Immunohistochemical Expression of Neurokinin-A and Interleukin-8 in the Bronchial Epithelium of Horses with Severe Equine Asthma Syndrome during Asymptomatic, Exacerbation, and Remission Phase.
Abstract: Severe equine asthma (EA) syndrome is a chronic obstructive disease characterized by exaggerated contraction, inflammation, and structural alteration of the airways in adult horses, when exposed to airborne molds and particulate material. However, little is known about the relationship between the degree and type of inflammation on one hand, and the severity of the disease and the response to treatment on the other. Furthermore, to date, very few studies evaluate the diagnostic value of histology and immunohistochemical features of endoscopic biopsies on subjects with severe equine asthma. To investigate the expression of two inflammatory markers (NKA and IL-8) before, during, and after the exacerbation of severe EA, a histological and immunohistochemical study was carried out on a series of biopsy samples collected by bronchoscopy from six EA-affected horses subjected to process exacerbation through environmental stimuli and then to pharmacological treatment. The application of a histological biopsy scoring system revealed a significant difference between control cases and the EA-affected horses in all experimental phases (asymptomatic, early exacerbation phase, late exacerbation phase, and remission phase). For immunohistochemistry (IHC), only the intensity of NKA positivity increases significantly between control horses and the EA horses at late exacerbation and remission phases. In EA-affected horses, a difference was detected by comparing histology between asymptomatic and remission phase, meanwhile, NKA and IL-8 showed no differences between the experimental phases. Based on these results we can assert that: (1) The endoscopic biopsies generate reliable and homogeneous samples in the entire bronchial tree; (2) the clinical improvement associated with treatment is characterized by a significant worsening of the histological findings; and (3) the NKA immunopositivity seems to increase significantly rather than decrease, as one would have expected, after pharmacological treatment. Further studies are necessary both to implement the number of samples and to use other markers of inflammation to characterize the potential role of cytokines in the diagnosis and therapeutic approach of severe equine asthma.
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This research explores how two inflammation markers, Neurokinin-A (NKA) and Interleukin-8 (IL-8), behave before, during, and after the flare-up of severe Equine Asthma (EA) by using a series of bronchial biopsy samples from EA-affected horses.
Overview of the Research
The researchers focused on severe equine asthma (EA), which is a chronic disease causing over contraction, inflammation and structural changes in the airways of adult horses when exposed to airborne molds and particulates.
The study involved a detailed histological and immunohistochemical examination of biopsy samples taken from the bronchial tree of six EA-affected horses.
The horses were intentionally exposed to environmental stimuli to cause disease exacerbation, followed by pharmacological treatment to induce remission.
Findings of the Study
The application of a histological biopsy scoring system indicated a noticeable difference between control cases and EA-affected horses in all experimental stages: asymptomatic, early exacerbation phase, late exacerbation phase, and remission phase.
Using immunohistochemistry (IHC), the researchers found that NKA positivity significantly increased between the control and EA-affected horses during the late exacerbation and remission stages.
Conversely, in the EA-affected horses, while there was a discernible change in histology between the asymptomatic and remission stages, NKA and IL-8 markers did not show substantial variation between the phases of the experiment.
Strikingly, the research found that NKA immunopositivity appeared to increase rather than decrease following pharmacological treatment.
Conclusions and Future Research
The study affirmed the reliability and homogeneity of the endoscopic biopsy samples taken from the bronchial tree for studying EA in horses.
The research also raised intriguing questions about the correlation between clinical improvement with treatment and the worsening of histological findings.
The research opens new avenues for further studies to better understand the behaviour of other inflammation markers, and to investigate the potential role of cytokines in diagnosing and treating severe EA.
Cite This Article
APA
Morini M, Peli A, Rinnovati R, Magazzù G, Romagnoli N, Spadari A, Pietra M.
(2021).
Immunohistochemical Expression of Neurokinin-A and Interleukin-8 in the Bronchial Epithelium of Horses with Severe Equine Asthma Syndrome during Asymptomatic, Exacerbation, and Remission Phase.
Animals (Basel), 11(5), 1376.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051376
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