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Maternal transfer of IgE and subsequent development of IgE responses in the horse (Equus callabus).
Abstract: Immunoglobulin E (IgE) mediates the immune response to parasites, but can also cause allergies. In humans maternal IgE is not transferred to cord blood and high levels of cord blood IgE are associated with subsequent allergy. In horses, both maternal IgG and IgE are transferred via colostrum; the IgE levels in the mare's serum, the colostrum and the foal's serum are correlated but the consequences of IgE transfer to foals are not known. By about 6 weeks of age the levels of IgE in foal serum have dropped to a nadir, at 6 months of age the level of IgE has risen only very slightly and is no longer correlated with the levels seen at birth, IgE(+) B-cells could be detected in lymphoid follicles of some foals at this age. Surprisingly, the levels of total IgE detected in a foals serum at 6 months of age are significantly correlated with the level in its serum at 1, 2 and even 3 years of age suggesting that by 6 months of age the foals are synthesizing IgE and that a pattern of relatively higher or lower total serum IgE has been established. The neonatal intestinal mucosa contained connective tissue mast cells which stained for bound IgE in foals up to 9 weeks of age but not mucosal mast cells, thereafter, the intestinal mast cells were IgE negative until 6 months of age. IgE antibodies to Culicoides nubeculosus salivary antigens were detected in Swiss born foals from imported Icelandic mares allergic to Culicoides spp. yet the foals showed no signs of skin sensitization and such second generation foals are known not to have an increased risk of developing allergy to Culicoides. Overall this evidence suggests there is a minimal effector role of maternal IgE also that maternal IgE has waned prior to the onset of IgE synthesis in foals and does not support maternal priming of IgE responses in foals. Furthermore the total levels of IgE in any given foal are seen to be relatively high or low from soon after the onset of IgE synthesis, and most likely they are determined by genetic factors.
Publication Date: 2008-10-19 PubMed ID: 19081642DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2008.10.316Google Scholar: Lookup 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
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The research explores how, in horses, the maternal transfer of immunoglobulin E (IgE) via colostrum influences subsequent development of the foal’s IgE response. The results suggest that though IgE levels in a foal’s serum correlate with those in its mother’s serum and colostrum at birth, they decline thereafter to a low point at about 6 weeks, rise slightly by 6 months, and appear to stabilize. By 6 months, the IgE levels in a foal’s serum – associated with its own IgE synthesis – hint at a longer-term pattern of relatively higher or lower total IgE. Maternal IgE, therefore, seems to have a minimal role in shaping a foal’s IgE response, which is likely determined more by genetic factors.
Maternal Transfer of IgE
- The study found that maternal IgE is transferred to foals through colostrum, a nutrient-rich milk produced soon after birth, echoing the transfer of maternal IgG (another type of immunoglobulin).
- Levels of IgE in a mare’s serum, her colostrum, and the newborn foal’s serum are found to correlate.
- However, the impact of this IgE transfer on the foals’ development of immune responses is not clear.
Development of IgE Responses in Foals
- The study shows that by approximately 6 weeks old, the levels of IgE in a foal’s serum drop significantly.
- By 6 months, the IgE levels marginally increase but no longer remain correlated with the levels at birth, indicating that these IgE levels are not heavily influenced by maternal IgE.
- Foal’s serum IgE levels at 6 months significantly correlate with levels at one, two, and three years of age. This suggests that, as early as 6 months, foals are synthesising IgE, setting a pattern of relatively higher or lower total serum IgE, independent of maternal influence.
Effect of Maternal IgE on Foals
- Despite maternal transfer of IgE, the study found no clear influence of maternal IgE on the development of foals’ immune responses, especially allergic reactions.
- Maternal IgE wanes prior to the onset of IgE synthesis in foals, reducing the likelihood of maternal priming of IgE responses.
- Unlike human newborns where high levels of cord blood IgE are linked to subsequent allergies, such an association was not found in horses.
Conclusion
- The study concludes that maternal IgE’s role is minimal in determining a foal’s IgE responses. Genetic factors likely determine the relative levels of total IgE synthesis in foals post-onset.
Cite This Article
APA
Marti E, Ehrensperger F, Burger D, Ousey J, Day MJ, Wilson AD.
(2008).
Maternal transfer of IgE and subsequent development of IgE responses in the horse (Equus callabus).
Vet Immunol Immunopathol, 127(3-4), 203-211.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetimm.2008.10.316 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Division of Clinical Research, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Bremgartenstr. 109a, P.O. Box, 3001-Berne, Switzerland.
MeSH Terms
- Aging
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Ceratopogonidae / immunology
- Female
- Horses / blood
- Horses / immunology
- Immunity, Maternally-Acquired / physiology
- Immunoblotting / veterinary
- Immunoglobulin E / blood
- Immunohistochemistry / veterinary
- Insect Bites and Stings / immunology
- Mast Cells
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Raza F, Ivanek R, Freer H, Reiche D, Rose H, Torsteinsdóttir S, Svansson V, Björnsdóttir S, Wagner B. Cul o 2 specific IgG3/5 antibodies predicted Culicoides hypersensitivity in a group imported Icelandic horses. BMC Vet Res 2020 Aug 10;16(1):283.
- Combrink L, Glidden CK, Beechler BR, Charleston B, Koehler AV, Sisson D, Gasser RB, Jabbar A, Jolles AE. Age of first infection across a range of parasite taxa in a wild mammalian population. Biol Lett 2020 Feb;16(2):20190811.
- Thorsteinsdóttir L, Jónsdóttir S, Stefánsdóttir SB, Andrésdóttir V, Wagner B, Marti E, Torsteinsdóttir S, Svansson V. The effect of maternal immunity on the equine gammaherpesvirus type 2 and 5 viral load and antibody response. PLoS One 2019;14(6):e0218576.
- Einhorn L, Hofstetter G, Brandt S, Hainisch EK, Fukuda I, Kusano K, Scheynius A, Mittermann I, Resch-Marat Y, Vrtala S, Valenta R, Marti E, Rhyner C, Crameri R, Satoh R, Teshima R, Tanaka A, Sato H, Matsuda H, Pali-Schöll I, Jensen-Jarolim E. Molecular allergen profiling in horses by microarray reveals Fag e 2 from buckwheat as a frequent sensitizer. Allergy 2018 Jul;73(7):1436-1446.
- Simões J, Sales Luís JP, Madeira de Carvalho L, Tilley P. Severely Asthmatic Horses Residing in a Mediterranean Climate Shed a Significantly Lower Number of Parasite Eggs Compared to Healthy Farm Mates. Animals (Basel) 2023 Sep 15;13(18).
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