Intimal asteroid bodies in horses: light and electron microscopic observations.

The research investigates the structure and composition of asteroid bodies found in the arteries of horses, using various microscopy techniques and chemical analysis methods. It’s found that these bodies appear as early as four weeks of age in almost all tissues except the esophagus and are always present in a section of the artery known as the subendothelial space.

Research Methodology

• The researchers employed different types of microscopy, including light microscopy, and more advanced techniques such as scanning and transmission electron microscopy. These provided microscopic images that revealed the outward appearance, internal structure, and even the atomic arrangement of the asteroid bodies.
• A chemical analysis was also carried out. This helped identify the different chemical elements present in the asteroid bodies, which can give insights into their composition and possibly their formation.

Findings and Observations

• The researchers observed that asteroid bodies start to appear in horse tissues from as early as four weeks of age, except in the esophagus where they were not found. They were always located in the area beneath the endothelial cells that line the interiors of blood vessels, an area known as the subendothelial space.
• The characteristics of the asteroid bodies were found to vary significantly depending on the age of the horse. Young horses – foals – had asteroid bodies that had round and smooth shapes. On the other hand, adult horses had asteroid bodies that were irregular in shape, showed multiple outgrowths, and exhibited noticeable layered calcification, forming solid layers of calcium compounds around the bodies.
• There were suggestions that the asteroid bodies may originate from smooth muscle cells, which are found in the walls of arteries and are involved in controlling the contraction and relaxation of the artery.
• However, the researchers could not establish a direct causative link between the presence of asteroid bodies and the migration patterns of the parasitic roundworm, Strongylus vulgaris, which infests horses and can cause damage to their blood vessels. Despite the worm’s known impact on horse health, no clear evidence was found to correlate its movements with the formation or presence of asteroid bodies.