α-Lipoic Acid Potentiates the Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Avocado/Soybean Unsaponifiables in Chondrocyte Cultures.

Objective Pro-inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin E-2 (PGE) play major roles in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Although current pharmacologic treatments reduce inflammation, their prolonged use is associated with deleterious side effects prompting the search for safer and effective alternative strategies. The present study evaluated whether chondrocyte production of PGE can be suppressed by the combination of avocado/soybean unsaponifiables (ASU) and α-lipoic acid (LA).

Cardiac findings in Quarter Horses with heritable equine regional dermal asthenia.

OBJECTIVE To compare biomechanical and histologic features of heart valves and echocardiographic findings between Quarter Horses with and without heritable equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA). DESIGN Prospective case-control study. ANIMALS 41 Quarter Horses.

Increased susceptibility of skin from HERDA (Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia)-affected horses to bacterial collagenase degradation: a potential contributing factor to the clinical signs of HERDA.

Background: Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) is a genetic disorder of collagen resulting in fragile, hyper-extensible skin and ulcerative lesions. The predominance of skin lesions have been shown to occur on the dorsum of HERDA-affected horses. While this has been postulated to be due to increased exposure to sunlight of these areas, the precise pathological mechanism which causes this to occur is unclear.

Expression of pro-inflammatory mediators is inhibited by an avocado/soybean unsaponifiables and epigallocatechin gallate combination.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by inflammation, joint immobility, and pain. Non-pharmacologic agents modulating pro-inflammatory mediator expression offer considerable promise as safe and effective treatments for OA. We previously determined the anti-inflammatory effect of an avocado/soybean unsaponifiables (ASU) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) combination on prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) translocation.

Heritable equine regional dermal asthenia.

Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia is a form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and has an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Affected horses are typically born normal and develop lesions within the first 2 years of life. The most common symptoms of the disease include stretchy, loose skin that feels doughy or mushy.

Tensile properties in collagen-rich tissues of Quarter Horses with hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA).

Reasons For Performing Study: Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) is an autosomal recessive disorder of Quarter Horses characterised by skin fragility. Horses with HERDA have a missense mutation in peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase B (PPIB), which encodes cyclophilin B and alters folding and post translational modifications of fibrillar collagen.

Objectives: The study aimed to test the hypothesis that tendons, ligaments and great vessels, which, like skin, are rich in fibrillar collagen, will also have abnormal biomechanical properties in horses with HERDA.

Mutation in cyclophilin B that causes hyperelastosis cutis in American Quarter Horse does not affect peptidylprolyl cis-trans isomerase activity but shows altered cyclophilin B-protein interactions and affects collagen folding.

The rate-limiting step of folding of the collagen triple helix is catalyzed by cyclophilin B (CypB). The G6R mutation in cyclophilin B found in the American Quarter Horse leads to autosomal recessive hyperelastosis cutis, also known as hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia. The mutant protein shows small structural changes in the region of the mutation at the side opposite the catalytic domain of CypB.

A cryogenic clamping technique that facilitates ultimate tensile strength determinations in tendons and ligaments.

Objective: To describe the use of a cryogenic clamp of novel design for tensile strength testing of tendinous and ligamentous tissues with inherently high tensile strength.

Methods: Inexpensive, easily machined steel clamps were manufactured to facilitate rapid insertion into a standard wedge-screw grip apparatus installed on a testing system with a control system attached. The deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) of six horses was trimmed to a uniform dumbbell shape and secured in clamps using partial submersion in liquid nitrogen for approximately 45 seconds and immediately tested.

Ocular findings in Quarter Horses with hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia.

Objective: To compare ocular structures of Quarter Horses homozygous for hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) with those of Quarter Horses not affected by HERDA (control horses) and to determine the frequency of new corneal ulcers for horses with and without HERDA during a 4-year period.

Design: Cohort study of ocular structures and retrospective case series of horses with and without HERDA.

Animals: The cohort portion of the study involved 10 Quarter Horses with HERDA and 10 Quarter Horses without HERDA; the retrospective case series involved 28 horses with HERDA and 291 horses without HERDA.

Biomechanical and molecular characteristics of hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia in Quarter Horses.

Hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia (HERDA) is an autosomal recessive skin disorder that has yet to be fully characterized. HERDA is predominately expressed in Quarter Horses, with the majority of these disseminating from elite cutting horse bloodlines, leading to the increased incidence of HERDA in recent years. Affected horses have loose, hyper-extensible, fragile skin and are frequently euthanized due to poor wound healing and disfiguring scars.

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 expression and prostaglandin E2 production in chondrocytes by avocado soybean unsaponifiables and epigallocatechin gallate.

Objective: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of the combination of avocado soybean unsaponifiables (ASU) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) production in cytokine-activated equine chondrocytes.

Methods: Production of type II collagen and aggrecan was verified by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. Chondrocytes were incubated with: (1) control media alone, (2) ASU (4 microg/ml; 8.

Delineation of pulmonary airway fluid protein fractions with HRPO binding-avidity by far-Western ligand blot and mass spectrometry analyses: a model methodology for detecting mannose-binding protein expression profiles.

Background And Aim Of Work: Limited research to date has characterized the potential for HRPO to function as a primary molecular probe.

Methods: Pulmonary airway fluid was developed by non-reducing far-Western (ligand) blot analyses utilizing conjugated HRPO-strepavidin or non-conjugated HRPO without the presence of primary immunoglobulin. Endogenous esterase-like biochemical activity of fractions within pulmonary airway fluid was inactivated to determine if they were capable of biochemically converting HRPO chemiluminescent substrate.

Establishment of Besnoitia darlingi from opossums (Didelphis virginiana) in experimental intermediate and definitive hosts, propagation in cell culture, and description of ultrastructural and genetic characteristics.

Besnoitia darlingi from naturally infected opossums (Didelphis virginiana) from Mississippi, USA, was propagated experimentally in mice, cats, and cell culture and was characterised according to ultrastructural, genetic, and life-history characteristics. Cats fed tissue cysts from opossums shed oocysts with a prepatent period of nine or 11 days. Oocysts, bradyzoites, or tachyzoites were infective to outbred and interferon-gamma gene knockout mice.

Risk factors associated with the presence of Sarcocystis neurona sporocysts in opossums (Didelphis virginiana).

Sarcocystis neurona is the most important cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) in horse in the Americas. The only known definitive host for this parasite in the United States is the opossum (Didelphis virginiana); however, despite the importance of the disease, the epidemiology of the parasite in the definitive host is poorly understood. To begin addressing these data gaps, potential risk factors were evaluated for their association with the presence of sporocysts of S.

Zonal dermal separation: a distinctive histopathological lesion associated with hyperelastosis cutis in a Quarter Horse.

This case report describes a distinctive deep cutaneous lesion in a 1-year-old Quarter Horse filly with hyperelastosis cutis. The horse had a typical clinical presentation of hyperelastic skin associated with a 6-month history of cutaneous wounds that developed following minor cutaneous trauma. Punch biopsies of skin from the affected horse were thinner than similar biopsies from an age- and breed-matched control.

Prevalence of Sarcocystis neurona sporocysts in opossums (Didelphis virginiana) from rural Mississippi.

Sarcocystis species sporocysts were found in intestinal scrapings from 24 of 72 opossums (Didelphis virginiana) from rural Mississippi. The number of sporocysts in each opossum varied from a few ( < 100000) to 187 million. Sporocysts from 24 opossums were bioassayed for Sarcocystis neurona infections by feeding to gamma-interferon knockout (KO) mice.

Papillomatous pastern dermatitis with spirochetes and Pelodera strongyloides in a Tennessee Walking Horse.

Papillomatous digital dermatitis is a common disease in cattle. The pastern dermatitis observed in a horse shared many of the gross characteristics of papillomatous digital dermatitis in cattle. Lesions included a mixture of proliferative and erosive changes, with a verrucose appearance in some areas.

The effect of oxytocin on contractility of the equine oesophagus: a potential treatment for oesophageal obstruction.

This study was performed to determine the effect of administration of i.v. oxytocin on the contractility of the musculature associated with the equine oesophagus.