Equine retained placenta: technique for and tolerance to umbilical artery injections of collagenase.
Abstract: Under laboratory conditions and in clinical experiments, bacterial collagenase has proven to be effective in hydrolyzing placenta and detaching cotyledon from caruncle in the bovine species. Laboratory studies in which placental samples were incubated with collagenase have also demonstrated that collagenase is 3.7 times more effective in hydrolyzing equine placenta than bovine placenta. This led to the hypothesis that collagenase may be a potential treatment for mares with retained placenta. However, that collagenase may hydrolyze the uterine wall and perforate the uterus was a concern. It was the purpose of this study thus to determine any adverse effects of collagenase on the equine uterus and to develop a method for intraplacental injection of collagenase. Three normally expelled intact placentas from Arabian mares, 10 cyclic mixed-breed mares, and 4 mares of various breeds with retained placenta were used. Fluoroscein dye and latex were used to study the placental vasculature and to determine a suitable dose of collagenase; placentas were hydrolyzed by collagenase solution in vitro. Bacterial collagenase solution (40,000 units, 200 ml) was infused into the uterine lumen of each cyclic mare. Uterine biopsies were obtained from the mares before collagenase infusion and again at 16 h and 26 d after infusion. In the mares with retained placenta, each placenta was infused via its umbilical cord vessels with 200,000 units of bacterial collagenase in 1 L of saline. Results showed that none of the uteri from cyclic mares were damaged by collagenase treatment. During a 4-wk period of monitoring (including endoscopy) mares with retained placenta did not show any abnormalities. Retained placentas were expelled in less than 6 h after collagenase treatment. It was concluded that intraplacental injections of collagenase are a safe and potentially effective treatment for retained placenta in mares.
Publication Date: 2000-03-25 PubMed ID: 10732079DOI: 10.1016/S0093-691X(98)00020-XGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research tested the hypothesis and effectiveness of using collagenase, a bacterial enzyme, as a treatment for horses (mares) with retained placenta. It also aimed to identify any potential damage the collagenase could cause to the equine uterus.
Background
- In previous laboratory studies, collagenase, an enzyme that breaks down collagen proteins found in connective tissues, showed promise as a tool for breaking down the placenta in cows and aiding in detaching cotyledon (a type of placental tissue) from the caruncle (uterine attachment site).
- It was found that collagenase could effectively hydrolyze (break down) the equine placenta as well, proving 3.7 times more effective than in bovines.
- The researchers carried forward this finding to hypothesize that collagenase could potentially serve as an effective treatment for mares (female horses) suffering from retained placenta.
Methods and Experimentation
- The researchers used: three placentas that had been normally expelled from Arabian mares; ten cyclic mixed-breed mares; four mares of various breeds with retained placenta.
- For studying placental vasculature and determining suitable collagenase doses, fluorescein dye and latex were used.
- The researchers then conducted a series of tests to evaluate the effect of collagenase infusion in the uterus of the mares.
- In the mares with retained placenta, each placenta was infused through its umbilical cord vessels with a saline solution containing bacterial collagenase.
Results
- Results from the study revealed that collagenase infusion did not cause any damage to the uterus of the cyclic mares.
- The mares with retained placenta did not show any abnormalities during a four-week monitoring period after collagenase treatment.
- The mares that underwent the collagenase treatment successfully expelled their retained placentas in less than six hours.
- The researchers consequently concluded that intraplacental injections of collagenase could serve as a safe and potentially effective treatment for retained placenta in mares.
Cite This Article
APA
Haffner JC, Fecteau KA, Held JP, Eiler H.
(2000).
Equine retained placenta: technique for and tolerance to umbilical artery injections of collagenase.
Theriogenology, 49(4), 711-716.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0093-691X(98)00020-X Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-4500, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cattle
- Cattle Diseases / drug therapy
- Collagenases / administration & dosage
- Collagenases / pharmacology
- Collagenases / therapeutic use
- Estrus / drug effects
- Estrus / physiology
- Female
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horses
- Injections, Intra-Arterial
- Placenta, Retained / drug therapy
- Placenta, Retained / veterinary
- Pregnancy
- Species Specificity
- Umbilical Arteries
- Uterus / drug effects
- Uterus / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Ducka P, Eckhard U, Schönauer E, Kofler S, Gottschalk G, Brandstetter H, Nüss D. A universal strategy for high-yield production of soluble and functional clostridial collagenases in E. coli.. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2009 Jul;83(6):1055-65.
- Eckhard U, Nüss D, Ducka P, Schönauer E, Brandstetter H. Crystallization and preliminary X-ray characterization of the catalytic domain of collagenase G from Clostridium histolyticum.. Acta Crystallogr Sect F Struct Biol Cryst Commun 2008 May 1;64(Pt 5):419-21.
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