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Journal of veterinary internal medicine2021; 35(4); 2026-2034; doi: 10.1111/jvim.16159

Bronchial angiogenesis in horses with severe asthma and its response to corticosteroids.

Abstract: Severe asthma in horses is characterized by structural changes that thicken the lower airway wall, a change that is only partially reversible by current treatments. Increased vascularization contributes to the thickening of the bronchial wall in humans with asthma and is considered a potential new therapeutic target. Objective: To determine the presence of angiogenesis in the bronchi of severely asthmatic horses, and if present, to evaluate its reversibility by treatment with corticosteroids. Methods: Study 1: Bronchial samples from asthmatic horses in exacerbation (7), in remission (7), and aged-matched healthy horses. Study 2: Endobronchial biopsy samples from asthmatic horses in exacerbation (6) and healthy horses (6) before and after treatment with dexamethasone. Methods: Blinded, randomized controlled study. Immunohistochemistry was performed using collagen IV as a marker for vascular basement membranes. Number of vessels, vascular area, and mean vessel size in the bronchial lamina propria were measured by histomorphometry. Reversibility of vascular changes in Study 2 was assessed after 2 weeks of treatment with dexamethasone. Results: The number of vessels and vascular area were increased in the airway walls of asthmatic horses in exacerbation (P = .01 and P = .02, respectively) and in remission (P = .02 and P = .04, respectively) when compared to controls. In Study 2, the differences observed between groups disappeared after 2 weeks of treatment with corticosteroids because of the increased number of vessels in healthy horses. Conclusions: Angiogenesis contributes to thickening of the airway wall in asthmatic horses and was not reversed by a 2-week treatment with corticosteroids.
Publication Date: 2021-05-28 PubMed ID: 34048095PubMed Central: PMC8295704DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16159Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

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The article discusses a study on the role of angiogenesis in severe asthma for horses and whether corticosteroids can reverse it. The research shows an increase in bronchial vascularization in horses with asthma, which doesn’t appear to be reversed by a 2-week corticosteroids treatment.

Research Objective and Methods

  • The main purpose of this research was to determine whether angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) occurs in the bronchi of horses with severe asthma. If it is present, the researchers aimed to study whether it could be reversed by corticosteroid treatment.
  • The study was divided into two parts. The first involved bronchial samples from horses with asthma in varying conditions: exacerbation, remission, and healthy matched controls. In the second, bronchial biopsy samples from asthmatic and healthy horses were taken before and after administering the corticosteroid dexamethasone.
  • The methodology was a blinded, randomized controlled study. Immunohistochemistry, a method that visually detects specific components in tissue samples, was utilized with the use of collagen IV as a marker for vascular basement membranes.
  • Researchers observed and measured the number of blood vessels, vascular area, and average size of vessels present in the bronchial lamina propria, a layer of loose connective tissues beneath the epithelium, by histomorphometry, a method to collect quantitative data from histological samples.

Research Findings

  • The result indicated a significant increase in the number of blood vessels and vascular area in the bronchial tissues of asthmatic horses during both exacerbation and remission compared to healthy controls.
  • In the second part of the study, after 2 weeks of corticosteroid treatment, the differences in the number of vessels between asthmatic and healthy horses disappeared, mainly due to an increase in vessels in the healthy horses.

Conclusion

  • The findings confirmed that angiogenesis is a contributing factor to thickening of the bronchial wall in asthmatic horses.
  • Despite the increased number of vessels in healthy horses after corticosteroid treatment, the study concluded that the vascular changes in asthmatic horses are not reversed by a 2-week treatment with corticosteroids. Therefore, the treatment might not be an effective measure against angiogenesis associated with asthma in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Millares-Ramirez EM, Lavoie JP. (2021). Bronchial angiogenesis in horses with severe asthma and its response to corticosteroids. J Vet Intern Med, 35(4), 2026-2034. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16159

Publication

ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 35
Issue: 4
Pages: 2026-2034

Researcher Affiliations

Millares-Ramirez, Esther M
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Q, Canada.
Lavoie, Jean-Pierre
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Montreal, Saint-Hyacinthe, Q, Canada.

MeSH Terms

  • Adrenal Cortex Hormones / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Asthma / drug therapy
  • Asthma / veterinary
  • Bronchi
  • Bronchoscopy / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / drug therapy
  • Horses
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / drug therapy
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / veterinary

Grant Funding

  • PJT-148807 / CIHR
  • PJT-148807 / CIHR

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

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