Functional and ultrastructural changes in neutrophils from mares and foals experimentally inoculated with a respiratory tract strain of equine herpesvirus-1.
Abstract: Neutrophils isolated from venous blood of adult and foal ponies inoculated with equine herpesvirus-1 were evaluated by in vitro function tests and by electron microscopy. Foals had fever and severe neutropenia 24 hours after inoculation; increased neutrophil random migration under agarose and decreased antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity were significant at 24 hours, but values had returned to preinoculation levels by 72 hours. Mares had fever and leukopenia of less severity, increases in neutrophil migration, and longer persistence of primary granule release than were seen in foals. Reduced migration and degranulation, and a decrease in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity seen with neutrophils from foals, as compared with mares, may relate to the high susceptibility of foals to equine herpesvirus-1 infection.
Publication Date: 1984-10-01 PubMed ID: 6093641 The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
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This study explores how the immune cells (neutrophils) of adult horses and foals react differently to a common equine virus, herpesvirus-1, noting that foals are more adversely affected compared to adult horses, with the potential implication of this being a higher susceptibility of these young horses to this viral infection.
Research Methodology
- The study team took neutrophils, a type of white blood cell vital to fighting off infections, from the bloodstreams of both adult and foal ponies.
- These neutrophils were then exposed to equine herpesvirus-1 in a controlled laboratory setting.
- The function of these cells was then evaluated through testing and examined under an electron microscope to understand any structural changes that had occurred.
Finding 1: Immune Function in Foals vs. Adult Horses Post Exposure
- 24 hours after being exposed to the virus, foals exhibited fever and severe neutropenia, a condition characterized by a low number of neutrophils.
- There was also an increase in the random migration of the neutrophils in foals, and a decrease in the neutrophil’s ability to kill pathogen-infected cells (antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity). Despite these abnormalities, these changes returned to normal levels by 72 hours.
Finding 2: Immune Function in Mares Post Exposure
- Conversely, in mares, the fever and depletion of white blood cells (leucopenia) were of lesser severity compared to those in foals.
- Mares also showed increased movement of neutrophils but maintained this elevated level longer than foals did.
- In addition, they exhibited a longer-term release of primary granules (compounds found within neutrophils that help fight infections).
Implications
- The study concludes by suggesting the reduced movement and depletion of the neutrophils, in addition to decreased defence activity seen in foals compared to adult mares, might explain why foals are more susceptible to equine herpesvirus-1 infection.
- Understanding these differences in immune response could help in developing targeted prevention and treatment strategies for this equine disease.
Cite This Article
APA
Coignoul FL, Bertram TA, Cheville NF.
(1984).
Functional and ultrastructural changes in neutrophils from mares and foals experimentally inoculated with a respiratory tract strain of equine herpesvirus-1.
Am J Vet Res, 45(10), 1972-1975.
Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity
- Cell Movement
- Cytoplasmic Granules / ultrastructure
- Female
- Herpesviridae Infections / veterinary
- Herpesvirus 1, Equid
- Horse Diseases / blood
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horses
- Microscopy, Electron
- Neutrophils / immunology
- Neutrophils / ultrastructure
- Phagocytosis
Citations
This article has been cited 1 times.- Bertram TA, Canning PC, Roth JA. Preferential inhibition of primary granule release from bovine neutrophils by a Brucella abortus extract. Infect Immun 1986 Apr;52(1):285-92.
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