Distinct Molecular Profiles Underpin Mild-To-Moderate Equine Asthma Cytological Profiles.

A state-of-the-art multi-omics approach was applied to improve our understanding of the aetio-pathogenesis of a highly prevalent, performance-limiting disorder of racehorses: mild-to-moderate equine asthma (MMEA). This is a prerequisite to improving prophylactic, management, and therapeutic options for this condition. Although a number of risk factors have been identified, options for intervention are limited.

Equine grass sickness is associated with major abnormalities in the ultrastructure of skeletal neuromuscular junctions.

Background: Equine grass sickness (EGS) is a frequently fatal multisystem neuropathy of equids. The aetiology is unknown; proposed causes include toxicoinfection with Clostridium botulinum and a mycotoxicosis. The effect of EGS on the organisation and structural integrity of the skeletal neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the target of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), is unknown.

Erratum to "Optical Detection of Distal Lung Enzyme Activity in Human Inflammatory Lung Disease".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.34133/2021/9834163.].

Thoroughbred Racehorses in Hong Kong Require Vitamin D Supplementation to Mitigate the Risk of Low Vitamin D Status.

There is a paucity of data relating to the vitamin D status of racehorses. We hypothesised that the management of racehorses in Hong Kong (HK) predisposes to low vitamin D status unless they receive dietary supplementation. Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (total 25OHD) for 79 non-grazing HK racehorses were compared with those for 22 racehorses training in the United Kingdom (UK) that grazed for ≥1 h/d, and for which published data exists.

The effect of season, management and endocrinopathies on vitamin D status in horses.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common in humans and is increasingly linked to the pathogenesis of a multitude of diseases including obesity and metabolic syndrome. The biology of vitamin D in horses is poorly described; the relative contribution of the diet and skin synthesis to circulating concentrations is unclear and associations with the endocrine disease have not been explored.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between management, season and endocrine disease and vitamin D status in horses.

Alzheimer-like pathology in the parietal cortex and hippocampus of aged donkeys.

Neurodegenerative disorders are gaining ever more importance in ageing populations of animals and people. Altered insulin signaling and type II diabetes have been linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in humans and AD-like neurodegeneration in other long-lived animals. Donkeys are unusual amongst domestic species for their exceptional longevity and are additionally predisposed to abnormalities of insulin metabolism similar to those found in humans.

Equine grass sickness (a multiple systems neuropathy) is associated with alterations in the gastrointestinal mycobiome.

Background: Equine grass sickness (EGS) is a multiple systems neuropathy of grazing horses of unknown aetiology. An apparently identical disease occurs in cats, dogs, rabbits, hares, sheep, alpacas and llamas. Many of the risk factors for EGS are consistent with it being a pasture mycotoxicosis.

Optical Detection of Distal Lung Enzyme Activity in Human Inflammatory Lung Disease.

There is a need to develop platforms delineating inflammatory biology of the distal human lung. We describe a platform technology approach to detect enzyme activity and observe drug inhibition in the distal human lung using a combination of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) optical reporters, fibered confocal fluorescence microscopy (FCFM), and a bespoke delivery device. .

Establishment of a model for equine small intestinal disease: effects of extracorporeal blood perfusion of equine ileum on metabolic variables and histological morphology - an experimental ex vivo study.

Background: In horses a number of small intestinal diseases is potentially life threatening. Among them are Equine Grass Sickness (EGS), which is characterised by enteric neurodegeneration of unknown aetiology, as well as reperfusion injury of ischaemic intestine (I/R), and post-operative ileus (POI), common after colic surgery. The perfusion of isolated organs is successfully used to minimize animal testing for the study of pathophysiology in other scenarios.

A study of residual lesions in horses that recovered from clinical signs of chronic equine dysautonomia.

Background: Equine dysautonomia (ED) causes degeneration and loss of autonomic neurons. Approximately 50% of chronic cases recover, but it is unclear how they survive neuronal loss.

Objectives: To assess lesions, autonomic neuron numbers, interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), and neurodegeneration in recovered cases.

The Effect of Race Training on the Basal Gene Expression of Alveolar Macrophages Derived From Standardbred Racehorses.

Mild-to-moderate equine asthma is prevalent in young racehorses, particularly early in their training period. Although the precise etiopathogenesis remains undetermined, it is possible that the susceptibility of this population might partly reflect an exercise-associated immune derangement at the level of the airway. We performed a genome-wide basal gene expression scan on alveolar macrophages (AMs) isolated from Standardbred racehorses before and after commencement of competition race training with a view to identifying any exercise-associated gene expression modulation consistent with functional alterations, which might reflect training-associated immunological derangement.

Equine Dysautonomia.

Equine dysautonomia (ED; also known as equine grass sickness) is a neurological disease of unknown cause, which primarily affects grazing adult horses. The clinical signs reflect degeneration of specific neuronal populations, predominantly within the autonomic and enteric nervous systems, with disease severity and prognosis determined by the extent of neuronal loss. This review is primarily focused on the major clinical decision-making processes in relation to ED, namely, (1) clinical diagnosis, (2) selection of appropriate ancillary diagnostic tests, (3) obtaining diagnostic confirmation, (4) selection of treatment candidates, and (5) identifying appropriate criteria for euthanasia.

Alterations in amino acid status in cats with feline dysautonomia.

Feline dysautonomia (FD) is a multiple system neuropathy of unknown aetiology. An apparently identical disease occurs in horses (equine grass sickness, EGS), dogs, rabbits, hares, sheep, alpacas and llamas. Horses with acute EGS have a marked reduction in plasma concentrations of the sulphur amino acids (SAA) cyst(e)ine and methionine, which may reflect exposure to a neurotoxic xenobiotic.

Designing a field trial of an equine grass sickness vaccine: A questionnaire-based feasibility study.

Without an experimental model of equine grass sickness (EGS), a randomised controlled field trial (RCT) represents the only method of evaluating the efficacy of Clostridium botulinum type C vaccination in preventing naturally occurring disease. Clinical trial feasibility is an important aspect of preliminary work undertaken prior to initiating RCTs, estimating parameters that are important for study design. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the feasibility of conducting a nationwide RCT of a candidate vaccine for EGS based on responses from a sample of British equine veterinary practices (n = 119/284).

Proteomic Profiling of Cranial (Superior) Cervical Ganglia Reveals Beta-Amyloid and Ubiquitin Proteasome System Perturbations in an Equine Multiple System Neuropathy.

Equine grass sickness (EGS) is an acute, predominantly fatal, multiple system neuropathy of grazing horses with reported incidence rates of ∼2%. An apparently identical disease occurs in multiple species, including but not limited to cats, dogs, and rabbits. Although the precise etiology remains unclear, ultrastructural findings have suggested that the primary lesion lies in the glycoprotein biosynthetic pathway of specific neuronal populations.

Grazing livestock are exposed to terrestrial cyanobacteria.

While toxins from aquatic cyanobacteria are a well-recognised cause of disease in birds and animals, exposure of grazing livestock to terrestrial cyanobacteria has not been described. This study identified terrestrial cyanobacteria, predominantly Phormidium spp., in the biofilm of plants from most livestock fields investigated.

Constitutive apoptosis in equine peripheral blood neutrophils in vitro.

The aim of this study was to characterise constitutive apoptosis in equine peripheral blood neutrophils, including assessment of factors that potentially modulate neutrophil survival through alteration of the rate of constitutive apoptosis. Cells underwent spontaneous time-dependent constitutive apoptosis when aged in culture for up to 36 h, developing the structural and functional features of apoptosis observed in many cell types, including human neutrophils. Neutrophils undergoing apoptosis also had diminished zymosan activated serum (ZAS)-stimulated chemiluminescence, but maintained responsiveness to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA).

Chronic pleuropulmonary fibrosis and elastosis of aged donkeys: similarities to human pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis.

Background: Donkey pulmonary fibrosis (DPF) is a spontaneous syndrome of aged donkeys with a high prevalence (35%). No previous detailed characterization of DPF has been performed. We sought to determine the similarities between DPF and recognized patterns of human pulmonary fibrosis.

Viraemic frequencies and seroprevalence of non-primate hepacivirus and equine pegiviruses in horses and other mammalian species.

Non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV), equine pegivirus (EPgV) and Theiler's disease associated virus (TDAV) are newly discovered members of two genera in the Flaviviridae family, Hepacivirus and Pegivirus respectively, that include human hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human pegivirus (HPgV). To investigate their epidemiology, persistence and clinical features of infection, large cohorts of horses and other mammalian species were screened for NPHV, EPgV and TDAV viraemia and for past exposure through serological assays for NPHV and EPgV-specific antibodies. NPHV antibodies were detected in 43% of 328 horses screened for antibodies to NS3 and core antibodies, of which three were viraemic by PCR.

The equine alveolar macrophage: functional and phenotypic comparisons with peritoneal macrophages.

Alveolar macrophages (AMs) constitute the first line of defence in the lung of all species, playing a crucial role in the regulation of immune responses to inhaled pathogens. A detailed understanding of the function and phenotype of AMs is a necessary pre-requisite to both elucidating their role in preventing opportunistic bacterial colonisation of the lower respiratory tract and developing appropriate preventative strategies. The purpose of the study was to characterise this important innate immune cell at the tissue level by making functional and phenotypic comparisons with peritoneal macrophages (PMs).

Nonprimate hepaciviruses in domestic horses, United kingdom.

Although the origin of hepatitis C virus infections in humans remains undetermined, a close homolog of this virus, termed canine hepacivirus (CHV) and found in respiratory secretions of dogs, provides evidence for a wider distribution of hepaciviruses in mammals. We determined frequencies of active infection among dogs and other mammals in the United Kingdom. Samples from dogs (46 respiratory, 99 plasma, 45 autopsy samples) were CHV negative by PCR.

Evaluation of formalin-fixed ileum as the optimum method to diagnose equine dysautonomia (grass sickness) in simulated intestinal biopsies.

Equine dysautonomia, or grass sickness, is a frequently fatal disease of unknown etiology, manifested as poor gastrointestinal motility and colic as a result of degenerative changes in the autonomic nervous system. Examination of ileal biopsies collected at laparotomy is currently the best antemortem diagnostic method to distinguish equine dysautonomia from colic cases, which can present with similar signs, but their value has not been previously critically evaluated. Using simulated biopsies collected postmortem from 23 cases of equine dysautonomia and 11 of colic, the sensitivity and specificity of 1-cm long, formalin-fixed ileal biopsies was 100% for the diagnosis of equine dysautonomia.

Relationship between thoracic auscultation and lung pathology detected by ultrasonography in sheep.

The utility of routine auscultation to detect and characterise the nature of a range of superficial lung and pleural pathologies in domestic sheep was assessed using ultrasonographic examination to indicate and localise pathologies pre-mortem. Necropsy examination was then used to fully characterise the nature and extent of the lesions. Auscultation recordings were made from 10 normal sheep with no clinical evidence of respiratory disease and with absence of significant superficial lung pathology, which was confirmed initially by ultrasound examination and subsequently at necropsy examination.