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.
Pearson GB, Papa B, Mosaddegh A, Cooper H, Aprea M, Pigott J, Altier C, Cazer CL, Reesink HL.To investigate (1) variables associated with the likelihood of obtaining a positive culture, (2) commonly isolated microorganisms, and (3) antimicrobial resistance patterns of isolates from horses with presumptive synovial sepsis. Methods: Synovial fluid, synovium, and bone samples from equine cases with presumptive synovial sepsis submitted to the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center from 2000 to 2020 for microbial culture and antimicrobial sensitivity testing. Methods: Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to determine the effect of variables on the likelihood o...
Holguin-Rocha AF, Calle-Tobon A, Vásquez GM, Astete H, Fisher ML, Tobon-Castano A, Velez-Tobon G, Maldonado-Ruiz LP, Silver K, Park Y....Ticks are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites that transmit pathogens among various vertebrates, including humans. The microbial and viral communities of ticks, including pathogenic microorganisms, are known to be highly diverse. However, the factors driving this diversity are not well understood. The tropical horse tick, Dermacentor nitens, is distributed throughout the Americas and it is recognized as a natural vector of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, the causal agents of equine piroplasmosis. In this study, we characterized the bacterial and viral communities associated with partial...
Chen Q, Wang Z, Chen H.Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) can indirectly cause increased testosterone in animals, which leads to the improvement of the athletic ability of horses. For the protection of horses and the consideration of fair competition, AIs were listed as prohibited drugs by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI). There were several disadvantages using traditional pretreatment methods before analyzing these drugs from biological samples. A rapid and green pretreatment method has been developed by utilizing the hydrophobic deep eutectic solvent (DES)-based vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (D...
Bordin C, Raspa F, Harris P, Ellis AD, Roggero A, Palestrini C, Bergero D, Valle E.The application of hay feeding devices, such as the use of hay nets or slow feeders, can help with the management of weight in ponies; however, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding their effect on equine posture. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the effect of different feeding devices on the posture of ponies using morphometric analysis. Two different breed types, Shetland type (SH, n = 5) versus Welsh Cob type (WC, n = 4), were fed the same forage in four different ways: on the ground (G), using a fully filled haynet (HF), using a partially filled haynet (HL) and...
St George L, Spoormakers TJP, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ, Clayton HM, Richards J, Serra Bragança FM.The reliability of surface electromyography (sEMG) has not been adequately demonstrated in the equine literature and is an essential consideration as a methodology for application in clinical gait analysis. This observational study investigated within-session, intra-subject (stride-to-stride) and inter-subject reliability, and between-session reliability of normalised sEMG activity profiles, from triceps brachii (triceps), latissimus dorsi (latissimus), longissimus dorsi (longissimus), biceps femoris (biceps), superficial gluteal (gluteal) and semitendinosus muscles in n = 8 clinically non-lam...
Bergmann R, Schroedl W, Müller U, Baums CG.Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (SEZ) is a major equine pathogen that causes pneumonia, abortion, and polyarthritis. It can also cause invasive infections in humans. SEZ expresses the M-like protein SzM, which recruits host proteins such as fibrinogen to the bacterial surface. Equine SEZ strain C2, which binds only comparably low amounts of human fibrinogen in comparison to human SEZ strain C33, was previously shown to proliferate in equine and human blood. As the expression of SzM_C2 was necessary for survival in blood, this study investigated the working hypothesis that SzM_C2 inhibi...
Pielok A, Kępska M, Steczkiewicz Z, Grobosz S, Bourebaba L, Marycz K.Medicinal signaling cells (MSC) exhibit distinct molecular signatures and biological abilities, depending on the type of tissue they originate from. Recently, we isolated and described a new population of stem cells residing in the coronary corium, equine hoof progenitor cells (HPCs), which could be a new promising cell pool for the treatment of laminitis. Therefore, this study aimed to compare native populations of HPCs to well-established adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) in standard culture conditions and in a pro-inflammatory milieu to mimic a laminitis condition. ASCs and HPCs were either...
Bolz NM, Sánchez-Andrade JS, Torgerson PR, Bischofberger AS.The purpose of the study was to determine the diagnostic performance of computed tomographic arthrography (CTA) and 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting artificial cartilage lesions in equine femorotibial and femoropatellar joints. Methods: A total of 79 cartilage defects were created arthroscopically in 15 cadaver stifles from adult horses in eight different locations. In addition, 68 sites served as negative controls. MRI and CTA (80-160 mL iodinated contrast media at 87.5 mg/mL per joint) studies were obtained and evaluated by a radiologist unaware of the lesion distributi...
Roberts JH, Zhang J, David F, McLean A, Blumenshine K, Müller-Alander E, Halper J.Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis (DSLD) negatively impacts connective tissues in horses, which often leads to progressive chronic pain and lameness. DSLD has been shown to be a systemic disorder that affects multiple body systems, including tendons, sclerae, and the aorta. Currently, the diagnosis is confirmed by post mortem histological examination of a tendon or suspensory ligament. Histology reveals inappropriate accumulations of proteoglycans in the tendons and other tissues in DSLD-affected horses. Unfortunately, there is no reliable method to diagnose DSLD in living horses. Rece...
Zahradnik E, Sander I, Lotz A, Liebers V, Thullner I, Tacke S, Raulf M.The study aimed to determine the allergen, endotoxin and β-(1,3)-glucan concentrations at various areas on a university campus of veterinary medicine. Methods: Dust samples were collected four times a year for three years using electrostatic dust collectors (EDC) at 25 different locations on a campus of veterinary medicine and in laboratories of inorganic chemistry as a control area representing animal-free environment. Major animal allergens from dog, cat, horse, cattle and mouse, domestic mite (DM) allergens, and β-(1,3)-glucan were measured using enzyme immunoassays and endotoxin using th...
Trsan J, Nottle BF, Pusterla N.This study was designed to determine the effect of PPG and/or flunixin meglumine on SAA response when used at clinical dosing regimens in healthy adult horses. Six healthy adult horses were enrolled in a crossover study design including one control and three treatment groups: no treatment (control); PPG alone (intramuscularly q12h for 72h); flunixin meglumine alone (intravenously q24h for 72h); and PPG (intramuscularly q12h for 72h) and flunixin meglumine (intravenously q24h for 72h). Whole blood was collected at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours post-initial drug administration to measure SAA u...
Gonzálvez M, Franco JJ, Barbero-Moyano J, Caballero-Gómez J, Ruano MJ, Martínez R, Cano-Terriza D, García-Bocanegra I.The largest epidemic of West Nile virus (WNV) reported ever in Spain in both humans and equines occurred in 2020, affecting 77 humans and 139 equine herds. Here, we aimed to monitor the outbreaks detected in equid herds in Andalusia (southern Spain), the Spanish region where 89.9% of the outbreaks were reported, and to evaluate the virus circulation and risk factor associated with WNV exposure in the affected herds. The first WNV case was detected in mid-July 2020, the number of outbreaks peaked in mid-August and the last one was confirmed on 26th October 2020. WNV lineage 1 was detected in 12...
Dallarosa P, Monteiro ER, Borenstein APS, Valle SF.Packed cell volume (PCV) is important for assessing a patient's health status. Some blood gas analyzers measure hematocrit, and the agreement with PCV varies among different analyzers. Objective: We aimed to determine the agreement between PCV measured by microcentrifugation and hematocrit measured by the Cobas b121 blood gas analyzer in dogs, cats, and horses. Methods: Whole blood samples for PCV and blood gas analysis were collected in lithium-heparin syringes and analyzed within 10 min of collection. Agreement and association between the PCV and Cobas b121 generated hematocrit were assess...
Reed RA, Krikorian AM, Reynolds RM, Holmes BT, Branning MM, Lemons MB, Barletta M, Quandt JE, Burns CC, Dantino SC, Sakai DM.Equine pain scoring may be affected by the residual effect of anesthetic drugs. Unassigned: To compare pain scores in the hours immediately following anesthetic recovery to baseline pre-anesthetic scores in equine patients undergoing surgical and non-surgical procedures. Unassigned: Clinical observational study. Unassigned: Fifty adult horses undergoing anesthesia for surgical or non-surgical procedures were enrolled. Horses underwent pain scoring using the Composite Pain Score (CPS) and Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP) prior to anesthesia (T0) and foll...
Costa LRR, Swiderski C, Palm C, Aleman M.To investigate if hepatitis A virus cell receptor 1/kidney injury molecule 1 (HAVCR1/KIM1) in urine is detectable concurrently with increases in serum creatinine concentrations in horses receiving a recommended dose of phenylbutazone (PBZ) for 7 days. Methods: Preliminary study. Methods: Ten clinically healthy horses with normal physical examination and laboratory work were randomly assigned to PBZ or placebo groups (5 each). The PBZ group received PBZ at 4.4 mg/kg mixed with corn syrup orally every 12 hours. The placebo group received corn syrup orally every 12 hours. Both groups were tre...
Crecan CM, Peștean CP.Objective gait analysis provides valuable information about the locomotion characteristics of sound and lame horses. Due to their high accuracy and sensitivity, inertial measurement units (IMUs) have gained popularity over objective measurement techniques such as force plates and optical motion capture (OMC) systems. IMUs are wearable sensors that measure acceleration forces and angular velocities, providing the possibility of a non-invasive and continuous monitoring of horse gait during walk, trot, or canter during field conditions. The present narrative review aimed to describe the inertial ...
Harman RM, Rajesh A, Van de Walle GR.Treatment of skin wounds is a high priority in veterinary medicine because healthy uncompromised skin is essential for the well-being of horses. Stem cells and other biologic therapies offer benefits by reducing the need for surgical procedures and conventional antibiotics. Evidence from in vitro studies and small in vivo trials supports the use of equine stem cells and biologics for the treatment of acute and chronic cutaneous wounds. Larger clinical trials are warranted to better evaluate the regenerative and immunological responses to these treatments. Additionally, delivery methods and t...
Castro-Mesa AF, Resende Faleiros R, Martínez-Aranzales JR.The transmural ultrasound allows for the definition of the normal appearance of the hoof tissues and internal structures. Determining such measurements and proportions could contribute to evaluations of the normal spatial distal phalanx-hoof relationship. The objective was to describe the hoof's dermis and epidermis measurements using the transmural technique, in comparison with DR and anatomical sections. Sixty-two healthy hooves without digital radiographic abnormalities, made up of 30 anatomical pieces (phase 1) and 32 alive horse hooves (phase 2), and 16 sagittal sections of the first ones...
Olstad K, Ekman S, Björnsdóttir S, Fjordbakk CT, Hansson K, Sigurdsson SF, Ley CJ.Recently, the central and third tarsal bones of 23 equine fetuses and foals were examined using micro-computed tomography. Radiological changes, including incomplete ossification and focal ossification defects interpreted as osteochondrosis, were detected in 16 of 23 cases. The geometry of the osteochondrosis defects suggested they were the result of vascular failure, but this requires histological confirmation. The study aim was to examine central and third tarsal bones from the 16 cases and to describe the tissues present, cartilage canals, and lesions, including suspected osteochondrosis le...
Pezzanite LM, Chow L, Dow SW, Goodrich LR, Gilbertie JM, Schnabel LV.Increasing antimicrobial resistance in veterinary practice has driven the investigation of novel therapeutic strategies including regenerative and biologic therapies to treat bacterial infection. Integration of biological approaches such as platelet lysate and mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapy may represent adjunctive treatment strategies for bacterial infections that minimize systemic side effects and local tissue toxicity associated with traditional antibiotics and that are not subject to antibiotic resistance. In this review, we will discuss mechanisms by which biological therapies exe...
Esposito M, Astolfo A, Cipiccia S, Jones CM, Savvidis S, Ferrara JD, Endrizzi M, Dudhia J, Olivo A.Microscopic imaging of cartilage is a key tool for the study and development of treatments for osteoarthritis. When cellular and sub-cellular resolution is required, histology remains the gold standard approach, albeit limited by the lack of volumetric information as well as by processing artifacts. Cartilage imaging with the sub-cellular resolution has only been demonstrated in the synchrotron environment. Objective: To provide a proof-of-concept demonstration of the capability of a laboratory-based x-ray phase-contrast microscope to resolve sub-cellular features in a cartilage sample. Meth...
Vasoya D, Tzelos T, Benedictus L, Karagianni AE, Pirie S, Marr C, Oddsdóttir C, Fintl C, Connelley T.The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes play a key role in a number of biological processes, most notably in immunological responses. The MHCI and MHCII genes incorporate a complex set of highly polymorphic and polygenic series of genes, which, due to the technical limitations of previously available technologies, have only been partially characterized in non-model but economically important species such as the horse. The advent of high-throughput sequencing platforms has provided new opportunities to develop methods to generate high-resolution sequencing data on a large scale and app...
Ishige T, Kikuchi M, Kakoi H, Hirota KI, Ohnuma A, Tozaki T, Hirosawa Y, Tanaka S, Nagata SI.We evaluated the utility of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for parentage testing in Breton (BR) and Percheron (PR) horses in Japan using the proposed International Society for Animal Genetics (P-ISAG) 147 SNP panel and 414 autosomal SNPs. Genomic DNA was extracted from 98 horses of two breeds, BR (n = 47) and PR (n = 51), and sequenced using next-generation sequencing. The average minor allele frequencies for the P-ISAG panel for BR and PR were 0.306 and 0.301, respectively. The combined probabilities of exclusion (PEs) given two parents and one offspring: exclude a relat...
de la Fuente A, Omyla K, Cooper C, Daels P, Meyers S, Dini P.Morphokinetic evaluation of embryo development has allowed the discovery of events occurring during blastulation. Here, we describe equine embryo pulsing, determined as continued expansion and contraction of both in vivo and in vitro produced blastocysts. Using time-lapse imaging, we demonstrated that pulsing starts during early blastocyst development of in vitro-produced embryos in horses. The median time for a complete contraction was 0.22h (0.08h-2h; min-max) where embryos reduced their sizes around 12.0% (median; 2.3%-27.0%) and the median time for an expansion was 3.3h (0.75-9.0h) where e...
de Souza RP, Mousquer MA, Müller V, Barbosa JCR, Leite FPL, Guedes RMC, Curcio BDR, Nogueira CEW.The aim of the present study was to carry out a serological survey to identify the seroprevalence of Lawsonia intracellularis in six Thoroughbred farms in the Southern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. During 2019 and 2020, blood samples from 686 Thoroughbred horses were obtained from six different breeding farms. Horses were divided into groups according to age: (1) broodmares (>5 years), (2) two-year-old foals, (3) yearlings, and (4) 0-6 months-old foals. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture of the external jugular vein. The detection of antibodies (IgG) against L. in...
Pimenta J, Pires I, Prada J, Cotovio M.Melanocytic tumors are an important neoplastic disease in human and veterinary medicine, presenting large differences regarding tumor behavior between species. In horses, these tumors present a prolonged benign behavior, with rare invasiveness and metastases. In humans and small animals, invasion and metastasis have been associated with an Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, where the loss of E-cadherin expression plays a key role in tumor progression. This process and the role of E-cadherin have not yet been evaluated in equine melanocytic tumors. This study aimed to assess the immunolabeling ...
Gurgul A, Jasielczuk I, Szmatoła T, Sawicki S, Semik-Gurgul E, Długosz B, Bugno-Poniewierska M.Nanopore sequencing is a third-generation biopolymer sequencing technique that relies on monitoring the changes in an electrical current that occur as nucleic acids are passed through a protein nanopore. Increasing quality of reads generated by nanopore sequencing systems encourages their application in genome-wide polymorphism detection and genotyping. In this study, we employed nanopore sequencing to identify genome-wide polymorphisms in the horse genome. To reduce the size and complexity of genome fragments for sequencing in a simple and cost-efficient manner, we amplified random DNA fragme...
Li L, Maboni G, Lack A, Gomez DE.Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections are increasing in human and veterinary medicine. Although horses were initially thought to be resistant to NTM infection, reports of horses suffering from gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive diseases associated with NTM have increased in the last few decades. The aim of this literature review is to summarize the mycobacteria species found in horses, describe clinical manifestations, diagnostic and treatment approaches, and public health concerns of NTM infection in horses. Clinical manifestations of NTM in horses include pulmonary diseas...
de Melo UP, Ferreira C.Oral and dental diseases are common in horses, as evidenced by the results of incidence studies of dental diseases carried out on abattoir specimens or sports horses. Thus, periodic dental examinations in horses are essential to ensure the maintenance of dental health and proper use of ingested food. A retrospective study of the dental records of 416 Quarter Horses (256 males, 160 females), distributed in the western region of the Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, was conducted. Horses were examined between July 2012 and August 2022. The variables collected were age, sex, type of diet, dental alter...
Nagata K, Tsukita S, Tamura T, Sone N.A Helicobacter pylori membrane fraction oxidized yeast and equine cytochrome c, and N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD). When ascorbate was used as reductant, the Vmax and apparent Km values were 612 nmol electron min-1 (mg protein)-1 and 14 microM for yeast, and 419 nmol electron min-1 (mg protein)-1 and 19 microM for equine cytochrome c, respectively. For TMPD oxidation, the Vmax and Km values were 640 nmol electron min-1 (mg protein)-1 and 182 microM, respectively. These oxidase activities showed a high affinity for oxygen. Inhibition of both cytochrome-c and TMPD oxidase activi...
Couto MA, Harwig SS, Lehrer RI.Equine neutrophil antimicrobial peptide 2 (eNAP-2), a recently described antimicrobial peptide isolated from equine neutrophils, was found to selectively inactivate microbial serine proteases (subtilisin A and proteinase K) without inhibiting mammalian serine proteases (human neutrophil elastase, human cathepsin G, and bovine pancreatic trypsin). Although the primary structure of eNAP-2 resembled that of several known antiproteases that belong to the 4-disulfide core peptide family, this pattern of selectivity is unique. eNAP-2 formed a noncovalent complex with native subtilisin A or proteinas...
Frey J.RTX toxins are bacterial pore-forming toxins that are particularly abundant among pathogenic species of Pasteurellaceae, in which they play a major role in virulence. RTX toxins of several primary pathogens of the family of Pasteurellaceae are directly involved in causing necrotic lesions in the target organs. Many RTX toxins are known as haemolysins because they lyse erythrocytes in vitro, an effect that is non-specific, but which serves as a useful marker in bacteriological identification and as an easily measurable signal in vitro in experimental studies. More recent studies have shown that...
Malekipour F, Whitton C, Oetomo D, Lee PV.Despite the important role of subchondral bone in maintaining the integrity of the overlying articular cartilage, little research has focused on measuring its mechanical behavior, particularly under injurious load conditions such as impact compression. In this study, the stiffness and the absorbed energy of subchondral bone were compared to that of its overlying cartilage by applying impact compression to equine cartilage-bone specimens. Deformations of the cartilage and subchondral bone were examined independently within the cartilage-bone unit by analyzing real-time images of cartilage-bone ...
Levine JM, Scrivani PV, Divers TJ, Furr M, Mayhew IJ, Reed S, Levine GJ, Foreman JH, Boudreau C, Credille BC, Tennent-Brown B, Cohen ND.To compare signalment of horses with cervical vertebral malformation-malarticulation (CVM) with that of control horses and to describe results of clinical examination, diagnostic imaging and necropsy findings, and reported outcome in horses with CVM. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: 270 horses with CVM and 608 control horses admitted to 6 veterinary hospitals from 1992 through 2007. Methods: Medical records of participating hospitals were reviewed to identify horses with CVM (ie, case horses) and contemporaneous control (non-CVM-affected) horses that were admitted for treatm...
Cullinane AA, Rixon FJ, Davison AJ.The genome structure of equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) subtype 2 was shown by electron microscopic studies and restriction endonuclease site mapping to comprise two covalently linked segments (L, 109 kbp; S, 35 kbp). The S segment contains a unique sequence (US) flanked by a substantial inverted repeat (TRS/IRS). Thus, the genome structure of EHV-1 subtype 2 is similar to that published previously for EHV-1 subtype 1, but the two subtypes differ in the occurrences of EcoRI and BamHI restriction sites. Hybridization studies using cloned EHV-1 DNA showed that the genome of EHV-1 subtype 2 is colin...
Hale BW, Goodrich LR, Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW, Kisiday JD.To evaluate the effect of fibrin concentrations on mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) migration out of autologous and commercial fibrin hydrogels. Methods: Blood and bone marrow from six 2- to 4-year-old horses. Methods: Autologous fibrinogen was precipitated from plasma and solubilized into a concentrated solution. Mesenchymal stem cells were resuspended in fibrinogen solutions containing 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% of the fibrinogen precipitate solution. Fibrin hydrogels were created by mixing the fibrinogen solutions with MSCs and thrombin on tissue culture plates. After incubation for 24 hours in cel...
Sangster NC.Anthelmintic-resistance has emerged as a problem in several animal industries. In the horse, cyathostome resistance to all available treatments except for the avermectin/milbemycins means that these drugs provide the cornerstone of control. Ivermectin has been available for several years; the related compound moxidectin is more recent. Although we do not know for sure, aspects of moxidectin such as its persistent action and its efficacy against mucosal stages of cyathostomes, may enhance the rate of development of resistance. On the other hand, selection pressure would be reduced if the persis...
Badenhorst M, de Heus P, Auer A, Tegtmeyer B, Stang A, Dimmel K, Tichy A, Kubacki J, Bachofen C, Steinmann E, Cavalleri JMV.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) research is in its infancy. Information regarding prevalence, geographical distribution, genetic diversity, pathogenesis and risk factors enhances understanding of this potentially fatal infection. Objective: Determining the prevalence of EqPV-H in Austrian equids. Investigating factors increasing probability of infection, liver-associated biochemistry parameters, concurrent equine hepacivirus (EqHV) infection and phylogenetic analysis of Austrian EqPV-H variants. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Sera from 259 horses and 13 donkeys in Austria were a...
Leadon D, Waran N, Herholz C, Klay M.Enormous numbers of horses are transported locally, nationally and internationally every year. National legislation and international guidelines set standards for the health and welfare of animals during transport. As a consequence, equine clinicians have major responsibilities in safeguarding the horse industry against the spread of disease and in being aware of the problems inherent in horse transport. The authors explore road, sea and air transport and their effect on horses. Various types of road transport are available and there are various sources of impact on horses. These include loadi...
Jolly RD, Palmer DN, Dalefield RR.Analytical studies of three lipopigments show that much can be achieved. Lipopigment from ovine ceroid-lipofuscinosis is composed of discrete protein and lipid molecules in orderly arrays and lipid peroxidation is not involved in its formation. Subunit c of mitochondrial ATP synthase accounts for approximately 50% of accumulated material and is specific to the disease process in this and other forms of the disease. Lipofuscin from bovine heart was mostly soluble and also contained discrete proteins, lipids and metals. Equine thyroid lipofuscin was less soluble but also had a relatively high pr...
Landolt GA.For decades the horse has been viewed as an isolated or "dead-end" host for influenza A viruses, with equine influenza virus being considered as relatively stable genetically. Although equine influenza viruses are genetically more stable than those of human lineage, they are by no means in evolutionary stasis. Moreover, recent transmission of equine-lineage influenza viruses to dogs also challenges the horse's status as a dead-end host. This article reviews recent developments in the epidemiology and evolution of equine influenza virus. In addition, the clinical presentation of equine influenz...
Rakic R, Bourdon B, Hervieu M, Branly T, Legendre F, Saulnier N, Audigié F, Maddens S, Demoor M, Galera P.As in humans, osteoarthritis (OA) causes considerable economic loss to the equine industry. New hopes for cartilage repair have emerged with the matrix-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI). Nevertheless, its limitation is due to the dedifferentiation occurring during the chondrocyte amplification phase, leading to the loss of its capacity to produce a hyaline extracellular matrix (ECM). To enhance the MACI therapy efficiency, we have developed a strategy for chondrocyte redifferentiation, and demonstrated its feasibility in the equine model. Thus, to mimic the cartilage microe...
Khodadadi K, Sumer H, Pashaiasl M, Lim S, Williamson M, Verma PJ.Despite tremendous efforts on isolation of pluripotent equine embryonic stem (ES) cells, to date there are few reports about successful isolation of ESCs and no report of in vivo differentiation of this important companion species. We report the induction of pluripotency in adult equine fibroblasts via retroviral transduction with three transcription factors using OCT4, SOX2, and KLF4 in the absence of c-MYC. The cell lines were maintained beyond 27 passages (more than 11 months) and characterized. The equine iPS (EiPS) cells stained positive for alkaline phosphatase by histochemical staining ...
Kulbrock M, Lehner S, Metzger J, Ohnesorge B, Distl O.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a common eye disease affecting up to 3-15% of the horse population. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the Illumina equine SNP50 bead chip was performed to identify loci conferring risk to ERU. The sample included a total of 144 German warmblood horses. A GWAS showed a significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on horse chromosome (ECA) 20 at 49.3 Mb, with IL-17A and IL-17F being the closest genes. This locus explained a fraction of 23% of the phenotypic variance for ERU. A GWAS taking into account the severity of ERU, revealed a SNP on ECA18 n...
Muir P, Peterson AL, Sample SJ, Scollay MC, Markel MD, Kalscheur VL.Repetitive bone injury and development of stress fracture is a common problem in humans and animals. The Thoroughbred racehorse is a model in which adaptive failure and associated development of stress fracture is common. We performed a histologic study of the distal end of the third metacarpal bone in two groups of horses: young Thoroughbreds that were actively racing (n = 10) and a group of non-athletic horses (n = 8). The purpose of this study was to determine whether development of articular microcracks was associated with specific alterations to subchondral plate osteocytes. Morphometric ...
Wieser B, Tichy A, Nell B.Guinea pigs have a very low threshold of corneal sensitivity and at the same time nearly no reflex tearing compared to dogs, cats, and horses. The question arose whether there is a general correlation between corneal sensitivity and the quantity of reflex tearing. Methods: Totally 160 animals of 8 different species (20 animals per species) were investigated. Methods: The corneal touch threshold (CTT) was measured with a Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer. The palpebral fissure length (PFL) was measured with a calliper ruler. The Schirmer tear test (STT) was modified by adapting the width of the STT s...
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...
Zhang J.Prion diseases (e.g. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), variant CJD (vCJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS), Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) and Kuru in humans, scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or 'mad-cow' disease) and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cattles) are invariably fatal and highly infectious neurodegenerative diseases affecting humans and animals. However, by now there have not been some effective therapeutic approaches or medications to treat all these prion diseases. Rabbits, dogs, and horses are the only mammalian species reported to be resistant...
Rousseau K, Kirkham S, McKane S, Newton R, Clegg P, Thornton DJ.Horses frequently suffer from respiratory diseases, which, irrespective of etiology, are often associated with airway mucus accumulation. Studies on human airways have shown that the key structural components of the mucus layer are oligomeric mucins, which can undergo changes of expression and properties in disease. However, there is little information on these gel-forming glycoproteins in horse airways mucus. Therefore, the aims of this study were to isolate equine airways oligomeric mucins, characterize their macromolecular properties, and identify their gene products. To this end, pooled tr...
Sallé G, Guillot J, Tapprest J, Foucher N, Sevin C, Laugier C.Horses are infected by a wide range of parasite species that form complex communities. Parasite control imposes significant constraints on parasite communities whose monitoring remains, however, difficult to track through time. Postmortem examination is a reliable method to quantify parasite communities. Here, we compiled 1,673 necropsy reports accumulated over 29 years, in the reference necropsy centre from Normandy (France). The burden of non-strongylid species was quantified and the presence of strongylid species was noted. Details of horse deworming history and the cause of death were reg...
Grooters AM, Whittington A, Lopez MK, Boroughs MN, Roy AF.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sample handling, storage, and culture techniques on the isolation of Pythium insidiosum from infected equine tissues. Tissue and kunker samples obtained immediately posteuthanasia from a horse with subcutaneous pythiosis were used to assess the effects of sample type (kunkers vs. tissues), media type (selective vs. nonselective), storage technique, and storage time on P. insidiosum isolation rate. Overall, isolation rates were higher from fresh kunkers (94.6%) and stored kunkers (76.4%) than from fresh tissues (8.3%) or stored tissues (4...
Toribio RE.Calcium and phosphate have structural and nonstructural functions, and their concentrations in the extracellular compartment are affected by the physiologic status of the animal as well as diseases. Important progress in understanding calcium and phosphorus metabolism in healthy and diseased horses and foals has been made in recent years. For example, several studies have confirmed that hypocalcemia is frequent in horses with gastrointestinal disease and that calcium endocrine dysregulation is associated with survival in foals. One critical point in the homeostasis of these minerals is their i...
Spiess BM.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) has always been and still is an important disease with a significant impact on the horse industry in Europe, with a prevalence of 8-10%. The need to understand and manage the disease has spurred the development of veterinary ophthalmology in general, although the aetiology of the disease remains the subject of intense discussion. It is most probably an autoimmune disease triggered, at least in Europe, in the majority of cases by Leptospira spp. The therapy of ERU has evolved over the centuries from various methods of bloodletting to rational medical therapy using...
Kisiday JD, McIlwraith CW, Rodkey WG, Frisbie DD, Steadman JR.To evaluate the effects of single- and double-spin preparations of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on anabolic and catabolic activities of cartilage and meniscal explants in vitro. Methods: Single- and double-spin PRP was prepared using laboratory processing or commercial kits. The cellular contents were quantified, and each PRP was mixed in equal quantities with cell culture medium and added to cartilage or meniscus explant cultures, with or without interleukin 1 β (IL-1β). Extracellular matrix synthesis was quantified over 24 hours via (35)S-sulfate and (3)H-proline incorporation, while gene ex...
Matsuu A, Hobo S, Ando K, Sanekata T, Sato F, Endo Y, Amaya T, Osaki T, Horie M, Masatani T, Ozawa M, Tsukiyama-Kohara K.Non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV) is a recently discovered homolog of the hepatitis C virus in horses. The frequency and distribution of NPHV infections among horses in Japan is unknown. In this study, serum samples from 453 horses across Japan were screened for NPHV RNA using real-time RT-PCR and anti-nonstructural 3 protein (NS3) antibodies using the Gaussia luciferase immunoprecipitation system assay. In order to monitor the course of NPHV infection in horses, we examined 31 stored samples (9 adult horses and 22 young horses) obtained one year ago and compared the results to the recent data. S...
Richard EA, Fortier GD, Lekeux PM, Van Erck E.Any disorder impairing a performance horse's ability to ventilate its lungs and exchange oxygen compromises exercise performance in any discipline. Since bronchoalveolar lavage was described in horses in the early 1980s, laboratory evaluation of respiratory fluids, along with clinical and functional assessment of the respiratory system, has become a relevant step in the diagnosis of respiratory disease affecting performance. The aim of this review is to provide objective information to assist clinicians in interpreting laboratory findings by (1) summarising published cytological references val...
Svala E, Jin C, Rüetschi U, Ekman S, Lindahl A, Karlsson NG, Skiöldebrand E.The glycoprotein lubricin contributes to the boundary lubrication of the articular cartilage surface. The early events of osteoarthritis involve the superficial layer where lubricin is synthesised. Objective: To characterise the glycosylation profile of lubricin in synovial fluid from horses with osteoarthritis and study secretion and degradation of lubricin in an in vitro inflammation cartilage model. Methods: In vitro study. Methods: Synovial fluid samples collected from horses with joints with normal articular cartilage and structural osteoarthritic lesions; with and without osteochondral f...
O'Brien C, Darcy-Dunne MR, Murphy BA.Photoperiod is considered the most dominant environmental cue allowing animals to anticipate and adapt to seasonal changes. In seasonally breeding mammals, changes in daylength alter pineal melatonin secretion and pituitary prolactin secretion. During the seasonal transition to shorter winter daylengths, increased production of melatonin and declining prolactin are associated with triggering winter coat growth in many animals. Similarly, studies have shown that artificial extension of photoperiod suppresses melatonin secretion and lifts prolactin inhibition to activate moulting. Four longitudi...
