Veterinary research in horses encompasses the study of diseases, health management, and medical treatments specific to equine species. This field investigates various aspects of horse health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Researchers focus on understanding the pathophysiology of equine ailments, developing diagnostic tools, and evaluating therapeutic interventions. The study of horse health also involves examining preventive measures such as vaccination protocols and nutritional management to promote overall well-being. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse areas of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into disease mechanisms, treatment strategies, and advancements in equine healthcare.
Sharma S, Reardon LM, Guda R, Carr MM, Man LX, Alicea D.Our primary objective was to identify and describe demographic trends in head and neck injuries incurred while participating in horseback riding. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis. Methods: National Database. Methods: Head and neck injuries related to horseback riding over a ten-year period (2014-2023) were analyzed using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). A total of 3,177 cases were identified. Inclusion criteria encompassed injuries to the head, neck, face, mouth, or ear. Variables included age, gender, injury type, anatomical location, and patient disposit...
Hickman E, Carberry V, Carberry C, Cooper B, Mordant AL, Mills A, Sokolsky M, Herring LE, Alexis NE, Rebuli ME, Jaspers I, Sheats K, Rager JE.Growing evidence supports the importance of extracellular vesicle (EV) as mediators of communication in pathological processes, including those underlying respiratory disease. However, establishing methods for isolating and characterizing EVs remains challenging, particularly for respiratory samples. This study set out to address this challenge by comparing different EV isolation methods and evaluating their impacts on EV yield, markers of purity, and proteomic signatures, utilizing equine/horse bronchoalveolar lavage samples. Horses can serve as effective translational animal models for respi...
Webster AP, Price T, Ingersoll T, Suagee-Bedore JK, White RR.Our objectives were to use a quantitative literature review to explore dietary and feed factors influencing apparent total-tract digestibility of dry matter (DMD), crude protein (CPD), neutral detergent fiber (NDFD), ether extract (EED), non-structural carbohydrates (NSCD), non-fiber carbohydrates (NFCD), and residual organic matter (rOMD) in equine diets, and to assess their contributions to digestible energy (DE) supplies. Data from 54 studies were modeled using linear mixed-effect regressions, with publication as a random effect to account for study variability. For each nutrient, five mode...
Rossi HS, Mykkänen AK, Junnila JJT, Hyytiäinen HK.Pulse oximetry has not been thoroughly evaluated for assessment of oxygenation in conscious foals. Compared with invasive arterial blood sampling, it is a painless and non-invasive method for real-time monitoring of blood oxygen saturation. The aim of this prospective clinical study was to evaluate the usability, validity, and reliability of pulse oximetry at two measuring sites (lip and caudal abdominal skin fold) for blood oxygen saturation measurement in conscious foals with and without respiratory compromise. Thirty-two foals under one month of age were used. Nineteen foals had normal resp...
Shi Y, Maga EA, Mienaltowski MJ.Diarrhea is a common disease that could threaten the welfare of newborn foals. While there are several forms of foal diarrhea, the etiologies can be considered known pathogenic or non-pathogenic in nature. Moreover, there are likely differences in the composition of microbial populations in the gastrointestinal tracts of foals depending upon the etiology of diarrhea. Our study aims to examine the microbial population in the feces of foals with both pathogenic and non-pathogenic diarrheas to discern differences in their microbial compositions. Results: Foal diarrhea samples tested positive or n...
The AnalystJanuary 23, 2025
doi: 10.1039/d4an01501k
Göktaş EF, Kabil E, Söylemez Yeşilçimen E, Dirikolu L.Various technical methodologies are required to accurately detect substances of different chemical and pharmacological properties in biological samples, which are increasing in number and variety daily. Therefore, laboratories where many samples and different factors are analyzed simultaneously need methods with easy sample preparation, short analysis times and low analysis costs. In this study, the objective was to scan substances susceptible to chemical degradation, amenable to analysis without hydrolysis, and exhibiting short-term stability by employing a straightforward, expeditious, and c...
Fakheri A, Esmaeilnejad B, Akbari H, Molaei R.Strongyle nematodes pose a major challenge in veterinary parasitology, causing significant economic losses in livestock due to resistance to conventional treatments. Current anthelmintics, like Ivermectin, often encounter resistance issues. This study aims to address these gaps by synthesizing Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) and Copper-Doped CQDs (Cu@CQDs) using glucose extract, and evaluating their nematicidal properties against strongyles in vitro. We assessed the nematicidal effects of CQDs and Cu@CQDs through larval feeding inhibition of first-stage larvae (L1), egg hatch inhibition (EHI), and ...
Larson MA, Credille BC, Berghaus LJ, Papich MG, Beasley EM.To investigate the disposition of enrofloxacin and its active metabolite, ciprofloxacin, in plasma, pulmonary epithelial lining fluid (PELF), peritoneal fluid, and CSF in horses following IV administration of enrofloxacin at doses of 5 mg/kg and 7.5 mg/kg of body weight. Unassigned: 6 healthy, mature mares were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of enrofloxacin at either 5 mg/kg or 7.5 mg/kg in a crossover design with a washout period of 10 days. Concentrations of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were determined in plasma, PELF, peritoneal fluid, and CSF. Unassigned: Both doses of enrofl...
Whitlock F, van Dijk J, Hodgkinson JE, Grewar JD, Newton JR.Anthelmintic resistance (AR) threatens effective equine parasite control. Quarterly data summaries from faecal worm egg count testing (FWECT) performed by UK laboratories have appeared in Equine Quarterly Disease Surveillance Reports (EQDSR) since 2007, but have not previously been assessed. Objective: To assess strongyle FWECT methods and thresholds used by UK laboratories. To investigate factors associated with quarterly laboratory FWECT positivity rates between 2007 and 2023. Methods: Laboratory surveys and analysis of laboratory summary data. Methods: Laboratories were surveyed in Q3 2018 ...
Folgmann MS, Stock KF, Feige K, Delling U.There is very little information available about the health status of young stallions from the German Warmblood population that will, once licensed, shape the future of equestrian sport and horse breeding. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of clinical findings at licensing examinations of candidate stallions and the influences of season of birth, age at licensing, year of licensing, and the evaluator on the distribution of recorded findings. Methods: Retrospective observational study. Methods: Clinical records of 1655 candidate stallions presented for licensing in 2018-2020 were reviewed. ...
Nowicka B, Polkowska I, Zeliszewska-Duk P, Torres A, Duk M.Similarly, in humans and horses, thoracic and lumbosacral back pain cause more disability and work interruptions worldwide than any other disease. Given that there are few effective treatments for back pain in humans and animals, primary prevention strategies and a reduction in pain factors may be crucial. In the analysed data obtained for the horses studied, the pattern of changes in adipocytokine concentrations, including resistin, visfatin and leptin, was noted for those with back pain compared to the control animals. Concentrations of selected adipocytokines in horses from the back pain gr...
CT arthrography (CTA) for evaluating cartilage defects would be beneficial in clinical practice. Since the contrast medium (CM) volume is often driven by operator experience, the aim was to evaluate the minimum volume of iodinated CM for CTA sufficient to identify iatrogenic cartilage defects in horse fetlock. The study was conducted on ex-vivo 32 distal limbs from adult horses collected at slaughter. Iatrogenic cartilage defects were arthroscopically made on fetlock, at 5 predetermined locations. Subsequently, CT scans were performed, according to the following protocol: precontrast scan, fol...
Ciamillo S, Stefanovski D, Kulp J, van Eps A.To determine the relationship between hoof surface (HS), hoof wall (HW), and lamellar tissue (LAM) temperature during distal limb cooling and evaluate 4 cooling methods in ambulatory horses over extended periods using HW to estimate LAM temperature. Methods: 8 healthy, university-owned horses were enrolled. Temperature was measured over 4 hours at LAM, HS, and HW for 4 cooling methods: ice sleeve (SLEEVE), ice pack system (ICEPACK), low-volume ice water immersion (LV-IMMERSION), and high-volume ice water immersion (HV-IMMERSION). The relationship between HW, HS, and LAM was mathematically mode...
Haussler KK, le Jeune SS, MacKechnie-Guire R, Latif SN, Clayton HM.The defining characteristic of laterality is the dominance of one side of the brain controlling specific functions of paired organs or on one side of the body. Structural and functional asymmetries are ubiquitous in horses and range from anatomical features (e.g., the length of long bones) to the gathering of sensory information (e.g., which eye is used to observe unfamiliar scenes) and motor functions (e.g., left-right differences in locomotion). There is a common tendency to assign observed structural or functional asymmetries to lateralization, which often involves more than a simple left-r...
Angyal E, Vincze B, Somoskői B, Sós-Koroknai V, Balogh P, Dankó GN, Cseh S, Kútvölgyi G.The anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a granulosa cell-derived hormone that has been associated with female fertility and reflects the population of growing follicles. This study aimed to evaluate the average concentration of AMH in Lipizzaner mares, as well as to determine the relationship between AMH concentration and follicle number and size. We also investigated the relationship between the age of mares and their AMH levels. The possible effect of seasonality of AMH levels was also assessed. Twenty-three mares between 6 and 24 years of age were included in the experiment. Mares were divided...
Nakase M, Thapa J, Batbaatar V, Khurtsbaatar O, Enkhtuul B, Unenbat J, Lkham B, Fujita S, Koshikawa A, Tuanyok A, Saechan V, Higashi H, Hayashida K....Glanders and melioidosis are contagious zoonotic diseases caused by Burkholderia mallei and B. pseudomallei, respectively. Bacterial isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have been used to detect these bacteria in animals suspected of infection; however, both methods require skilled experimental techniques and expensive equipment. These obstacles make it difficult to diagnose B. mallei and B. pseudomallei infections in areas where reagents and equipment are difficult to procure. To solve this problem, we developed an easy and ready-to-use dried-format diagnostic tool based on loop-medi...
Sanigavatee K, Poochipakorn C, Huangsaksri O, Vichitkraivin S, Pakdeelikhit S, Chotiyothin W, Wongkosoljit S, Wonghanchao T, Chanda M.Older horses often show reduced autonomic responses, affecting their well-being. While regular exercise can help maintain autonomic function, the impact of structured exercise on geriatric horses is not well understood. A study involving 27 geriatric horses examined their autonomic modulation over 12 weeks under different activity levels. Horses were divided into three groups: (1) sedentary (SEL), (2) those participating in unstructured activities (RAT), and (3) those following a structured exercise regimen (SER). Results showed that the minimum and average heart rates decreased in the structu...
Wilson CS, Carrick J, Shearer P, Heller J, Brookes VJ.Pregnancy failure is a serious economic and welfare concern in the Thoroughbred horse industry, yet its incidence and risk factors in Australia remain unclear. This retrospective, nested, case-control study investigated pregnancy failure in resident mares on studs in the Hunter Valley, Australia, in 2021-2022, in early (46-150 days), mid (151-270 days), and late (>270 days) gestation. We found an annual incidence risk of 5.4 pregnancy failure cases/100 45-day pregnancies (0.05 cases/mare; 95 % CI 0.04-0.07), with full-term (perinatal) losses (≥320 days) accounting for 24 % of cases (9...
Clayton HM, Hobbs SJ, Rhodin M, Hernlund E, Peterson M, Bos R, Bragança FS.Prior to international competitions, dressage horses are evaluated for fitness to compete while trotting in hand on a firm surface. This study compares the kinematics of experienced dressage horses trotting under fitness-to-compete conditions vs. performing collected and extended trot when ridden on a sand-fiber arena surface. The hypotheses are that the vertical range of motion (ROM) and left-right asymmetries in minimal and maximal heights of axial body segments at ridden trot exceed those when trotting in hand. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) attached mid-dorsally to the head, withers, an...
Laffi L, Bigand F, Peham C, Novembre G, Gamba M, Ravignani A.Anecdotally, horses' gaits sound rhythmic. Are they really? In this study, we quantified the motor rhythmicity of horses across three different gaits (walk, trot, and canter). For the first time, we adopted quantitative tools from bioacoustics and music cognition to quantify locomotor rhythmicity. Specifically, we tested whether kinematics data contained rhythmic categories; these occur when adjacent temporal intervals are categorically, rather than randomly, distributed. We extracted the motion cycle duration (t) of two ipsilateral hooves from motion data of 13 ridden horses and calculated th...
Gallacher K, Champion K, Denholm KS.Foals suffer from total failure to transfer passive immunity (TFTPI) when serum immunoglobulin (IgG) is <4 g/L, and partial failure to transfer passive immunity (PFTPI) when serum IgG is 4-8 g/L. Objective: To explore risk factors for poor serum IgG concentration. Methods: Retrospective observational study. Methods: Data from 535 Thoroughbred foals born to 177 mares were analysed and included foal sex, birthweight, month and year of birth and colostrum Brix %. Associations between dam age and colostrum Brix (%); and between foal serum IgG and liveweight gains were also measured. Pre-suckle...
Shinn LT, Wagner CB, Desai R, Marini BL.Horse antithymocyte globulin carries a black box warning for life-threatening anaphylactic reactions, and prescribing information recommends test doses to identify patients at highest risk of this adverse effect. The predictive value of such test doses is not well validated, and practicality of use is unclear. Methods: This was a planned secondary analysis of a multicenter, retrospective cohort study in adults with severe aplastic anemia being managed with horse antithymocyte globulin as part of their treatment regimen. Qualitative and quantitative descriptions of test doses and infusion react...
Reed RA, Carroll AT, Dantino SC, Quandt JE, Barletta M, Sakai DM.To determine the influence of xylazine infusion on survival to discharge and describe the associated intraoperative requirement for isoflurane, use of positive inotropes and vasopressors, and recovery time in horses undergoing exploratory laparotomy. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: A total of 352 horses. Methods: Medical records of horses undergoing anesthesia for exploratory laparotomy from January 2018 to December 2023 were reviewed. Data collected included survival to discharge, results of diagnostic tests, end tidal isoflurane concentration (FE'Iso), use of vasopressors/inotr...
Barshick MR, Ely KM, Mogge KC, Chance LM, Johnson SE.Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) is a sulfur-containing molecule with reported anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Exercise causes the formation of free radicals and stimulates inflammatory gene expression in leukocytes and skeletal muscle. The hypothesis that dietary supplementation with MSM alters the exercise-mediated inflammatory and oxidant response was assessed in unfit adult thoroughbred geldings. Ten geldings (6.7 ± 1.6 yr) were assigned to a diet supplemented without (CON, = 5) or with 21 g of MSM ( = 5) for 30 days. Following the supplementation period, horses performed a stan...
Palomino Lago E, Ross AKC, McClellan A, Guest DJ.Bone fractures are a significant problem in Thoroughbred racehorses. The risk of fracture is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. To determine the biological processes that are affected in genetically susceptible horses, we utilised polygenic risk scoring to establish induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from horses at high and low genetic risk. RNA-sequencing on iPSC-derived osteoblasts revealed 112 genes that were significantly differentially expressed. Forty-three of these genes have known roles in bone, 27 are not yet annotated in the equine genome and 42 currently have ...
Mohamed E, Zarak I, Vereecke N, Theuns S, Laval K, Nauwynck H.Varicellovirus equidalpha 1, formerly known as Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV-1), is highly prevalent and can lead to various problems, such as respiratory problems, abortion, neonatal foal death, and neurological disorders. The latter is known as equine herpes myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Cases of EHM have significantly increased since the beginning of the twenty-first century. The genomic sequences of five isolates associated with the fatal neurological outbreak in Valencia, Spain, in 2021 were analyzed and documented. The genome and replication kinetics of the Belgian EHM isolate 21P40, associ...
Sharma NK, Singh P, Saha B, Bhardwaj A, Iquebal MA, Pal Y, Nayan V, Jaiswal S, Giri SK, Legha RA, Bhattacharya TK, Kumar D, Rai A.Copy number variations (CNVs) have become widely acknowledged as a significant source of genomic variability and phenotypic variance. To understand the genetic variants in horses, CNVs from six Indian horse breeds, namely, Manipuri, Zanskari, Bhutia, Spiti, Kathiawari and Marwari were discovered using Axiom™ Equine Genotyping Array. These breeds differed in agro-climatic adaptation with distinct phenotypic characters. A total of 2668 autosomal CNVs and 381 CNV regions (CNVRs) were identified with PennCNV tool. DeepCNV was employed to re-validate to get 883 autosomal CNVs, of which 9.06% were...
Stafford LS, Plummer CE, Smith WC, Gibson DJ, Sharma J, Vicuna V, Diakite S, Larkin J.Recurrent uveitis (RU), an autoimmune disease, is a leading cause of ocular detriment in humans and horses. Equine and human RU share many similarities including spontaneous disease and aberrant cytokine signaling. Reduced levels of SOCS1, a critical regulator of cytokine signaling, is associated with several autoimmune diseases. Topical administration of SOCS1-KIR, a peptide mimic of SOCS1, was previously correlated to reduced ocular pathologies within ERU patients. Unassigned: To further assess the translational potential of a SOCS1 mimetic to treat RU, we assessed peptide-mediated modulatio...
Hidalgo M.Sperm vitrification is an alternative freezing method, which includes high cooling rates and non-permeable cryoprotectants agents. The first attempt in equids was using the spheres technique by directly dropping small volumes of the sperm into liquid nitrogen. Later, vitrification was developed using 0.25 mL straws with outer covers, which resulted in similar progressive motility when compared to conventional freezing in donkeys (44.3 ± 15.0 % vs. 44.7 ± 18.2 %) or even higher in horses (48.2 ± 2.3 % vs. 37.3 ± 2.2 %). Subsequently, the vitrification of larger volumes of sperm in 0.5 mL st...
Millares-Ramirez EM, Dupuis-Dowd F, Mainguy-Seers S, Lavoie JP.In severe equine asthma, structural remodeling of the airways ultimately leads to bronchial wall thickening and airflow obstruction. Increased bronchial vascularization has been described in horses affected by the severe form of the disease, but whether it contributes to bronchial remodeling in milder forms of asthma remains to be determined. In a blinded, retrospective case-control study, we evaluated the presence of bronchial angiogenesis in horses with mild and moderate equine asthma (MEA) and its correlation to airway smooth muscle remodeling. Methods: Endobronchial biopsies from the Equin...
Lovati AB, Corradetti B, Lange Consiglio A, Recordati C, Bonacina E, Bizzaro D, Cremonesi F.The aim of the study was to compare in vitro the stemness features of horse progenitor cells derived from bone marrow (BM-MSCs), amniotic fluid (AF-MSCs) and umbilical cord matrix (EUC-MSCs). It has been suggested that there may be a stem cell population within both umbilical cord matrix and amniotic fluid. However, little knowledge exists about the characteristics of these progenitor cells within these sources in the equine species. This study wanted to investigate an alternative and non-invasive stem cell source for the equine tissue engineering and to learn more about the properties of thes...
Janssen IJ, Krücken J, Demeler J, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G.P-glycoproteins (Pgps) are suspected to mediate drug extrusion in nematodes contributing to macrocyclic lactone resistance. This association was recently shown for Parascaris Pgp-11. Ivermectin resistance was correlated with the presence of three pgp-11 single nucleotide polymorphisms and/or increased pgp-11 mRNA levels. In the present study, the ability of Pgp-11 to modulate ivermectin susceptibility was investigated by its expression in a pgp-11-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans strain. Expression of Parascaris pgp-11 in two transgenic lines significantly decreased ivermectin susceptibility i...
Journal of medical entomologyDecember 9, 2008
Volume 45, Issue 6 1152-1155 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[1152:tobcbd]2.0.co;2
Schwint ON, Knowles DP, Ueti MW, Kappmeyer LS, Scoles GA.The tropical horse tick, Dermacentor nitens, is a natural vector of Babesia caballi in the Americas. B. caballi, one of the etiologic agents of equine piroplasmosis, occurs widely throughout the world, but the United States and a few other countries are considered to be free of infection. B. caballi is transovarially transmitted by the one-host tick D. nitens; we tested the hypothesis that B. caballi can persist in multiple generations of D. nitens in the absence of opportunity to reacquire infection from a susceptible equine host. Partially engorged female D. nitens were collected from a B. c...
Dutto DJ, Hoyt DF, Cogger EA, Wickler SJ.Although the forces required to support the body mass are not elevated when moving up an incline, kinematic studies, in vivo tendon and bone studies and kinetic studies suggest there is a shift in forces from the fore- to the hindlimbs in quadrupeds. However, there are no whole-animal kinetic measurements of incline locomotion. Based on previous related research, we hypothesized that there would be a shift in forces to the hindlimb. The present study measured the force produced by the fore- and hindlimbs of horses while trotting over a range of speeds (2.5 to 5 m s(-1)) on both level and up an...
Fenton JI, Chlebek-Brown KA, Peters TL, Caron JP, Orth MW.Objective To determine whether glucosamine inhibits experimentally induced degradation of equine articular cartilage explants. Methods Articular cartilage was obtained from the antebrachio-carpal and middle joints of horses (2-8 years old) killed for reasons unrelated to lameness. Cartilage discs were harvested from the weight-bearing region of the articular surface and cultured. Media were exchanged daily and the recovered media stored at 4 degrees C. Explants were maintained in basal media 2 days prior to the start of four treatment days. On days 1-4 lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 10 microg/ml) or...
Whitworth DJ, Banks TA.There has been unprecedented interest in recent years in the use of stem cells as therapy for an array of diseases in companion animals. Stem cells have already been deployed therapeutically in a number of clinical settings, in particular the use of mesenchymal stem cells to treat osteoarthritis in horses and dogs. However, an assessment of the scientific literature highlights a marked disparity between the purported benefits of stem cell therapies and their proven abilities as defined by rigorously controlled scientific studies. Although preliminary data generated from clinical trials in huma...
Mumford JA, Wilson H, Hannant D, Jessett DM.Equine influenza vaccines containing inactivated whole virus and Carbomer adjuvant stimulated higher levels and longer lasting antibody to haemagglutinin in ponies than vaccines of equivalent antigenic content containing aluminium phosphate adjuvants. Five months after the third dose of vaccine containing Carbomer adjuvant, ponies were protected against clinical disease induced by an aerosol of virulent influenza virus (A/equine/Newmarket/79, H3N8). In contrast ponies which received vaccine containing aluminium phosphate adjuvant were susceptible to infection and disease. There was an inverse ...
Russell LD, Ren HP, Sinha Hikim I, Schulze W, Sinha Hikim AP.Morphometric studies were performed on 12 mammalian species (degu, dog, guinea pig, hamster, human, monkey, mouse, opossum, rabbit, rat, stallion, and woodchuck) to determine volume density percentage (Vv%), volume (V), and numerical density (Nv) of seminiferous tubule components, especially those related to the Sertoli cell, and to make species comparisons. For most species, measurements were taken both from stages where elongate spermatids were deeply embedded within the Sertoli cell and from stages near sperm release where elongate spermatids were in shallow crypts within the Sertoli cell. ...
Smits K, Willems S, Van Steendam K, Van De Velde M, De Lange V, Ververs C, Roels K, Govaere J, Van Nieuwerburgh F, Peelman L, Deforce D, Van Soom A.During maternal recognition of pregnancy (MRP), a conceptus-derived signal leads to the persistence of the corpus luteum and the maintenance of gestation. In the horse, the nature of this signal remains to be elucidated. Several studies have focused on the changes in gene expression during MRP, but little information exists at the protein level. The aim of this study was to identify the proteins at the embryo-maternal interface around signalling of MRP in the horse (day 13) by means of mass spectrometry. A distinct influence of pregnancy was established, with 119 proteins differentially expres...
Oxford JS, Lambkin R, Sefton A, Daniels R, Elliot A, Brown R, Gill D.The Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 was a cataclysmic outbreak of infection wherein over 50 million people died worldwide within 18 months. The question of the origin is important because most influenza surveillance at present is focussed on S.E. Asia. Two later pandemic viruses in 1957 and 1968 arose in this region. However we present evidence that early outbreaks of a new disease with rapid onset and spreadability, high mortality in young soldiers in the British base camp at Etaples in Northern France in the winter of 1917 is, at least to date, the most likely focus of origin of the pa...
Lange-Consiglio A, Lazzari B, Perrini C, Pizzi F, Stella A, Cremonesi F, Capra E.Cell-derived microvesicles (MVs) are a recently discovered mechanism of cell-to-cell communication. Our previous data show that MVs secreted by equine amniotic mesenchymal-derived cells (AMCs) are involved in downregulation of proinflammatory genes in lipopolysaccharide-stressed equine tendon and endometrial cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether AMC-MVs contain selected microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in inflammation. Two pools of cells, derived from 3 amniotic membranes each, and their respective MVs were collected. Small RNAs were extracted and deep sequenced, followed by m...
Robertson GR, Whalley JM.We have identified the equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) thymidine kinase gene (TK) by DNA-mediated transformation and by DNA sequencing. Alignment of the amino acid sequence of the EHV-1 TK with the TKs from 3 other herpesviruses revealed regions of homology, some of which correspond to the previously identified substrate binding sites, while others have as yet, no assigned function. In particular, the strict conservation of an aspartate within the proposed nucleoside binding site suggests a role in ATP binding for this residue. Comparison of 5 herpes TKs with the thymidylate kinase of yeast revea...
Wang Y, Chen Y, Wei Y.Clinical therapeutics for the regeneration of osteochondral defects (OCD) in the early stages of osteoarthritis remain an enormous challenge in orthopaedics. For in-depth studies of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine in terms of OCD treatment, the utility of an optimal OCD animal model is crucial for assessing the effects of implanted biomaterials on the repair of damaged osteochondral tissues. Currently, the most frequently used in vivo animal models for OCD regeneration include mice, rats, rabbits, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, horses and nonhuman primates. However, there is no single ...
Bonnefoy A, Romijn RA, Vandervoort PA, VAN Rompaey I, Vermylen J, Hoylaerts MF.Binding of von Willebrand factor (VWF) to platelet GPIbalpha and to collagen is attributed to VWF A1 and A3 domains, respectively. Objective: Using VWF, VWF lacking A1 (DeltaA1-VWF) or A3 (DeltaA3-VWF) and VWF with defective A3 (H1786A-VWF), in combination with recombinant A1 (residues 1262-1492) or A3 (residues 1671-1878), fused to glutathione-S-transferase (GST-A1 and GST-A3), we have re-investigated the role of A1 in platelet recruitment to surfaces of collagen. Results: In flow, measurable binding of DeltaA3-VWF occurred to horse tendon, but also to human type III collagen. GST-A1 and GST-...
Hoffman LH, Wooding FB.The cellular origin, structure, and function of trophoblastic giant cells (GC) and binucleate cells (BNC) are reviewed. Mammals in which these cells have received the greatest attention include rodents, rabbits, and humans (GCs), and ruminants and equids (BNCs). In almost all cases these cells arise from the cytotrophoblast. All are large cells and contain either two diploid nuclei (BNCs), multiple nuclei (human placental bed GCs), or single nuclei with amplified DNA content (rodent and rabbit GCs). Giant and binucleate cells typically exhibit the capacity for migration or invasion, although t...
Grooters AM, Gee MK.Pythium insidiosum is an important cause of cutaneous and gastrointestinal disease in horses and dogs in the southeastern United States. Culture-based diagnosis of pythiosis is rarely definitive because production and identification of reproductive structures is difficult. The purpose of this study was to develop a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay for the identification of P insidiosum. Genomic DNA was extracted from 3 clinical isolates of P insidiosum and I isolate each of Pythium graminicola and Pythium arrhenomanes. The ITS I region of the ribosomal RNA gene of each isolate was a...
Rossi H, Virtala AM, Raekallio M, Rahkonen E, Rajamäki MM, Mykkänen A.Most equine lower respiratory diseases present as increased airway neutrophilia, which can be detected in tracheal wash (TW) or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology samples. The aim was to compare the TW and BALF results in a population of client-owned horses with and without clinical respiratory disease signs. A secondary aim was to determine the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of TW and BALF neutrophilia in detecting respiratory disease. The cutoff values for neutrophils were also evaluated. Retrospective data from 154 horses of various breeds that had been subject to both TW a...
Schwarzwald CC.This article provides an overview on the principles of transthoracic echocardiography in horses. Indications for echocardiography, equipment, and technical considerations are discussed and a systematic approach for a complete echocardiographic examination in horses is described. Methods for assessment of chamber dimensions, allometric scaling of measurements, assessment of systolic and diastolic ventricular function, assessment of atrial function, hemodynamic assessment, and evaluation of valvular regurgitation are explained, focusing on traditional 2-dimensional (2D), motion-mode, and Doppler...
Gómez Alvarez CB, Rhodin M, Bobber MF, Meyer H, Weishaupt MA, Johnston C, Van Weeren PR.In many equestrian activities a specific position of head and/or neck is required that is dissimilar to the natural position. There is controversy about the effects of these positions on locomotion pattern, but few quantitative data are available. Objective: To quantify the effects of 5 different head and neck positions on thoracolumbar kinematics of the horse. Methods: Kinematics of 7 high level dressage horses were measured walking and trotting on an instrumented treadmill with the head and neck in the following positions: HNP2 = neck raised, bridge of the nose in front of the vertical; HNP3...
Sundström E, Imsland F, Mikko S, Wade C, Sigurdsson S, Pielberg GR, Golovko A, Curik I, Seltenhammer MH, Sölkner J, Lindblad-Toh K, Andersson L.Greying with age in horses is an autosomal dominant trait, associated with loss of hair pigmentation, melanoma and vitiligo-like depigmentation. We recently identified a 4.6 kb duplication in STX17 to be associated with the phenotype. The aims of this study were to investigate if the duplication in Grey horses shows copy number variation and to exclude that any other polymorphism is uniquely associated with the Grey mutation. Results: We found little evidence for copy number expansion of the duplicated sequence in blood DNA from Grey horses. In contrast, clear evidence for copy number expansio...
Qablan MA, Sloboda M, Jirků M, Oborník M, Dwairi S, Amr ZS, Hořín P, Lukeš J, Modrý D.DNA of two species of piroplasmids was detected in dromedaries during a survey of blood protozoans in Jordan between 2007 and 2009. Ten clinically healthy camels (10%) originating from three Jordanian districts were found, using a PCR assay, to harbor Theileria or Babesia species in their blood and no mix infection was determined. Analysis of the partial 18S rRNA gene sequences of these parasites allowed their unambiguous identification as equine piroplasmids Babesia caballi (n=6) and Theileria equi (n=4). In case of latter species, a novel genotype was found in horses. This first molecular-ba...
Bol R, Pflieger C.Relationships between dietary status and recent migration were examined by delta(13)C, delta(15)N and delta(34)S analysis of hair samples from 43 modern humans living in a rural community in SW England. The isotopic content of 38 'local' hair samples was compared with that of five recently arrived individuals (from Canada, Chile, Germany and the USA). Hair samples from domestic animals (i.e. mainly cats, dogs, cows and horses) were analysed to examine the difference in delta(13)C, delta(15)N and delta(34)S values between herbivores and carnivores. Generally, modern human hair data from the tri...
Merkens HW, Schamhardt HC, Van Osch GJ, Van den Bogert AJ.This study was undertaken to establish limb loading patterns of sound horses at the trot, to provide a data base against which results for lame horses could be compared. Ground reaction force (GRF) data were collected from 20 clinically sound Dutch Warmblood horses. The data from at least 5 stance phases of each limb were averaged after standardisation to the animal's body mass and to the stance phase duration and resulted in 'representative' GRF data. The symmetry in the vertical GRF peak amplitudes, impulses and the stance phase duration comparing left and right limbs exceeded 97%. By averag...
Daly K, Al-Rammahi M, Arora DK, Moran AW, Proudman CJ, Ninomiya Y, Shirazi-Beechey SP.The heteromeric sweet taste receptor T1R2-T1R3 is expressed on the luminal membrane of certain populations of enteroendocrine cells. Sensing of sugars and other sweet compounds by this receptor activates a pathway in enteroendocrine cells, resulting in secretion of a number of gut hormones, including glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2). This subsequently leads to upregulation in the expression of intestinal Na(+)/glucose cotransporter, SGLT1, and increased intestinal glucose absorption. On the basis of the current information available on the horse genome sequence, it has been proposed that the ge...
Snyder SP, England JJ, McChesney AE.Five of six immunodeficient Arabian foals that died of adenoviral infection were found to be infected with an intestinal coccidian of the genus Cryptosporidium. Various developmental stages of the organism were found in the microvillous border of the intestinal mucosa. The foals had diarrhea but it was not possible to separate the effects of the cryptosporidial infection from those of the concomitant adenoviral enteritis.
Dyson PK, Jackson BF, Pfeiffer DU, Price JS.The first major epidemiological study of injury incidence in the UK flat racing Thoroughbred (TB), published in 1985, found lameness to be the single largest reason for days when horses failed to train. It was considered advisable to ascertain if progress has been made in reducing the problem of musculoskeletal injuries in the intervening period. Objective: To quantify injury incidence and days lost from training by 2- and 3-year-old TBs in UK training yards during 2002 and 2003. Methods: One-hundred-and-eighty-two yearling TBs were recruited at the end of 2001 and daily training and injury re...
Hussey SB, Clark R, Lunn KF, Breathnach C, Soboll G, Whalley JM, Lunn DP.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection is common in young horses throughout the world, resulting in respiratory disease, epidemic abortion, sporadic myelitis, or latent infections. To improve on conventional diagnostic tests for EHV-1, a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was developed, using primers and probes specific for the EHV-1 gB gene. Amplification efficiencies of 100% +/- 5% were obtained for DNA isolated from a plasmid, infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and nasal secretions from infected ponies. The dynamic range of the assay was 8 log10 dilutions,...
