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Home / Equine Research Bank / J Vet Med / Effects of Experimental Sarcocystis neurona-Induced Infectio...
Journal of veterinary medicine2014; 2014; 239495; doi: 10.1155/2014/239495

Effects of Experimental Sarcocystis neurona-Induced Infection on Immunity in an Equine Model.

Abstract: Sarcocystis neurona is the most common cause of Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM), affecting 0.5-1% horses in the United States during their lifetimes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the equine immune responses in an experimentally induced Sarcocystis neurona infection model. Neurologic parameters were recorded prior to and throughout the 70-day study by blinded investigators. Recombinant SnSAG1 ELISA for serum and CSF were used to confirm and track disease progression. All experimentally infected horses displayed neurologic signs after infection. Neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes from infected horses displayed significantly delayed apoptosis at some time points. Cell proliferation was significantly increased in S. neurona-infected horses when stimulated nonspecifically with PMA/I but significantly decreased when stimulated with S. neurona compared to controls. Collectively, our results suggest that horses experimentally infected with S. neurona manifest impaired antigen specific response to S. neurona, which could be a function of altered antigen presentation, lack of antigen recognition, or both.
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Publication Date: 2014-11-12 PubMed ID: 26464923PubMed Central: PMC4590861DOI: 10.1155/2014/239495Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

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 sought to examine how immune responses in horses react to an engineered infection of Sarcocystis neurona, a common source of Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM). The researchers found that the infected horses showed signs of impaired response to the infection, which could be due to compromised antigen recognition, altered antigen presentation, or both.

Objective and Methodology

  • The primary aim of this study was to scrutinize how the immune system in horses behaves when confronted with a deliberately induced infection of Sarcocystis neurona, which is frequently responsible for Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM).
  • It was established that EPM influences 0.5-1% of horses in the U.S. in their lifetime, thus the significance of understanding this disease, its progression and possible solutions is immense.
  • The researchers utilized blinded investigators to record neurologic parameters both prior to and throughout the 70-day research period.
  • Experimental markers such as Recombinant SnSAG1 ELISA for serum and CSF were employed to confirm the presence of the disease and also to track its progression.

Results and Findings

  • All the horses that were experimentally induced with Sarcocystis neurona showed neurologic signs post-infection.
  • There were observable changes in the behaviours of neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes (types of white blood cells) from the infected horses; they demonstrated significantly delayed apoptosis (self-destruction) at certain points during the study.
  • Cell proliferation was markedly increased in the S. neurona-infected horses when they were non-specifically stimulated with PMA/I, but it intriguingly decreased when they were stimulated with S. neurona in comparison with control subjects.

    • Conclusion

    • The results of this study collectively suggest that horses that have been intentionally infected with S. neurona manifest an impaired antigen-specific response to the parasite.
    • This defective response could be due to an alteration in antigen presentation, lack of antigen recognition, or a combination of both factors.
    • This research offers valuable insights into understanding the progression of EPM and could help in the development of therapeutic strategies to manage and prevent this disease in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Lewis SR, Ellison SP, Dascanio JJ, Lindsay DS, Gogal RM, Werre SR, Surendran N, Breen ME, Heid BM, Andrews FM, Buechner-Maxwell VA, Witonsky SG. (2014). Effects of Experimental Sarcocystis neurona-Induced Infection on Immunity in an Equine Model. J Vet Med, 2014, 239495. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/239495

Publication

Journal of veterinary medicine
ISSN: 2356-7708
NlmUniqueID: 101627989
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 2014
Pages: 239495
PII: 239495

Researcher Affiliations

Lewis, S Rochelle
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; Rangiora Veterinary Centre, Rangiora 7400, New Zealand.
Ellison, Siobhan P
  • Pathogenes Inc, P.O. Box 970, Fairfield, FL 32634, USA.
Dascanio, John J
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN 37752, USA.
Lindsay, David S
  • Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Gogal, Robert M
  • Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; Department of Biosciences and Diagnostic Imaging, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Werre, Stephen R
  • Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Surendran, Naveen
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; Rochester General Hospital Research Institute, Rochester, NY 14621, USA.
Breen, Meghan E
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA ; Natural Vet Palm Beach, Juno Beach, FL 33408, USA.
Heid, Bettina M
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Andrews, Frank M
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA ; School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Clinics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA.
Buechner-Maxwell, Virginia A
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Witonsky, Sharon G
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Hay AN, Potter A, Kasmark L, Zhu J, Leeth CM. RAPID COMMUNICATION: TLR4 expressed but with reduced functionality on equine B lymphocytes.. J Anim Sci 2019 Apr 29;97(5):2175-2180.
    doi: 10.1093/jas/skz074pubmed: 30901382google scholar: lookup
  2. Witonsky S, Buechner-Maxwell V, Santonastasto A, Pleasant R, Werre S, Wagner B, Ellison S, Lindsay D. Can levamisole upregulate the equine cell-mediated macrophage (M1) dendritic cell (DC1) T-helper 1 (CD4 Th1) T-cytotoxic (CD8) immune response in vitro?. J Vet Intern Med 2019 Mar;33(2):889-896.
    doi: 10.1111/jvim.15404pubmed: 30693587google scholar: lookup
  3. Reed SM, Furr M, Howe DK, Johnson AL, MacKay RJ, Morrow JK, Pusterla N, Witonsky S. Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis: An Updated Consensus Statement with a Focus on Parasite Biology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention.. J Vet Intern Med 2016 Mar-Apr;30(2):491-502.
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