A comparison of foal and adult horse neutrophil function using flow cytometric techniques.

This research article is about a study that used flow cytometric assays to compare the functionality of neutrophils from healthy foals and adult horses, specifically their phagocytic ability and oxidative burst activity.

Study Overview

• The study was undertaken to understand the difference in function of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, between young foals and adult horses. This was done using flow cytometric assays, a technique that allows cells to be sorted and classified based on their physical and chemical characteristics.

Phagocytic Function Analysis

• The researchers investigated the phagocytic activity of the neutrophils, which is their ability to ingest harmful bacteria or particles. The phagocytic function was assessed by observing the ingestion of Staphylococcus aureus by the neutrophils.
• The results showed that the ability of foal neutrophils to attach and ingest bacteria was lesser than that of adult horse neutrophils. This difference couldn’t be significantly improved even by using adult serum, a source of opsonins that help in promoting phagocytosis.

Oxidative Burst Analysis

• The researchers also studied oxidative burst activity, a process in which neutrophils release reactive oxygen species to destroy ingested microbes.
• Despite the deficits in phagocytic ability, the oxidative burst activity of foal neutrophils was found comparable to that of adult cells.
• However, when serum or plasma was introduced into the oxidative burst assay, the foal neutrophils showed reduced autofluorescence, indicating a decrease in reactive oxygen species production. Additionally, their response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), a stimulator of oxidative burst, was also suppressed compared to adult cells.

Study Implications

• The outcomes of the research suggest that the neutrophils of foals have a diminished capacity to phagocytose bacteria compared to adult horse neutrophils. Further, the oxidative burst activity of foal neutrophils appears to be suppressed due to some unidentified factors present in serum.
• The study thus implies that these functional differences in foal neutrophils might contribute to their increased susceptibility to septic diseases, a common health issue affecting young foals.