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The same ELA class II risk factors confer equine insect bite hypersensitivity in two distinct populations.
Abstract: Insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH) is a chronic allergic dermatitis common in horses. Affected horses mainly react against antigens present in the saliva from the biting midges, Culicoides ssp, and occasionally black flies, Simulium ssp. Because of this insect dependency, the disease is clearly seasonal and prevalence varies between geographical locations. For two distinct horse breeds, we genotyped four microsatellite markers positioned within the MHC class II region and sequenced the highly polymorphic exons two from DRA and DRB3, respectively. Initially, 94 IBH-affected and 93 unaffected Swedish born Icelandic horses were tested for genetic association. These horses had previously been genotyped on the Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip, which made it possible to ensure that our study did not suffer from the effects of stratification. The second population consisted of 106 unaffected and 80 IBH-affected Exmoor ponies. We show that variants in the MHC class II region are associated with disease susceptibility (p (raw) = 2.34 × 10(-5)), with the same allele (COR112:274) associated in two separate populations. In addition, we combined microsatellite and sequencing data in order to investigate the pattern of homozygosity and show that homozygosity across the entire MHC class II region is associated with a higher risk of developing IBH (p = 0.0013). To our knowledge this is the first time in any atopic dermatitis suffering species, including man, where the same risk allele has been identified in two distinct populations.
Publication Date: 2011-09-23 PubMed ID: 21947540PubMed Central: PMC3276761DOI: 10.1007/s00251-011-0573-1Google 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
- Alleles
- Animal Models
- Animal Science
- Comparative Study
- Culicoides
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Etiology
- Epidemiology
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Genetics
- Genotyping
- Horses
- Icelandic Horses
- Immunology
- Insect Bite Hypersensitivity
- Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)
- Risk Factors
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Research
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 conducted investigated genetic risk factors linked to equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH), a chronic allergic condition affecting horses. The study discovered that the same genetic variants were associated with increased risk of the disease in two separate populations of horses.
Research Background
- Equine Insect Bite Hypersensitivity (IBH) is a common chronic allergic dermatitis in horses which is often triggered by antigens in the saliva of biting midges and occasionally black flies. Dependent on insect presence, the disease varies seasonally and geographically.
- According to the research, the study was undertaken on two different horse breeds by genotyping four microsatellite markers within the MHC class II region and sequencing exons two from DRA and DRB3.
Study Population and Methods
- The study first looked at 94 Swedish born Icelandic horses with IBH and 93 without, which had already been genotyped using the Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip. This enabled the researchers to ensure the study wasn’t impacted by stratification.
- The second horse population involved 80 Exmoor ponies affected by IBH, and 106 who were unaffected.
Study Findings
- Results showed that an association existed between variants in the MHC class II region and IBH susceptibility, with the same allele (COR112:274) associated in both sets of equine populations.
- By combining microsatellite and sequencing data, the study also discovered that horses with a higher level of homozygosity across the entire MHC class II region were at an increased risk of developing IBH.
Significance of Research
- This research is significant as it is the first instance of identifying the same risk allele for any atopic dermatitis suffering species, including humans, in two different populations.
- The findings provide insight into potential genetic susceptibilities to various allergic conditions, potentially aiding in the development of preventative measures or treatments in the future.
Cite This Article
APA
Andersson LS, Swinburne JE, Meadows JR, Broström H, Eriksson S, Fikse WF, Frey R, Sundquist M, Tseng CT, Mikko S, Lindgren G.
(2011).
The same ELA class II risk factors confer equine insect bite hypersensitivity in two distinct populations.
Immunogenetics, 64(3), 201-208.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-011-0573-1 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 597, SE-751 24, Uppsala, Sweden.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Ceratopogonidae / immunology
- Dermatitis, Atopic / genetics
- Dermatitis, Atopic / immunology
- Dermatitis, Atopic / veterinary
- Genes, MHC Class II
- Genotype
- Horse Diseases / genetics
- Horse Diseases / immunology
- Horses
- Insect Bites and Stings / genetics
- Insect Bites and Stings / immunology
- Insect Bites and Stings / veterinary
- Microsatellite Repeats
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Risk Factors
References
This article includes 52 references
Citations
This article has been cited 15 times.- Simonin EM, Torsteinsdóttir S, Svansson V, Björnsdóttir S, Freer H, Tarsillo J, Wagner B. Early allergen introduction overrides allergy predisposition in offspring of horses with Culicoides hypersensitivity. Front Immunol 2025;16:1654693.
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