Heaves, an asthma-like equine disease, involves airway smooth muscle remodeling.
Abstract: Increased airway smooth muscle mass is a prominent feature of asthmatic airway remodeling. Airway smooth muscle hyperplasia occurs in rodent models of experimental asthma, but the relevance of such finding to spontaneously occurring disease in large mammals is unknown. Objective: We examined horses with heaves, a naturally occurring equine asthma related to sensitization and exposure to moldy hay. We hypothesized that airway remodeling occurs in heaves and shares disease mechanisms with asthma. Methods: We quantified the airway smooth muscle mass and the numbers of proliferating and apoptotic airway smooth muscle cells in 5 horses with heaves and 5 control horses using morphometric techniques. Cell proliferation was detected in tissue sections by immunostaining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and apoptotic cells were detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling of fragmented DNA. Both signals were colocalized with smooth muscle specific alpha-actin. Results: Horses with heaves had a significant increase in the amount of smooth muscle in the airways (nearly triple that of the controls) associated with increased myocyte proliferation (7-fold proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive airway myocytes) and apoptosis (6-fold). Conclusions: Heaves involves airway smooth muscle growth associated with myocyte hyperplasia, which may contribute to the growth, and increased myocyte apoptosis that may reflect a compensatory mechanism serving to limit the abnormal smooth muscle growth. Conclusions: Airway smooth muscle remodeling in heaves may be involved in the mechanism of airway hyperresponsiveness and chronic lung function impairment in a way comparable to human asthma.
Publication Date: 2006-05-30 PubMed ID: 16890762DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2006.03.044Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research article investigates the similarities between asthma in humans and a similar condition in horses known as “heaves” by studying airway muscle changes in both. It concludes that heaves involves airway muscle growth, potentially similar to human asthma.
Objective and Hypothesis
- The primary aim of the study was to examine horses suffering from heaves, a disease comparable to asthma in humans caused by exposure to moldy hay.
- The researchers hypothesized that airway remodeling, a characteristic of asthma, also occurs in heaves. They believed that the underlying mechanisms of this process might be similar in both diseases.
Methodology
- The study focused on the airway smooth muscle mass in horses. The team studied five horses with heaves and five control horses.
- The team measured the airway smooth muscle mass and the number of proliferating and apoptotic airway smooth muscle cells using morphometric techniques.
- Cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected in tissue sections using immunostaining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling of fragmented DNA, respectively. Both signals were colocalized with smooth muscle-specific alpha-actin.
Results and Conclusions
- The researchers found a significant increase in the amount of smooth muscle in the airways of the horses with heaves (almost triple that of the controls).
- They also observed a 7-fold increase in myocyte proliferation and a 6-fold increase in apoptosis in the subjects with heaves.
- These results suggested that heaves involve abnormal airway smooth muscle growth, likely due to myocyte hyperplasia, contributing to the enlargement of airways.
- Interestingly, increased myocyte apoptosis was observed, which the researchers suggest may be a compensatory mechanism to limit the abnormal muscle growth.
- Overall, this study indicates that airway smooth muscle remodeling, seen in heaves, may be a key component of the mechanism behind airway hyperresponsiveness and chronic lung function impairment, similar to human asthma.
Cite This Article
APA
Herszberg B, Ramos-Barbón D, Tamaoka M, Martin JG, Lavoie JP.
(2006).
Heaves, an asthma-like equine disease, involves airway smooth muscle remodeling.
J Allergy Clin Immunol, 118(2), 382-388.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2006.03.044 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Meakins-Christie Laboratories, McGill University, 3626 Saint Urbain, Montreal, Q H2X 2P2, Canada.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Apoptosis
- Asthma / immunology
- Asthma / pathology
- Asthma / veterinary
- Bronchi / immunology
- Bronchi / pathology
- Cell Proliferation
- Disease Models, Animal
- Female
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Male
- Muscle Cells / immunology
- Muscle Cells / pathology
- Muscle, Smooth / immunology
- Muscle, Smooth / pathology
- Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / immunology
Citations
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