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.
Xu X, Arnason U.The sequence of the mitochondrial (mt) DNA of the horse (Equus caballus) was determined. The length of the sequence presented is 16,660 bp. This figure, however, is not absolute due to pronounced heteroplasmy caused by variable numbers of the motif GTGCACCT in the control region of different molecules. Boundaries of the 13 peptide-coding genes were determined by the presence of start and stop codons, and by analogy with other eutherian mtDNAs. Three genes (COIII, NADH3 and NADH4) were not terminated by a stop codon. Comparison among the peptide-coding genes of the horse and eight other mammals...
Wang W, Liu AH, Lin SY, Lan H, Su B, Xie DW, Shi LM.mtDNA genotypes of six domestic horses (three adult short horses whose heights are under 1 m and three common domestic horses) from a small region of 15 km2 in Malipo county of Yunnan province of China were investigated by the technique of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with 16 restriction endonucleases which recognize 6-bp sequences. An average of 56 fragments for an individual was obtained. Unlike other domestic animals, this population of horses exhibits high mtDNA genetic diversity. Each of the six horses has a specific mtDNA genotype showing a pattern of multiple maternal...
Popel AS, Johnson PC, Kameneva MV, Wild MA.The purpose of this study was to show that two rheological parameters, red blood cell (RBC) sedimentation rate and apparent blood viscosity at low shear rate, characterizing the degree of RBC aggregation, correlate significantly with the maximal mass-specific rate of oxygen consumption or aerobic capacity (VO2max). Comparisons were made within two groups of similarly sized athletic and sedentary species: group 1, pronghorn antelope, dog, goat, and sheep; and group 2, horse and cow. The pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) is one of the most athletic mammals, and we have obtained data on ...
Schmid A, Schmid H.In this paper, the metabolism of xenobiotics in the horse, including differences to other species, is discussed. The most important metabolic reactions of phase I (oxidation, reduction and hydrolysis of substrates), as well as of phase II (conjugation of substrates with glucuronic acid, sulphuric acid, acetic acid, alkyl groups, amino acids, amino acid derivatives, glutathione etc.), are discussed and enzymes involved in the metabolic reactions are considered.
Amselgruber WM, Sinowatz F, Erhard M.The present study deals with the immunohistochemical localization of S-100 protein in the testes of seven mammalian species including rat, cat, dog, pig, sheep, cattle and horse. Significant differences are demonstrated in the cellular distribution and intensity of immunoreaction for the protein. In bull, ram, boar and cat testes S-100 protein was localized in the cytoplasm and nuclei of Sertoli cells. A particularly intense staining was seen in the modified Sertoli cells of the terminal tubular segment. With the exception of the cat and horse S-100 protein immunoreactivity was additionally fo...
MacDonald MH, Stover SM, Willits NH, Benton HP.The metabolic responses of equine articular cartilage to incubation with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were studied, using explant cultures of articular cartilage obtained from the metatarsophalangeal joints of 15 horses, age of which ranged from 3 months to 20 years. For comparison, explants were also established from the metatarsophalangeal joints of 3 calves. Explants were cultured for 3 days in medium containing various concentrations of LPS from 0 (control) to 100 micrograms/ml. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) released during the 3-day incubation was determined by a spectrophotometric assay,...
Ishida N, Hasegawa T, Takeda K, Sakagami M, Onishi A, Inumaru S, Komatsu M, Mukoyama H.The D-loop regions in equine mitochondrial DNA were cloned from three thoroughbred horses by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The total number of bases in the D-loop region were 1114 bp, 1115 bp and 1146 bp. The equine D-loop region is A/T rich like many other mammalian D-loops. The large central conserved sequence block and small conserved sequence blocks 1, 2 and 3, that are common to other mammals, were observed. Between conserved sequence blocks 1 and 2 there were tandem repeats of an 8 bp equine-specific sequence TGTGCACC, and the number of tandem repeats differed among individual horses....
Smale K, Butler PJ.A new oxygen equilibrium curve is defined for the Thoroughbred horse under standard conditions of 37 degrees C, pH = 7.4 and PCO2 = 5.33 kPa. The "standard" P50 for the Thoroughbred is, at 2.83 +/- 0.04 (SE of mean) kPa, significantly lower than that found for the Hanoverian horse (3.17 +/- 0.03 kPa) by Clerbaux et al. (Can. J. Vet. Res. 50: 188-192, 1986), and lower than other values for horses in the literature. Using data from Butler et al. (J. Exp. Biol. 179: 159-180, 1993), curves were also constructed, in vitro, under simulated conditions of intense exercise to examine the individual eff...
Palma F, Ligi F, Soverchia C.This work is a comparative study of Na(+)-K+ and Ca(2+)-Mg2+ ATPase associated with the erythrocyte plasma membranes in different mammals. The method used to test the activity of these enzymes is based on quantitative measurements of ADP released during the reaction with HPLC: the chromatographic type is an Ion-Pair Reversed Phase. We have found that the levels of Ca2+ stimulated ATPase are higher than those of Na(+)-K+ ATPase in red blood cells of all the different mammalian species, with the only exception being lamb erythrocytes where the values of both the ATPase activities are almost equa...
Badinga L, Michel FJ, Fields MJ, Sharp DC, Simmen RC.Uterine expression of the mRNA encoding antileukoproteinase (ALP) is highest in pig uterus during mid- to late pregnancy, suggesting a stage of pregnancy-dependent role for this elastase/cathepsin G protease inhibitor in feto-maternal interactions. To examine a potential relationship between uterine synthesis of ALP and the type of placentation in mammalian species, the expression of ALP mRNA and/or protein in pregnant mares, cows, rats, and mice was evaluated. Genomic DNA and mRNA hybridization analyses were performed using a porcine ALP cDNA as probe. The concentration of ALP protein in repr...
Ford JE, Home WA, Gibson DM.Horse Ig kappa genes have been characterized to determine whether there may be a structural basis for the low level of kappa expression in this species. The overall organization of the J kappa-C kappa locus is remarkably similar to that of the mouse and human loci. A single C kappa exon is separated by 2.9 kb from five J kappa segments, four of which seem functional and three of which are associated with canonical recombination signal sequences. A highly conserved intron enhancer was identified upstream of the C kappa exon and a single restriction fragment in horse genomic DNA hybridized stron...
Acharya KR, Stuart DI, Phillips DC, McKenzie HA, Teahan CG.Similarities in amino acid sequences, three-dimensional structures, and the exon-intron patterns of their genes have indicated that c-type lysozymes and alpha-lactalbumins are homologous proteins, i.e., descended by divergent evolution from a common ancestor. Like the alpha-lactalbumins, echidna milk, horse milk, and pigeon eggwhite lysozymes all bind Ca(II). Models of their three-dimensional structures, based on their amino acid sequences and the known crystal structures of domestic hen eggwhite and human lysozymes and baboon and human alpha-lactalbumins, have been built. The several structur...
Birks EK, Mathieu-Costello O, Fu Z, Tyler WS, West JB.In previous studies of rabbit and dog lung, we demonstrated stress failure of pulmonary capillaries at high transmural pressures (Ptm). The Ptm necessary to elicit stress failure was 40 cmH2O higher in dog than rabbit, and the total blood-gas barrier (BGB) thickness was greater in dog than rabbit. This suggests that stress failure may be related to BGB thickness, and is consistent with the Laplace relationship which states that wall stress is proportional to capillary radius but inversely proportional to wall thickness. In the present studies, we compared BGB thickness and an index of capillar...
Grünig G, Barbis DP, Zhang CH, Davis WC, Lunn DP, Antczak DF.Equine peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were enriched by positive selection using panning with a mixture of monoclonal antibodies against putative equine CD4 (Equine Leucocyte Antigen Workshop antibodies WS 1 and WS 72), or CD8 molecules (Workshop antibodies WS 12, WS 49, and WS 74). RNA was extracted from CD4 enriched cells (99% purity), from CD8 enriched cells (69% purity), from peripheral blood lymphocytes, and from neonatal equine thymus. RNA extracted from equine granulocytes and from equine kidney served as negative control. The RNA was electrophoresed in agarose and transferred to nyl...
Brown SA, Dusza K, Boehmer J.A relation exists between colloid osmotic pressure (pi) and serum total protein concentration; equations describing this relation have been used to determine a calculated value for pi. However, the relation between total protein concentration and pi is altered by the method used to measure protein and by changes in the ratio of concentrations of albumin (A) to globulin (G). We developed nomograms for estimating pi from A and G concentrations, using samples obtained from clinically normal animals and compared the accuracy of these nomograms with that of previously described equations relating p...
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 (...
Zicker SC, Lonnerdal B.Separation of whey protein from casein in equine milk was achieved by adjustment of pH to 4.3 without addition of calcium, and by ultracentrifugation at 189,000 g for 1 hr. True protein, whey protein, and casein decreased significantly during the first 28 days of lactation with the magnitude of decrease being greatest for whey protein. The proportion of nitrogen in whey protein:casein decreased from 85:15 to 54:46 during the 28 day time period. The concentration of non-protein nitrogen remained relatively constant at 500 mg nitrogen/l but increased in proportion from 2 to 13% of the total nitr...
Bell K.Transferrin, albumin, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and vitamin D-binding protein polymorphisms were detected in 242 feral and domesticated Australian donkeys by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, starch gel electrophoresis, autoradiography, immunoblotting with specific antisera and activity staining. All four TF and two ALB variants were donkey specific while only one of the PGD variants was donkey specific. The two GC variants were electrophoretically identical to the Equus caballus F and S proteins. Available evidence suggested that the TF, ALB, PGD and GC systems are controlled by co-d...
Siles-Lucas M, Felleisen R, Cuesta-Bandera C, Gottstein B, Eckert J.Swiss and Spanish isolates of Echinococcus granulosus were compared using different molecular biological techniques: Genomic DNAs isolated from parasites originating from various intermediate hosts were subjected to Southern hybridization with different probes, the same source of DNA was used for DNA amplification using the Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. With both methods the various isolates (metacestodes) of E. granulosus exhibited characteristic banding patterns which allowed us to assign them to the following groups of homologous profiles: (a) isolates of horse and donk...
Bailey E, Lear TL.We compared pools of DNA from 10 Thoroughbred horses and 10 Arabian horses for the presence of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers which might be useful in distinguishing between the breeds. Using 212 decamer oligonucleotides and our polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions, 173 of the primers produced scoreable bands. The number of bands ranged from 0 to 9 with an average of 3.6. In family studies using 11 arbitrarily selected primers, five of the 11 primers produced polymorphic bands which exhibited Mendelian inheritance as dominant markers. When comparing the pooled DNA from...
Karges HE, Funk KA, Ronneberger H.Using diagnostics for the determination of clotting factors and fibrinolytic parameters in human plasma, samples from rat, guinea pig, rabbit, cat, dog, sheep, cattle, horse, pig, and monkey were analysed. The human system was employed even for standard curves and controls. Results obtained in this way are relative values in relation to pooled fresh human plasma of healthy donors which is defined to contain 100% of the norm or 1 unit of each factor per 1 ml. Under these conditions, marked differences between the human clotting system and those of different animal species appear. Thus, rabbits ...
Zicker SC, Vivrette S, Rogers QR.Concentrations of 16 of 24 amino acids in plasma of foetuses were significantly higher, while four of 24 were lower, than their concentration in maternal plasma. The higher foetal concentrations of amino acids in plasma are similar to other species, with some exceptions, and suggest that equine placenta actively transports and concentrates amino acids into the umbilical circulation. Concentrations of nine of 24 amino acids were significantly lower in plasma from the umbilical artery compared to plasma from the umbilical vein, while no significant differences were present between maternal arter...
Dubin A, Potempa J, Travis J.In order better to understand the pathophysiology of the equine form of emphysema, two elastinolytic enzymes from horse neutrophils, referred to as proteinases 2A and 2B, have been extensively characterized and compared with the human neutrophil proteinases, proteinase-3 and elastase. Specificity studies using both the oxidized insulin B-chain and synthetic peptides revealed that cleavage of peptide bonds with P1 alanine or valine residues was preferred. Further characterization of the two horse elastases by N-terminal sequence and reactive-site analyses indicated that proteinases 2A and 2B ha...
Pountney DL, Fundel SM, Faller P, Birchler NE, Hunziker P, Vasák M.Human neuronal growth inhibitory factor (GIF) impairs the survival of cultured neurons and is deficient in the brains of Alzheimer's disease victims. We have isolated and sequenced analogous proteins from bovine and equine brain. By comparing their primary structures with those of human, mouse and rat GIFs, a consensus GIF sequence was obtained. Although this exhibits ca. 65% similarity with primary structures of mammalian metallothioneins (MTs), some significant differences are expected in the content of helix and turn secondary structures. In contrast to MTs, which usually bind 7 Zn(II) ions...
Taniguchi K, Urasawa T, Urasawa S.We determined the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the VP4 genes of five equine, two feline, and two canine rotavirus strains. A high degree of homology (> 97.0%) was found among the VP4 amino acid sequences of the equine strains H2, FI-14, and FI23. Equine strain L338 has a distinct VP4 amino acid sequence from those of the other equine strains (78.1% or less homology), and the L338 VP4 exhibited more than 17.0% divergence at the amino acid level from those of rotavirus strains published so far. The VP4 amino acid sequence of equine strain H1, which showed low homology with t...
Pirhonen A, Linnala-Kankkunen A, Mäenpää PH.Protamines isolated from ejaculated human, stallion, bull, boar, and ram spermatozoa were subjected to phosphoserine conversion reaction and protein sequencing. Phosphoserines were detected as S-ethylcysteines. Endogenously phosphorylated protamines have previously been found only in ejaculated human sperm. In this study, we demonstrate that ejaculated sperm from other species also contain protamines phosphorylated at serine residues. In P1-protamines, the endogenously phosphorylated serines were located at the N-terminal region in all species studied, whereas in major forms of human and stall...
Baptiste KE, Cake MH.The guttural pouch is a large, air-filled diverticulum of the auditory tube, present in the horse and other species. Lipid analysis of saline lavage from the equine guttural pouch has demonstrated the presence of phospholipids and neutral lipids in amounts that are variable but consistently greater than in any other species described. A stain specific for choline-containing phospholipids has demonstrated the presence of phospholipid-containing vesicles only within the cells of subepithelial, seromucoidlike glands, suggesting that these cells incorporate phospholipids in their secretions. The f...
Baker SJ, Gerring EL.The gastric emptying of different forms of ingesta occurs by a variety of mechanisms and dysfunction may selectively affect different components of the gastric contents. A technique for assessing gastric emptying of solid, indigestible, radiopaque markers was developed. Emptying of these markers in four ponies was variable in both pattern and rate (half emptying time ranged from less than one hour to more than 24 hours). However, whereas in man physically similar markers appear to empty relatively rapidly when fasting but are delayed by a meal, no such delay was evident in these ponies. The ho...
Vandergrifft EV, Swiderski CE, Horohov DW.We have cloned equine interleukin 4 (IL-4) cDNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and primers based on the human IL-4 sequence. The cDNA was amplified from mitogen-stimulated equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The cloned PCR product shares extensive homology ith IL-4 sequences from other species.
Gabay R, Rozen S, Samokovlisky A, Amor Y, Rosenfeld R, Kohen F, Amsterdam A, Berger P, Ben-Menahem D.CGβ subunits comprise a unique carboxyl-terminal peptide (CTP) that has multiple O-linked glycans and extends serum half-life of the protein. It has evolved by incorporating a previously untranslated region of the LHβ gene into the reading frame. Although CTP-like sequences are encrypted in the LHβ genes of several mammals, the CGβ subunit developed only in primates and equids. To study this restriction in evolution, we examined whether the cryptic CTP decoded from the bovine LHβ gene (boCTP) possesses key characteristics of the human (h) CGβ-CTP. The boCTP does not impede several crucia...
Davis SL, Graf M, Morrison CA, Hall TR, Swift PJ.The chemical nature and variations in serum concentrations of growth hormone binding protein (GHBP) from humans, rabbits, and rodents have been reported. To date little is known about the GHBP of domestic animals. Therefore, we initiated these studies to determine whether a serum GHBP was present in domestic animals and to purify the binding protein (BP) from serum of selected species. Using a dextran-coated charcoal separation assay, specific growth hormone (GH) binding was demonstrated in ovine, bovine, chicken, human, goose, porcine, and equine serum (listed in sequence from lowest to highe...
Mei M, Chen R, Gao X, Cao Y, Weng W, Duan Y, Tan X, Liu Z.Meat fraud and adulteration incidents occur frequently in almost all regions of the globe, especially with the increase in the world's population. To ensure the authenticity of meat products, we developed a 10-plex xMAP assay to simultaneously detect ten animal materials: bovine, caprine, poultry, swine, donkey, deer, horse, dog, fox and mink. Results: This method was investigated by analyzing DNA extracts from raw muscle, muscle mixtures, meat products and animal feeds. Our results indicated that the species of interest can be identified, differentiated and detected down to 1 g kg in bina...
Combarnous Y, Guillou F, Martinat N, Cahoreau C.The LH and FSH activities of equine choriogonadotropin (eCG) have been compared in several species with those of the highly purified homologous pituitary gonadotropins. The molar FSH/LH activity ratio of eCG determined by RRA is 0.20 in the pig, 0.25 in the rat and 0 in the horse. These data demonstrate the LH monospecificity of eCG in its own species as it is the case for hCG. We have also shown that equine LH exhibited a FSH-activity similar to that of eCG in the pig and in the rat but not in the horse. In the female rat, the binding activity to FSH receptors and the in vitro FSH activity of...
Shoho C.1) Setaria equina (Abildgaard, 1789) is from the Horse and Donkey of Eurasia (and of America and the coastal stripe of North Africa). 2) Setaria equina theilerae n.sub.sp. is from the Zebra of Africa. 3) Setaria equina defaallai n.sub. sp. is from the Horse and the Donkey of southern Sahara area of the Ethiopean Region of Africa, from the Nile valley till to the western coast. 4) Crossing between S. equina and S. e. theilerae may be possible, as their host spp. does with the resultant bastard offspring experimentally.
Leiberich M, Marais HJ, Naidoo V.The plight of the white rhinoceros () and the increasing need of treatment options for injured poaching victims led to the necessity to expand the knowledge on applicable drugs in this endangered species. With very little information available on drug pharmacokinetics in rhino, veterinarians have to rely on information generated from other species. The horse being a closely related species, has served as the model for dose extrapolations. However, from recent research on enrofloxacin and carprofen, the white rhino showed considerable differences in the pharmacokinetic properties of these drugs...
Pimentel F, McManus C, Soares K, Caetano AR, de Faria DA, Paiva SR, Ianella P.Optimization of DNA collection for National gene bank and conservation programs requires information on spatial and genetic distribution of animals countrywide. The relationship between genetic and geographic distances were examined in 8 Brazilian horse breeds (Baixadeiro, Crioulo, Campeiro, Lavradeiro, Marajoara, Mangalarga Marchador, Pantaneiro and Puruca) using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism markers and collection point locations. Mantel correlations, Genetic Landscape Shape Interpolation, Allelic Aggregation Index Analyses and Spatial autocorrelation tests indicated a nonrandom distributio...
Anderson BG, Anderson WD.The use of methyl methacrylate corrosion-casts has made it possible to examine the intracranial microvasculature on a three-dimensional scale with the scanning electron microscope. By this means we have compared regions of four cerebral and cerebellar arteries among three domestic animal species. The results of this study suggest that there are from one to three different levels of interarteriolar anastomosis between branches of the same or adjacent vessels. In the horse and ox anastomoses were demonstrated (1) at the level of the precapillary arterioles, (2) along the arterioles, and (3) betw...
Gold JH, Schuder JC, Stoeckle H.The defibrillation effectiveness of 4-msec rectangular wave shocks was evaluated using myocardial electrodes with 25-kg dogs and (nominally) 100-kg calves, ponies, and pigs as part of an evaluation of the suitability of these animals as models for automatic implanted defibrillator research. The percent success of defibrillation attempts in dogs ranged from 44% with 4-A, 6-J shocks to 93% with 8-A, 16-J shocks. The success achieved in calves with scaled electrodes was uniformly lower and reached a maximum of 28% with 23-A, 107-J shocks. Pigs defibrillated with scaled electrodes at a success lev...
Mucher E, Jayr L, Rossignol F, Amiot F, Gidrol X, Barrey E.Progress could be achieved by using microarrays to understand metabolic adaptations and disorders in equine muscle in response to exercise. Objective: To test the feasibility of using mouse cDNA microarrays to analyse gene expression profile in normal equine muscles. Methods: Muscular biopsies of dorsal gluteus medius and longissimus lumborum were done in 4 healthy Standardbreds. Total RNA was extracted from the muscle samples. The concentration and quality of RNA were measured before and after amplification. Gene expression profiles were measured using mouse cDNA microarrays including 15,264 ...
Morandi L, Sabattini S, Renzi A, Rigillo A, Bettini G, Dervas E, Schauer A, Morandi M, Gissi DB, Tarsitano A, Evangelisti S, Tonon C.Ultra-conserved non-coding elements (UCNEs) are genomic sequences that exhibit > 95% sequence identity between humans, mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. Recent findings reported their functional role in cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the DNA methylation modifications of UNCEs in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from different mammal species. Fifty SCCs from 26 humans, 17 cats, 3 dogs, 1 horse, 1 bovine, 1 badger, and 1 porcupine were investigated. Fourteen feline stomatitis and normal samples from 36 healthy human donors, 7 cats, 5 dogs, 5 horses, 2 bovines and 1 badger were c...
Gronert GA, Fung DL, Jones JH, Shafer SL, Hildebrand SV, Disbrow EA.We investigated the effects of body size on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the renally cleared muscle relaxant metocurine. We hypothesized that pharmacokinetics of the drug would change allometrically in proportion to physiological time [infinity Mb0.25, where Mb is body mass] and that pharmacodynamics would be independent of size because of the highly conserved structure of the acetylcholine receptor. Metocurine effects during general anesthesia were examined in 17 rats, 8 cats, 6 dogs, 5 pigs, 7 sheep, and 12 horses. Allometric analysis demonstrated size dependence for pharmaco...
Kydd JH, Butcher GW, Antczak DF, Allen WR.The expression of class I Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules by early trophoblast of intraspecific horse and donkey, interspecific mule and extraspecific donkey-in-horse conceptuses was determined using a rat monoclonal antibody (MAC 291) in a peroxidase anti-peroxidase immunohistochemical technique. Most non-invasive allantochorion of horse, donkey and mule conceptuses did not express class I MHC molecules at any stage of gestation except in small isolated patches of pseudostratified trophoblast lying adjacent to the openings of endometrial glands. In contrast, MHC class I molec...
Arrighi S, Domeneghini C.An immunohistochemical study was carried out on specimens of testis, excurrent duct including the male accessory glands and urethra in its various tracts in the horse and the donkey, in order to localize nine regulatory peptides. Immunoreactivities were tested by means of Labelled Strept Avidin-Biotin (LSAB) method. The study has shown that Equine male genitalia are supplied by many peptide immunoreactive nerves containing NPY-, VIP-, leu- and met-Enkephalin-, Substance P-, CGRP- and Bombesin/GRP-like peptides, each of them having a characteristic distribution pattern. These neurotransmitters ...
Manuja A, Manuja BK, Singha H.Significant structural differences in the extracellular domain of toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) account for species-specific recognition of its ligand CpG-ODN sequences. TLR9 is extensively studied in human, mice and some domestic animals. The recognition ability appears to be utilized differently by various species and breeds, but so far no comprehensive study exists about the equine TLR9 gene. We characterized TLR9 sequences of Marwari and Zanskari breeds of horses and Poitu donkey. We sequenced and identified the protein coding regions of equine TLR9 and compared with other animals and human ...
Mateos-Trigos G, Evans RJ, Heath MF.Horses show susceptibility to platelet-related disorders. Equine platelets differ from human platelets in some of their responses, so information available about human platelets must be validated in the horse. Aggregation of platelets by ADP involves both P2Y(1) and P2Y(12) receptors on the platelet surface. We have compared the effect of the P2Y(12) antagonist, AR-C67085, on equine and human platelets in vitro using turbidimetric aggregometry to measure the rate and final extent of aggregation. Aggregation profiles, concentration-response curves and pA(2) values show that the rate of aggregat...
Fu M, Li Y.The horse (Equus caballus) was domesticated thousands of years after dog, cattle, pig, sheep, and goat. Importantly, it represents the domestic animal that mostly impacted the development of human civilization. Its excellent loading and moving ability prompted the changes from fixed farming mode into mobile sharing mode. Accordingly, its domestication history deserves considerable attention. So far, many issues have long been controversial, due to the extinction of the closest wild relatives and the dramatic reduction of genetic diversity. With the continuous development of sequencing technolo...
Müller-Schöttle F, Bogusz A, Grötzinger J, Herrler A, Krusche CA, Beier-Hellwig K, Beier HM.After its original description as a steroid-dependent protein in the rabbit uterus, uteroglobin became one of the best characterized proteins. However, detailed knowledge of its physiological role remains an enigma. In this study we investigate how its structure is phylogenetically conserved in the horse compared to other mammalian species. Northern blot analysis showed that in horses, the main expression of uteroglobin appears in lung, uterus, and prostate tissues. Western blot analysis demonstrated that the dimeric form of uteroglobin is found predominantly in biological compartments. Using ...
Bergadano A, Lauber R, Zbinden A, Schatzmann U, Moens Y.Blood/gas partition coefficients (lambda(b/g)) for volatile agents in horse blood are reported for halothane but not for isoflurane and sevoflurane. We measured the lambda(b/g) of halothane, isoflurane and sevoflurane in the blood of fasted horses. The correlation with age, weight and some haematological and biochemical variables was studied. The temperature correction factor for isoflurane solubility was calculated. Methods: Twenty-four horses were randomly allocated to halothane (n=8), isoflurane (n=8) or sevoflurane (n=8). Blood samples were taken after 10 h' fasting. Calculation of lambda(...
Pluháček J, Tučková V, Šárová R, King SRB.Overmarking remains an unstudied topic in juvenile mammals. We have previously documented a very high rate of overmarking by foals in four captive African equid species: mountain zebra (Equus zebra), plains zebra (Equus quagga), Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), and African wild ass (Equus africanus). African equids vary interspecifically in their social organisation. Since differences in social organisation affect many mammalian behaviours, in this study we investigated interspecific differences in overmarking behaviour of foals, analysing only cases where elimination of any other individual was...
Cummings JF, de Lahunta A, Summers BA, Mohammed HO, Divers TJ, Valentine BA, Trembicki-Graves K.Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) is a sporadic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that has been identified recently in horses of different breeds in North America. The cause is unknown. Pathologic changes which occur in spinal and certain brain stem motor neurons include chromatolysis, swelling, neurofilamentous accumulation, and development of eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Punctate eosinophilic inclusions, the type usually encountered in degenerating neurons, resembled Bunina bodies at the light microscopic level, but differed in their ultrastructural composition. These and less...
Erickson HH, Kitchell RL.In the last 2 decades there have been substantial advances in our knowledge of the scientific basis of the mechanisms of pain. Nociceptors or pain receptors are widespread in the skin and tissues of animals; chemical mediation of nociceptor excitation may provide a key for understanding the peripheral phenomena related to pain. The expression of pain in animals involves multiple ascending and descending branches, as well as specialized pain-signaling mechanisms in the spinal cord. The importance of these different pathways varies with species and circumstances. Endogenous neural systems in the...
Cooley PL.When compared with small domestic animals, the horse has unique ocular characteristics (complete bony orbit, well-developed eyelid muscles, a nasal and temporal gray limbal line, granulae iridica, paurangiotic fundus). Knowledge of normal equine ocular anatomy is essential for ocular lesion interpretation. It is important to obtain a full history and general examination before sedation, nerve blocks, or other diagnostic ophthalmic tests are performed. All ocular examinations should include a systematic evaluation of both the anterior and posterior segments. Selection of other diagnostic tests ...
White SD, Rosychuk RA, Outerbridge CA, Fieseler KV, Spier S, Ihrke PJ, Chapman PL.Our objective was to determine if thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT), the enzyme important in the metabolism of azathioprine in human beings, is detectable in red blood cell lysates (RBCL) of healthy dogs, cats, and horses. Values for TPMT activity were determined from blood collected from 20 healthy dogs, cats, and horses. The TPMT activity in each animal's RBCL was determined using a radioenzymatic end point involving TPMT-facilitated metabolism of 6-mercaptopurine to 6-methylmercaptopurine (6-MMP). One unit of TPMT activity represents the formation of 1 nmol of 6-MMP per milliliter of pack...
Ronquist GK, Ek B, Ronquist G, Morrell J, Carlsson L, Larsson A.Release of nanometer-sized prostasomes into human and equine semen suggests essential functions in their relationships with sperm cells and the fertilization process. The two types of prostasomes displayed ultrastructural similarities, albeit the human prostasomes were somewhat larger than the stallion prostasomes. A high ratio of saturated fatty acids was characteristic for the two prostasome types. Electrophoretic separation systems revealed an equine prostasomal pattern different from that of human. The 21 distinctive low molecular weight protein spots in the 2D-gel (with no counterparts in...
Tang L, Gao Y, Yan L, Jia H, Chu H, Ma X, He L, Wang X, Li K, Hu D, Zhang D.The gut microbiome offers important ecological benefits to the host; however, our understanding of the functional microbiome in relation to wildlife adaptation, especially for translocated endangered species, is lagging. In this study, we adopted a comparative metagenomics approach to test whether the microbiome diverges for translocated and resident species with different adaptive potentials. The composition and function of the microbiome of sympatric Przewalski's horses and Asiatic wild asses in desert steppe were compared for the first time using the metagenomic shotgun sequencing approach....
Merkies K, Sudarenko Y, Hodder AJ.Communication within a species is essential for access to resources, alerting to dangers, group facilitation and social bonding; human facial expressions are considered to be an important factor in one’s ability to communicate with others. Evidence has shown that dogs and horses are able to distinguish positive and negative facial expressions by observing photographs of humans, however there is currently no research on how facial expressions from a live human are perceived by horses. This study investigated how ponies distinguish facial expressions presented by live actors. Trained actors (n...
Royer J, Lefevre-Minisini A, Caltabiano G, Lacombe T, Malthiery Y, Savagner F, Pardo L, Rodien P.The receptors for TSH, LH/chorionic gonadotropin (CG), and FSH belong to the same subfamily of G protein-coupled receptors. The specificity of recognition of their cognate hormone involves a limited number of residues in the leucine-rich repeats present in the N-terminal ectodomain of the receptor. It is admitted that receptors of this subfamily coevoluted with their respective ligands. The secretion of CG is restricted to gestation of primates and Equidae. We hypothesized that, facing the challenge of a new hormone, the glycoprotein hormone receptors would have evolved differently in Equidae ...
Conway ED, Stiles J, Townsend WM, Weng HY.OBJECTIVE To evaluate species differences and effects of storage duration and temperature on the anticollagenase efficacy of canine, feline, and equine serum on in vitro corneal degradation. SAMPLES Corneas and serum from dogs, cats, and horses. PROCEDURES Clinically normal corneas from dogs, cats, and horses were harvested within 2 hours after euthanasia. Serum samples from dogs, cats, and horses were collected and pooled by species. Corneal specimens were incubated with collagenase derived from Clostridium histolyticum, 5mM calcium chloride in saline (0.9% NaCl) solution, and feline, canine,...
Dittmer KE, Heathcott RW, Marshall JC, Azarpeykan S.The aim of this preliminary study was to determine the relative expression of phosphatonin pathway-related genes in normal dog, sheep and horse kidneys and to explore the relationships between the different genes. Kidneys were collected post-mortem from 10 sheep, 10 horses and 8 dogs. RNA was extracted, followed by reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction for fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 IIIc (), sodium-phosphate co-transporter () 1 (), (), (), parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (), klotho (), vitamin D receptor (), 1a-hydroxylase () and 24-hydroxylase (). was highly ...
