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Journal of veterinary internal medicine2020; 35(1); 590-596; doi: 10.1111/jvim.16002

Opsonization but not pretreatment of equine macrophages with hyperimmune plasma nonspecifically enhances phagocytosis and intracellular killing of Rhodococcus equi.

Abstract: Evidence regarding the efficacy of equine hyperimmune plasma to prevent pneumonia in foals caused by Rhodococcus equi is limited and conflicting. Objective: Opsonization with R. equi-specific hyperimmune plasma (HIP) will significantly increase phagocytosis and decrease intracellular replication of R. equi by alveolar macrophages (AMs) compared to normal plasma (NP). Methods: Fifteen adult Quarter Horses were used to collect bronchoalveolar lavage cells. Methods: In the first experiment, AMs from 9 horses were pretreated (incubated) with either HIP, NP, or media only (control) and then infected with nonopsonized R. equi. In a second experiment, AMs from 6 horses were infected with R. equi either opsonized with HIP or opsonized with NP. For both experiments, AMs were lysed at 0 and 48 hours and the number of viable R. equi quantified by culture were compared among groups using linear mixed-effects modeling with significance set at P < .05. Results: Opsonization with either HIP or NP increased phagocytosis by AMs (P < .0001) and decreased intracellular survival of organisms in AMs (P < .0001). Pretreating AMs with either HIP or NP without opsonizing R. equi had no effects on phagocytosis or intracellular replication. Conclusions: Opsonizing R. equi with either NP or HIP decreases intracellular survival of organisms in AMs, but the effect does not appear to be enhanced by using HIP. Mechanisms other than effects on AMs must explain any clinical benefits of using HIP over NP to decrease the incidence of R. equi pneumonia in foals.
© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
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Publication Date: 2020-12-16 PubMed ID: 33326149PubMed Central: PMC7848299DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16002Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article explores the effects of using either equine hyperimmune plasma (HIP) or normal plasma (NP) on the process of phagocytosis and intracellular survival of the bacteria Rhodococcus equi in horses. The results found that both hyperimmune and normal plasma can enhance these processes, but there is no significant advantage of utilizing hyperimmune plasma.

Objective and Methodology

  • The research’s main objective was to investigate if using Rhodococcus equi-specific hyperimmune plasma would significantly enhance the phagocytosis process, decrease the bacteria’s intracellular replication within alveolar macrophages (AMs), compared to normal plasma.
  • The researchers used 15 adult Quarter Horses from which bronchoalveolar lavage cells were collected.
  • In the first experiment, the researchers pretreated alveolar macrophages (AMs) from 9 horses with hyperimmune plasma, normal plasma, or media only and then infected these with nonopsonized Rhodococcus equi.
  • In the second experiment, the same process was repeated but on AMs from six different horses that were subsequently infected with R. equi, which had been opsonized with either hyperimmune or normal plasma.
  • Through culturing and linear mixed-effects modeling, the number of viable R. equi was quantified to compare their intracellular survival rate within AMs across all groups.

Results and Conclusions

  • Opsonization, the process by which a pathogen is made more susceptible to the effects of a host’s immune response, with either hyperimmune or normal plasma significantly increased phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages and decreased intracellular survival of bacteria.
  • However, when the AMs were pretreated with either type of plasma without opsonizing the R. equi first, there were no effects on the processes of phagocytosis or intracellular replication.
  • The research concluded that while both types of plasma could decrease the bacteria’s intracellular survival rate within AMs, there was no additional benefit of employing HIP over NP.
  • Therefore, the study suggests that other than effects on alveolar macrophages, other mechanisms must explain the clinical benefits of using HIP over NP to reduce the incidence of R. equi pneumonia in foals.

Cite This Article

APA
Harvey AB, Bordin AI, Rocha JN, Bray JM, Cohen ND. (2020). Opsonization but not pretreatment of equine macrophages with hyperimmune plasma nonspecifically enhances phagocytosis and intracellular killing of Rhodococcus equi. J Vet Intern Med, 35(1), 590-596. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16002

Publication

Journal of veterinary internal medicine
ISSN: 1939-1676
NlmUniqueID: 8708660
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 35
Issue: 1
Pages: 590-596

Researcher Affiliations

Harvey, Aja B
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Bordin, Angela I
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Rocha, Joana N
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Bray, Jocelyn M
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Cohen, Noah D
  • Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.

MeSH Terms

  • Actinomycetales Infections / veterinary
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Horse Diseases
  • Horses
  • Macrophages
  • Phagocytosis
  • Rhodococcus
  • Rhodococcus equi

Grant Funding

  • Link Equine Research Endowment of Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program

Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Hansen P, Haubenthal T, Reiter C, Kniewel J, Bosse-Plois K, Niemann HH, von Bargen K, Haas A. Differential Effects of Rhodococcus equi Virulence-Associated Proteins on Macrophages and Artificial Lipid Membranes. Microbiol Spectr 2023 Feb 14;11(2):e0341722.
    doi: 10.1128/spectrum.03417-22pubmed: 36786596google scholar: lookup
  2. da Silveira BP, Cohen ND, Lawhon SD, Watson RO, Bordin AI. Protective immune response against Rhodococcus equi: An innate immunity-focused review. Equine Vet J 2025 May;57(3):563-586.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.14214pubmed: 39258739google scholar: lookup
  3. da Silveira BP, Barhoumi R, Bray JM, Cole-Pfeiffer HM, Mabry CJ, Burghardt RC, Cohen ND, Bordin AI. Impact of surface receptors TLR2, CR3, and FcγRIII on Rhodococcus equi phagocytosis and intracellular survival in macrophages. Infect Immun 2024 Jan 16;92(1):e0038323.
    doi: 10.1128/iai.00383-23pubmed: 38018994google scholar: lookup
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