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Veterinary medicine and science2022; 8(3); 1049-1055; doi: 10.1002/vms3.735

Caecal microbiota in horses with trigeminal-mediated headshaking.

Abstract: Trigeminal-mediated headshaking (TMHS) in horses is a form of neuropathic pain of undetermined cause that often results in euthanasia. The role of microbiota in TMHS has not been investigated in diseased horses. To investigate if gastrointestinal microbiota in the cecum is different in horses with TMHS compared to a control population, during a summer season with clinical manifestations of disease. Ten castrated horses: five with TMHS and five neurologically normal controls. All horses were sourced from our institution and kept under the same husbandry and dietary conditions. All horses were fed orchard grass hay for 30 days and then were euthanized due to chronic untreatable conditions including TMHS and orthopedic disease (control group). Caecal samples for microbiota analysis were collected within 20 min after euthanasia. Sequencing was performed using an Illumina MiSeq platform and the microbiome was analyzed. The caecal microbiota of horses with TMHS was similar to control horses in terms of diversity but differed significantly with Methanocorpusculum spp. having higher abundance in horses with TMHS.  CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Methanocorpusculum spp. was more abundant in the cecum of horses with TMHS. However, its role in disease is unknown. Furthermore, it could also represent an incidental finding due to our small population size.
© 2022 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2022-01-21 PubMed ID: 35060350PubMed Central: PMC9122421DOI: 10.1002/vms3.735Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
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  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research investigated the microbial composition of the cecum (a part of the intestine) in horses suffering from trigeminal-mediated headshaking (TMHS), a form of neuropathic pain, compared to healthy control horses. The study found similarities in microbiota diversity between the two groups, but noted a significantly higher abundance of Methanocorpusculum spp. (a type of bacteria) in the cecum of horses with TMHS.

Objective and Methodology

  • The study aimed to investigate if there were differences in the gastrointestinal microbiota (the tiny organisms living in the gut) in the cecum of horses with TMHS compared to a control group, during a summer season when the disease symptoms were apparent.
  • The researchers worked with ten castrated horses. These included five horses diagnosed with TMHS, and five neurologically normal horses which served as the control group.
  • Both TMHS and control group horses were domestically sourced from the researchers’ institution and were subject to identical feeding and living conditions.
  • To ensure uniformity in dietary intake, all horses in the study were fed orchard grass hay for 30 days ahead of the experiment.

Data Collection and Analysis

  • Unfortunately, due to incurable conditions such as TMHS (in the case of the experimental group) and orthopedic disease (in the control group), the study horses were euthanized.
  • Within 20 minutes of euthanasia, samples from the cecum, an important part of the digestive tract where a lot of microbiota reside, were collected for analysis.
  • The researchers performed sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq platform to investigate the microbiome (the community of microbes) present in the samples.

Results

  • The researchers found that the cecal microbiota diversity was similar in both groups of horses.
  • However, there was a significant difference in the prevalence of a specific type of bacteria known as Methanocorpusculum spp., which was found to be more abundant in horses with TMHS.

Conclusions and Clinical Implications

  • The researchers concluded that while this increased presence of Methanocorpusculum spp. in the cecum of horses with TMHS is notable, its specific role in triggering or exacerbating the disease remains unknown.
  • The study acknowledges that this relationship could be incidental, and might be influenced by the small population size used in the study.

Cite This Article

APA
Aleman M, Sheldon SA, Jospin G, Coil D, Stratton-Phelps M, Eisen J. (2022). Caecal microbiota in horses with trigeminal-mediated headshaking. Vet Med Sci, 8(3), 1049-1055. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.735

Publication

Veterinary medicine and science
ISSN: 2053-1095
NlmUniqueID: 101678837
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 8
Issue: 3
Pages: 1049-1055

Researcher Affiliations

Aleman, Monica
  • Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Sheldon, Shara A
  • Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Jospin, Guillaume
  • The Genome Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Coil, David
  • The Genome Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.
Stratton-Phelps, Meri
  • All Creatures Nutrition - Private, Fairfield, California, USA.
Eisen, Jonathan
  • The Genome Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Cecum
  • Diet / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases
  • Horses
  • Microbiota
  • Seasons

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Karnachuk OV, Panova IA, Panov VL, Ikkert OP, Kadnikov VV, Rusanov II, Avakyan MR, Glukhova LB, Lukina AP, Rakitin AV, Begmatov S, Beletsky AV, Pimenov NV, Ravin NV. Active Sulfate-Reducing Bacterial Community in the Camel Gut. Microorganisms 2023 Feb 4;11(2).
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  2. Chow L, Kawahisa-Piquini G, Bass L, Hendrickson D, Patel A, Rockow M, Dow S, Pezzanite LM. Correlation of fecal microbiome dysregulation to synovial transcriptome in an equine model of obesity associated osteoarthritis. Ann Transl Med 2024 Dec 24;12(6):112.
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