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- Author or Editor: Pierre Hélie x
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this study were to quantify lymphocytes and eosinophils in the mucosa of the duodenum and rectum in asthmatic horses.
ANIMALS
8 healthy and 10 asthmatic horses.
PROCEDURES
Asthmatic horses were evaluated in a symptomatic (after 6 weeks of exposure to moldy hay) and asymptomatic status (3 and 7 months after being fed alfalfa pellets [n = 4] or treated with inhaled fluticasone [6]). Duodenal and rectal biopsies were endoscopically (n = 4 to 6) taken in each horse. Eosinophils were counted on slides stained with hematoxylin, eosin, phloxine, and saffron, and immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate T and B lymphocytes using CD3 and CD20, respectively.
RESULTS
The duodenal and rectal epithelium of asthmatic and control horses contained exclusively T lymphocytes (CD3). Symptomatic asthmatic horses, compared to controls, had a significantly higher number of T lymphocytes (CD3) in the duodenal epithelium (P = .016) and the adjacent lamina propria of the villi (P = .04). Compared to symptomatic asthmatic horses, the fluticasone-treated group had significantly fewer T lymphocytes in the total lamina propria of the rectal mucosa (P < .01).
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Taken together, these results suggest that asthmatic horses have greater infiltration of T lymphocytes in the duodenal and rectal mucosa, indicating a certain degree of inflammation, which could be due to a systemic inflammatory effect and/or a local effect of ingested hay allergens in asthmatic horses. Systemic markers of inflammation have not been investigated to better qualify if the infiltration noted is due to a local and/or systemic effect.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To use a biopolymer delivery system to investigate the ability of interleukin (IL)-4 to recruit neutrophils into subcutaneous tissues of equids.
ANIMALS
16 horses and 2 ponies.
PROCEDURES
Animals were assigned to 3 experiments (6/experiment). Effects of recombinant equine (Req) IL-4 (100, 250, or 500 ng/site) versus a positive control (ReqIL-8; 100 ng, 250 ng, or 1 μg/site) and a negative control (Dulbecco PBSS or culture medium) on neutrophil chemotaxis were assessed after SC injection into the neck with an injectable biopolymer used as the vehicle. Tissue samples including the biopolymer plug were collected by biopsy at various time points from 3 hours to 7 days after injection. Neutrophil infiltration was evaluated by histologic scoring (experiments 1, 2, and 3) or flow cytometry (experiment 3).
RESULTS
Histologic neutrophil infiltration scores did not differ significantly among treatments at most evaluated time points. On flow cytometric analysis, log-transformed neutrophil counts in biopsy specimens were significantly greater for the ReqIL-8 treatment (1 μg/site) than the negative control treatment at 3 but not 6 hours after injection; results did not differ between ReqIL-4 and control treatments at either time point. Negative control treatments induced an inflammatory response in most equids in all experiments.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Flow cytometry was a more reliable method to estimate neutrophil migration than histologic score analysis. The ReqIL-4 treatment did not induce a detectable neutrophil response, compared with the negative control treatment in this study. Evidence of inflammation in negative control samples suggested the biopolymer is not a suitable vehicle for use in equids.