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Home / Equine Research Bank / Vaccines (Basel) / Eosinophils Play a Surprising Leading Role in Recurrent Urti...
Vaccines2024; 12(6); doi: 10.3390/vaccines12060562

Eosinophils Play a Surprising Leading Role in Recurrent Urticaria in Horses.

Abstract: Urticaria, independent of or associated with allergies, is commonly seen in horses and often shows a high reoccurrence rate. Managing these horses is discouraging, and efficient treatment options are lacking. Due to an incidental finding in a study on horses affected by insect bite hypersensitivity using the eosinophil-targeting eIL-5-CuMV-TT vaccine, we observed the prevention of reoccurring seasonal urticaria in four subsequent years with re-vaccination. In an exploratory case series of horses affected with non-seasonal urticaria, we aimed to investigate the role of eosinophils in urticaria. Skin punch biopsies for histology and qPCR of eosinophil associated genes were performed. Further, two severe, non-seasonal, recurrent urticaria-affected horses were vaccinated using eIL-5-CuMV-TT, and urticaria flare-up was followed up with re-vaccination for several years. Eotaxin-2, eotaxin-3, IL-5, CCR5, and CXCL10 showed high sensitivity and specificity for urticarial lesions, while eosinophils were present in 50% of histological tissue sections. The eIL-5-CuMV-TT vaccine reduced eosinophil counts in blood, cleared clinical signs of urticaria, and even prevented new episodes of urticaria in horses with non-seasonal recurrent urticaria. This indicates that eosinophils play a leading role in urticaria in horses, and targeting eosinophils offers an attractive new treatment option, replacing the use of corticosteroids.
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Publication Date: 2024-05-21 PubMed ID: 38932291PubMed Central: PMC11209473DOI: 10.3390/vaccines12060562Google 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 study reveals that eosinophils, a specific type of white blood cell, are significantly involved in recurrent urticaria, a condition notorious for causing skin rashes in horses. The researchers found that an eosinophil-targeting vaccine could both treat this condition and prevent recurrence, offering a promising alternative to traditional corticosteroid treatments.

Study Overview

  • The researchers initially made an incidental observation – in a separate study on horses affected by insect bite hypersensitivity, they used a vaccine targeting eosinophils and noticed that it prevented reoccurrence of urticaria for four consecutive years.
  • Inspired by this finding, they devised an exploratory case series using horses with non-seasonal urticaria.
  • This allowed them to explore the role of eosinophils in horses affected by urticaria in greater detail.

Methodology

  • Through skin punch biopsies for histology and qPCR of eosinophil-associated genes, they investigated the presence and role of eosinophils in the horses’ skin.
  • They also vaccinated two horses suffering from severe, non-seasonal, recurrent urticaria with the eosinophil-targeting vaccine and monitored the effects over several years.
  • They found that five specific substances (eotaxin-2, eotaxin-3, IL-5, CCR5, and CXCL10) showed high specificity and sensitivity for urticarial lesions.

Key Findings

  • Eosinophils were found in 50% of the histological tissue sections, suggesting that eosinophils are substantially involved in urticaria.
  • The eosinophil-targeting vaccine was found to both reduce eosinophil counts in the horses’ blood and alleviate clinical signs of urticaria.
  • Moreover, use of the vaccine even prevented new episodes of urticaria in horses with non-seasonal recurrent urticaria.

Conclusions and Implications

  • Results indicate that eosinophils play a significant role in urticaria in horses.
  • The eosinophil-targeting vaccine presents as a potential treatment, making it an attractive alternative to corticosteroids, the current standard treatment for urticaria in horses. This finding could potentially revolutionize the management of recurrent urticaria in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Birkmann K, Jebbawi F, Waldern N, Hug S, Inversini V, Keller G, Holm A, Grest P, Canonica F, Schmid-Grendelmeier P, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A. (2024). Eosinophils Play a Surprising Leading Role in Recurrent Urticaria in Horses. Vaccines (Basel), 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12060562

Publication

Vaccines
ISSN: 2076-393X
NlmUniqueID: 101629355
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 12
Issue: 6

Researcher Affiliations

Birkmann, Katharina
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
  • Equine Department, Veterinary Faculty, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich LMU, Sonnenstrasse 14, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany.
Jebbawi, Fadi
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
  • Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Wagistrasse 18, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland.
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
Waldern, Nina
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
Hug, Sophie
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
Inversini, Victoria
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
  • Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Wagistrasse 18, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland.
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
Keller, Giulia
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
  • Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Wagistrasse 18, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland.
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
Holm, Anja
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
  • Central VetPharma Consultancy, Hauchsvej 7, 4180 Sorø, Denmark.
Grest, Paula
  • Vetsuisse Faculty, Institute of Veterinary Pathology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 268, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Canonica, Fabia
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
  • Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Wagistrasse 18, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland.
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
Schmid-Grendelmeier, Peter
  • Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Wagistrasse 18, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland.
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Allergy Unit, Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, The Circle 59, 8058 Zurich-Airport, Switzerland.
Fettelschoss-Gabriel, Antonia
  • Evax AG, Im Binz 3, 8357 Guntershausen, Switzerland.
  • Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Wagistrasse 18, 8952 Schlieren, Switzerland.
  • Faculty of Medicine, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland.

Grant Funding

  • CRSII3_154490 / Swiss National Science Foundation
  • Grant 2014/02 / Stiftung und Verein Forschung für das Pferd / Pro Pferd
  • CTI Grant 25758.1 PFLS-LS / Commission for Technology and Innovation

Conflict of Interest Statement

K.B., V.I. and A.F.-G. are involved in the development of active immunotherapies. The authors F.J., N.W., S.H., V.I., G.K., A.H., P.G. and F.C. have no conflicts of interest to disclose. P.S.-G. has received speaker fees and honoraria from AdBoards from AstraZeneca, G.S.K., and Novartis.

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