vitro expression of mutant dog SOD1 would recapitulate features of human ALS (ie, SOD1 protein aggregation, reduced cell viability, perturbations in mitochondrial morphology and membrane potential, reduced ATP production,...
Collins MD, Lundström T, Welinder-Olsson C, Hansson I, Wattle O, Hudson RA, Falsen E.Phenotypic and phylogenetic studies were performed on four unidentified Gram-positive staining, catalase-negative, alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus-like organisms recovered from the teeth of horses. SDS PAGE analysis of whole-cell proteins and comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated the four strains were highly related to each other but that they did not correspond to any recognised species of the genus Streptococcus. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed the unidentified organisms form a hitherto unknown sub-line within the Streptococcus genus, displaying a clos...
Wyse C, Cathcart A, Sutherland R, Ward S, McMillan L, Gibson G, Padgett M, Skeldon K.Exercise-induced oxidative stress (EIOS) refers to a condition where the balance of free radical production and antioxidant systems is disturbed during exercise in favour of pro-oxidant free radicals. Breath ethane is a product of free radical-mediated oxidation of cell membrane lipids and is considered to be a reliable marker of oxidative stress. The heatshock protein, haem oxygenase, is induced by oxidative stress and degrades haemoglobin to bilirubin, with concurrent production of carbon monoxide (CO). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maximal exercise on exhaled ethane...
Meuffels-Barkas J, Wilsher S, Allen WRT, Ververs C, Lueders I.Recent loss of rhinoceros subspecies has renewed interest in using more advanced assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in rhinoceroses and elephants. Currently, only semen collection, semen preservation and artificial insemination (AI) have been used repeatedly with success in these species. Although ovum pick-up (OPU) and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have been reported in rhinoceroses, the techniques are not yet optimised. In contrast, multiple ART applications are routinely used in the horse. Since elephant and rhinoceroses share some reproductive features with equids, we post...
Welsch U, Schumacher U, Buchheim W, Schinko I, Jenness P, Patton S.A specific secretory product of the lactating mammary gland are triglyceride fat globules which are enveloped by a very complex membrane, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). In different mammalian species (man, rhesus monkey, horse, goat, sheep, cow, grey seal, camel, alpaka) the glycoproteins of this membrane have been analyzed by gel electrophoresis, Western blotting and lectin histochemistry. A remarkable intra- and interspecific variability of these glycoproteins has been detected pointing to so far unknown physiological adaptions, which may play a role in the intestine of the new born. ...
Lundström T, Lingström P, Wattle O, Carlén A, Birkhed D.The role of saliva composition and dietary sugar in development of infundibular caries in equine cheek teeth is not fully understood. This study analysed electrolyte and urea concentrations in saliva in relation to different forage and measured pH changes after sucrose application in vivo in sound and carious cheek teeth. Results: Forage type had no effect on the equine saliva electrolyte concentrations, which varied considerably both intra- and inter-individually. Chewing resulted in increased values for all electrolytes except bicarbonate. Compared with stimulated human saliva, horse saliva ...
Stormont CJ.The membrane of RBC is literally peppered with a great variety of antigenic determinants (blood factors). Some are fixed genetically, ie, they occur on the RBC of all members of the species under study. Others segregate genetically, ie, they occur on the RBC of some but not all members of the species under study. It is these segregrating determinants that form the blood groups proper, the classic example being blood factors A and B of the ABO system of human blood groups. The number of blood group determinants varies considerably between species (eg, greater than 80 in domestic cattle to only ...
Pearson RA, Dijkman JT, Krecek RC, Wright P.Two experiments were designed to compare the energy used in carrying loads by donkeys and ponies. In the first experiment 3 donkeys and 3 ponies were compared on treadmills in the UK. Density of load (lead shot or straw) had no significant effect on the energy cost of carrying loads; however, the energy cost of carrying a load decreased significantly (p < 0.001) as the weight of the load increased (in donkeys 6.44, 4.35 and 3.03 J/kg load/m, in ponies 5.82, 3.75 and 3.68 J/kg load/m, for loads of 13, 20 and 27 kg/100 kg liveweight (M) respectively). Differences between species were not sign...
Klumplerova M, Splichalova P, Oppelt J, Futas J, Kohutova A, Musilova P, Kubickova S, Vodicka R, Orlando L, Horin P.The mammalian Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is a genetic region containing highly polymorphic genes with immunological functions. MHC class I and class II genes encode antigen-presenting molecules expressed on the cell surface. The MHC class II sub-region contains genes expressed in antigen presenting cells. The antigen binding site is encoded by the second exon of genes encoding antigen presenting molecules. The exon 2 sequences of these MHC genes have evolved under the selective pressure of pathogens. Interspecific differences can be observed in the class II sub-region. The family E...
Panzer RB.The traditional Chinese (TC) and transpositional (TP) methods of animal acupoint location result in different acupoint charts. Representative TC and TP equine zangfu organ shu-association acupoint charts are compared to each other and to a human chart. Despite their differences, practitioners of both methods appear to achieve equally effective therapeutic results--a phenomenon termed "traditional Chinese/transpositional equal efficacy" (TTEE). Common veterinary acupuncture practices, traditional Chinese medical theory, spinal cord anatomy, and a preliminary equine "association segment" chart a...
Castellaro G, Orellana CL, Escanilla JP.For an adequate management of natural grasslands, the knowledge and understanding of the dietary habits of herbivores and their trophic interactions are fundamental. During two summer seasons, in a mountain range of a sector of the Coquimbo Region, Chile, the botanical composition, diversity, and similarity of the diets of horses, European brown hares, and guanacos were studied, as was the selectivity of the main grassland plant species, using feces microhistology. The contribution of hydromorphic grasses was similar in the diets of guanacos (35.90 ± 7.27%) and horses (32.25 ± 4.50%), differ...
Yilma T, McGuire TC, Perryman LE.Equine dermal cells induced with poly I:C + DEAE-dextran produced low levels of interferon tentatively classified as equine interferon beta (EqIFN-beta). In contrast, dermal cells initially primed with EqIFN-beta and then superinduced with poly I:C + DEAE-dextran in the presence of cycloheximide and actinomycin D produced greater than 100-fold EqIFN-beta. Equine blood mononuclear cells induced with Newcastle disease virus and phytohemagglutinin produced high levels of interferons tentatively classified as equine interferon alpha (EqIFN-alpha) and equine interferon gamma (EqIFN-gamma), respecti...
Cortés-Gutiérrez EI, Crespo F, Serres-Dalmau C, Gutiérrez de las Rozas AL, Dávila-Rodríguez MI, López-Fernández C, Gósalvez J.Sperm DNA fragmentation (sDF) is an important parameter to assessing sperm quality. Information about sperm quality is not available for donkeys, especially in some breeds at risk of extinction. The objectives of this research were to test the four commercial variants of sperm chromatin dispersion test (SCD; sperm Halomax test), originally developed to assess sDF in boars, bulls, rams and stallions, in order to scrutinize their applicability in the study of sDF in a donkey breed at risk of extinction (Zamorano-Leonesa), for which there is no specific test available to analyze sperm at present....
Hanot P, Bayarsaikhan J, Guintard C, Haruda A, Mijiddorj E, Schafberg R, Taylor W.The potential of artificial selection to dramatically impact phenotypic diversity is well known. Large-scale morphological changes in domestic species, emerging over short timescales, offer an accelerated perspective on evolutionary processes. The domestic horse (Equus caballus) provides a striking example of rapid evolution, with major changes in morphology and size likely stemming from artificial selection. However, the microevolutionary mechanisms allowing to generate this variation in a short time interval remain little known. Here, we use 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify skull morph...
Beretta C, Fadini L, Stracciari JM, Montesissa C.Febantel and one of its main metabolites, febantel sulphoxide, are chemically modified to only a slight extent when incubated in vitro with sheep and cattle ruminal fluids; other major metabolites, fenbendazole and oxfendazole, are respectively, oxidized to oxfendazole and reduced to fenbendazole. Febantel is negligibly metabolized by hepatic cytosol fractions but microsome preparations effect more extensive metabolic transformations. Important differences in this respect were found between microsome preparations from rat, horse, pig, cattle, sheep, chicken and trout livers.
Blangy-Letheule A, Vergnaud A, Dupas T, Rozec B, Lauzier B, Leroux AA.Sepsis is a life-threatening disease defined as an organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to an infection. Early diagnosis and prognosis of sepsis are necessary for specific and timely treatment. However, no predictive biomarkers or therapeutic targets are available yet, mainly due to the lack of a pertinent model. A better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms associated with sepsis will allow for earlier and more appropriate management. For this purpose, experimental models of sepsis have been set up to decipher the progression and pathophysiology of human seps...
Mendonça RS, Ringhofer M, Pinto P, Inoue S, Hirata S.In the rapidly expanding field of comparative thanatology, reports from a wide range of taxa suggest that some aspects of a concept of death may be shared by many non-human species. In horses, there are only a few anecdotal reports on behaviors toward dead conspecifics, mostly concerning domestic individuals. Here, we describe the case of a 2-month-old, free-ranging male foal that died around 12 h after being found severely injured due to a presumed wolf attack, focusing on other individuals' reactions to the dying foal. We also placed camera traps near horse carcasses to investigate reaction...
Koepf EK, Hewitt J, Vo H, Macgillivray RT, Burtnick LD.We have generated and characterized the cDNA from equine smooth muscle that encodes gelsolin, an actin-modulating protein. Overlapping cDNA clones synthesized by the reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction and clones isolated from a horse genomic library provided the complete primary structure for the intracellular isoform of gelsolin, while cDNA complemented with protein sequence data produced the full-length primary transcript of the gelsolin isoform found circulating in equine plasma. The deduced amino acid sequences of the intracellular and secreted versions of equine gelsolin infe...
Battaglia F, Meucci V, Tognetti R, Bonelli F, Sgorbini M, Lubas G, Pretti C, Intorre L.In human medicine, procalcitonin (PCT), the precursor of calcitonin, is used for the rapid identification of the origin and severity of sepsis. In veterinary medicine, PCT has been studied in horses, cattle, and dogs, but the use of PCT in diagnostic and/or prognostic settings is not possible because of the lack of validated assays to obtain reference ranges. The aim of the present study was the investigation of commercially available ELISA kits for the detection of canine and equine PCT in plasma samples. Validation of the ELISA kits was performed by using species-specific recombinant protein...
Sayasith K, Bouchard N, Doré M, Sirois J.The progressive rise in gonadotropins prior to ovulation triggers a marked increase in intrafollicular levels of prostaglandin F(2alpha)(PGF(2alpha)), which is known to interact with PGF(2alpha) receptor (FP). Little is known about the regulation of FP during ovulation. This study was undertaken to characterize the equine FP and its gonadotropin-dependent regulation in preovulatory follicles prior to ovulation. The full-length equine FP encodes a 366-amino acid protein that is 82-93% homologous to other species. Using semi-quantitative RT-PCR/Southern blot, we showed that FP mRNA expression wa...
von Engelhardt W, Burmester M, Hansen K, Becker G.Unidirectional fluxes of short-chain fatty acids across pig, sheep and pony caecum, proximal and distal colon were studied under short-circuit current conditions in Ussing chambers. Findings are compared with results from guinea pig. Marked species differences are apparent; highest mucosal-to-serosal fluxes of acetate, propionate and butyrate were seen in guinea pig, lower values in pig and smallest fluxes in sheep and pony. Segmental differences between caecum, proximal and distal colon exist mainly in guinea pig and are less developed in pig, sheep and pony. Inhibition of Na+/H+ exchange by ...
Amit T, Dibner C, Barkey RJ.The present study was undertaken to identify and characterize the diversity and species distribution of soluble prolactin binding-protein (PRL-BP) and growth hormone-binding protein (PRL-BP) in mammalian milk. We previously divided mammalian serum GH-BP into four main groups and identified a GH-BP with shared lactogenic/somatogenic properties in rabbit, horse, dog, pig and cat (Type III species). Here we describe PRL-BP in milk of Type III species and show it is relatively conserved within the group, having similar characteristics in terms of binding affinity for hGH (0.74-5.5 x 10(10) M(-1)),...
Elroy NN, Rogers J, Mafi GG, VanOverbeke DL, Hartson SD, Ramanathan R.Our objectives were to determine the non-enzymatic metmyoglobin reduction properties of bovine, porcine, and equine myoglobins and to characterize the effects of pre-incubation of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) with myoglobins on non-enzymatic metmyoglobin reduction in vitro. Purified bovine, porcine, and equine metmyoglobins (0.05 mM) were reduced at pH 5.6 and 7.4 in the presence or absence of HNE. Rates of metmyoglobin reduction were monitored by spectrophotometry, and myoglobin adducts were characterized by high-resolution mass-spectrometry. Results showed that the species origins of individual...
Pirhonen A, Linnala-Kankkunen A, Mënpää PH.P1 protamines isolated from ejaculated human, stallion, bull, boar and ram spermatozoa and P2 protamines from human and stallion spermatozoa were subjected, after alkaline phosphatase treatment, to in vitro phosphorylation reactions using cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC). All P1 protamines were phosphorylated by PKA, whereas P2 protamines were phosphorylated only by PKC. In addition, human, stallion and boar, but not bull and ram, P1 protamines were phosphorylated by PKC. After phosphoamino acid analysis, the protamines showing positive signals for phosphoserine (...
Alvinerie M, Houin G, Toutain PL.The binding of prednisolone to total plasma proteins of dogs, horses, cows, and sheep was characterized using equilibrium dialysis. Prednisolone was bound to a first protein with high affinity but low capacity (transcortin) and to a second protein according to a nonsaturable mechanism (albumin). Interspecies differences were observed, with cows and dogs exhibiting the lowest, and sheep and horses the highest specific binding capacities. The results are in good agreement with known pharmacokinetic properties of prednisolone in domestic species.
