Effects of in vitro exposure to hay dust on expression of interleukin-17, -23, -8, and -1beta and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 2 by pulmonary mononuclear cells isolated from horses chronically affected with recurrent airway disease.

Objective: To examine effects of in vitro exposure to solutions of hay dust, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or beta-glucan on cytokine expression in pulmonary mononuclear cells isolated from healthy horses and horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO).

Animals: 8 RAO-affected and 7 control horses (experiment 1) and 6 of the RAO-affected and 5 of the control horses (experiment 2).

Procedures: Bronchoalveolar lavage cells were isolated from horses that had been stabled and fed dusty hay for 14 days.