Effect of long-term fluticasone treatment on immune function in horses with heaves.
Abstract: Corticosteroids currently are the most effective pharmacological treatment available to control heaves in horses. Systemically administered corticosteroids have been shown to alter immune response in horses, humans, and other species. Aerosolized administration theoretically minimizes systemic adverse effects, but the effect of inhaled corticosteroids on immune function has not been evaluated in horses. Objective: To evaluate the effects of prolonged administration of inhaled fluticasone on the immune system of heaves-affected horses. Methods: Heaves-affected horses were treated with inhaled fluticasone (n = 5) for 11 months or received environmental modifications only (n = 5). Methods: Prospective analysis. Clinical parameters and CBC, lymphocyte subpopulations and function, and circulating neutrophil gene expression were sequentially measured. Primary and anamnestic immune responses also were evaluated by measuring antigen-specific antibodies in response to vaccination with bovine viral antigen and tetanus toxoid, respectively. Results: No clinical adverse effects were observed and no differences in immune function were detected between treated and untreated horses. Conclusions: The treatment of heaves-affected horses with inhaled fluticasone at therapeutic dosages for 11 months has no significant detectable effect on innate and adaptive (both humoral and cell-mediated) immune parameters studied. These results suggest that prolonged administration of fluticasone would not compromise the systemic immune response to pathogens nor vaccination in adult horses.
Copyright © 2011 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
Publication Date: 2011-04-12 PubMed ID: 21488960DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0717.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article discusses a study on horses with a condition called Heaves, investigating whether long-term treatment with a drug called fluticasone, delivered through inhalation, impacts their immune function. The study’s findings indicate that 11 months of this treatment seems to have no significant effect on the animals’ innate and adaptive immune responses.
Research Objectives and Methods
- The main objective of the article is to ascertain the effects of inhaled fluticasone over prolonged periods on the immune system of horses afflicted by Heaves, a condition similar to Asthma in humans.
- The chosen methodology was to divide horses affected by Heaves into two groups – one that was treated with inhaled fluticasone for 11 months (n = 5) and another that only received environmental modifications (n = 5).
- The study conducted was a prospective analysis, in which clinical parameters and ‘Complete Blood Count’, lymphocyte subpopulations and their function, and circulating neutrophil gene expression were measured in a sequential fashion.
- Primary and anamnestic immune responses were also evaluated by measuring antigen-specific antibodies in response to vaccination with bovine viral antigen and tetanus toxoid, respectively.
Research Findings and Conclusion
- The results of the research indicated no visible clinical adverse effects nor differences in immune function between the fluticasone-treated horses and those that received only environmental changes.
- The conclusion of the study is that treating Heaves-affected horses with inhaled fluticasone at therapeutic dosages for 11 months showed no significant discernible effect on innate and adaptive (both antibody-mediated and cell-mediated) immune parameters studied.
- These findings suggest that the long-term administration of fluticasone would pose no risks on the systemic immune response to pathogens nor vaccination in adult horses, which is crucial for ensuring the health and wellbeing of animals receiving this treatment.
Cite This Article
APA
Dauvillier J, Felippe MJ, Lunn DP, Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Leclère M, Beauchamp G, Lavoie JP.
(2011).
Effect of long-term fluticasone treatment on immune function in horses with heaves.
J Vet Intern Med, 25(3), 549-557.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0717.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC, Canada.
MeSH Terms
- Androstadienes / administration & dosage
- Androstadienes / therapeutic use
- Animal Husbandry
- Animals
- Anti-Inflammatory Agents / administration & dosage
- Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use
- Drug Administration Schedule
- Female
- Fluticasone
- Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horses
- Immunoglobulin G / blood
- Immunoglobulin G / classification
- Lymphocyte Subsets / physiology
- Male
- Neutrophils / metabolism
- Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / drug therapy
- Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / immunology
- Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / veterinary
- Tetanus Toxoid / immunology
- Time Factors
- Viral Vaccines
Grant Funding
- 208855 / Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Citations
This article has been cited 8 times.- Rutledge JJ, Paegelow J, Ritchey J, Singh A, Rizzi T, Murray C, Gilliam L, Crisman E, Williams NJ, Holbrook TC. Nebulized glycosylated caffeic acid phenylether ester attenuation of environmental particulate-induced airway inflammation in horses. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:958567.
- Mainguy-Seers S, Lavoie JP. Glucocorticoid treatment in horses with asthma: A narrative review. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Jul;35(4):2045-2057.
- Klier J, Bartl C, Geuder S, Geh KJ, Reese S, Goehring LS, Winter G, Gehlen H. Immunomodulatory asthma therapy in the equine animal model: A dose-response study and evaluation of a long-term effect. Immun Inflamm Dis 2019 Sep;7(3):130-149.
- Lavoie JP, Bullone M, Rodrigues N, Germim P, Albrecht B, von Salis-Soglio M. Effect of different doses of inhaled ciclesonide on lung function, clinical signs related to airflow limitation and serum cortisol levels in horses with experimentally induced mild to severe airway obstruction. Equine Vet J 2019 Nov;51(6):779-786.
- Lavoie JP, Leclere M, Rodrigues N, Lemos KR, Bourzac C, Lefebvre-Lavoie J, Beauchamp G, Albrecht B. Efficacy of inhaled budesonide for the treatment of severe equine asthma. Equine Vet J 2019 May;51(3):401-407.
- Herteman N, Vargas A, Lavoie JP. Characterization of Circulating Low-Density Neutrophils Intrinsic Properties in Healthy and Asthmatic Horses. Sci Rep 2017 Aug 10;7(1):7743.
- de la Cuesta-Torrado M, Vitale V, Velloso Alvarez A, Neira-Egea P, Diss C, Cuervo-Arango J. The Effect of Vaccination Status on Total Lymphocyte Count in Horses Affected by Equine Herpes Virus-1 Myeloencephalopathy. Animals (Basel) 2025 Apr 1;15(7).
- Kreutzfeldt N, Chambers TM, Reedy S, Spann KM, Pusterla N. Effect of dexamethasone on antibody response of horses to vaccination with a combined equine influenza virus and equine herpesvirus-1 vaccine. J Vet Intern Med 2024 Jan-Feb;38(1):424-430.
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