Project description:The purpose of this experiment was to further our understanding of gene expression in the central nervous system (thalamus and cerebrum) after exposure to West Nile virus. To that end, three different analyses were performed. The first examined differences in gene expression between horses not vaccinated and exposed to WNV and normal control horses (exposure). The second examined differences in gene expression between horses not vaccinated and exposed to WNV and horses vaccinated and exposed to WNV (survival). And the third examined differences between the nonvaccinated cerebrum and nonvaccinated thalamus of horses exposed to WNV (location).
Project description:IgE-binding monocytes are a rare peripheral immune cell type involved in the allergic response through binding of IgE on their surface. IgE-binding monocytes are present in both healthy and allergic individuals. We performed RNA sequencing to ask how the function of IgE-binding monocytes differs in the context of allergy. Using a large animal model of allergy, equine Culicoides hypersensitivity, we compared the transcriptome of IgE-binding monocytes in allergic and non-allergic horses at two seasonal timepoints: (i) when allergic animals were clinical healthy, in the winter “Remission Phase”, and (ii) during chronic disease, in the summer “Clinical Phase”. Most transcriptional differences between allergic and non-allergic horses occurred only during the “Remission Phase”, suggesting principal differences in monocyte function even in the absence of allergen exposure. F13A1, a subunit of fibrinoligase, was significantly upregulated at both timepoints in allergic horses. This suggested a role for increased fibrin deposition in the coagulation cascade to promote allergic inflammation. IgE-binding monocytes also downregulated CCR10 expression in allergic horses during the “Clinical Phase”, suggesting a defect in maintenance of skin homeostasis, which further promotes allergic inflammation. Together, this transcriptional analysis provides valuable clues into the mechanisms used by IgE-binding monocytes in allergic individuals.
Project description:The purpose of this experiment was to further our understanding of gene expression in the central nervous system (thalamus and cerebrum) after exposure to West Nile virus. To that end, three different analyses were performed. The first examined differences in gene expression between horses not vaccinated and exposed to WNV and normal control horses (exposure). The second examined differences in gene expression between horses not vaccinated and exposed to WNV and horses vaccinated and exposed to WNV (survival). And the third examined differences between the nonvaccinated cerebrum and nonvaccinated thalamus of horses exposed to WNV (location). Six conditions- Gene expression in the thalamus and cerebrum of three different groups of horses (Non-vaccinated horses exposed to West Nile virus, Vaccinated horses exposed to West Nile virus, normal horses not exposed to West Nile virus). Biological replicates- 6 normal cerebrums, 6 normal thalamus, 6 vaccinated and exposed cerebrums, 6 vaccinated and exposed thalamus, 6 non-vaccinated and exposed cerebrum, 6 non-vaccinated and exposed thalamus.
Project description:We report differential expression analysis of RNAseq data in joint-related tissues (articular cartilage and subchondral bone) in healthy foals (4 weeks of age or younger) and healthy adult horses. We find that 1115 genes are differentially expressed in cartilage and 3574 in bone between these two groups. Functional annotation suggests that differences primarily lie in genes involved in growth/turnover of tissue and cell signaling.
Project description:Atypical myopathy (AM) is a severe rhabdomyolysis syndrome that occurs in grazing horses. Despite the presence of toxins in their blood, all horses from the same pasture are not prone to display clinical signs of AM. The objective of this study was to compare the blood metabolomic profiles of horses with AM clinical signs with those of healthy co-grazing (Co-G) horses. To do so, plasma samples from 5 AM horses and 11 Co-G horses were investigated using untargeted metabolomics. Metabolomic data were evaluated using unsupervised, supervised, and pathway analyses. Unsupervised principal component analysis performed with all detected features separated AM and healthy Co-G horses. Supervised analyses had identified 1276 features showing differential expression between both groups. Among them, 46 metabolites, belonging predominantly to the fatty acid, fatty ester, and amino acid chemical classes, were identified by standard comparison. Fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids, organic dicarboxylic acids, and fatty esters were detected with higher intensities in AM horses in link with the toxins' pathological mechanism. The main relevant pathways were lipid metabolism; valine, leucine, and isoleucine metabolism; and glycine metabolism. This study revealed characteristic metabolite changes in the plasma of clinically affected horses, which might ultimately help scientists and field veterinarians to detect and manage AM. The raw data of metabolomics are available in the MetaboLights database with the access number MTBLS2579.
Project description:Capacity of exercise and performance is the most valuable in the horses. They have been selected for strength, speed, and indurance trait. Athletic pheno types are influenced markedly by environment, management, and training. However, it has long been accepted that there are underlying genetic factors. To determine altered mRNA expression in circulating leukocytes of horses induced by exercise. Healthy neutered male warmblood horses were subjected to indoor exercise (trotting with alternative cantering for 6o minutes). Peripheral blood was collected from the jugular vein before and after the exercise, and subsequently buffy coat leukocytes were isolated by centrifugation. Total RNAs was isolated. Cyanine 3-labeled cRNA (complementary RNA) was generated from Agilentâs Low RNA Input Linear Amplification kit with 500 ng total RNA. Labeled cRNA was applied microarray (Agilent technologies, 8x60K) using Agilentâs Gene Expression Hybridization Kit. The present study revealed a subset of mRNAs in equine peripheral blood leukocytes affected by exercise, providing background information for genes associated with exercise in warm-blood horses. Three healthy, gelding warmblood horses between 9 and 17 yr were selected. 6 samples were collected containing 3 samples before exercise and 3 samples after exercise
Project description:An equine immuno-specific oligo microarray platform was designed to evidence differences in gene expression profiles in BAL fluid samples from eight (8) RAO-affected horses, ten (10) IAD-affected horses and seven (7) control animals. An unpaired t test was performed using the software Significant Analysis of Microarrays (SAM). 1763 and 379 genes were found differentially expressed between RAO and IAD horses respectively vs. controls.
Project description:Horses receiving antimicrobials may develop diarrhea due to changes in the gastrointestinal microbiome and metabolome. This matched, case-controlled study compared the fecal microbiome and metabolome in hospitalized horses on antibiotics that developed diarrhea (AAD), hospitalized horses on antibiotics that did not develop diarrhea (ABX) and a healthy, non-hospitalized control population (CON). Naturally-voided fecal samples were collected from AAD horses (n=17) the day that diarrhea developed and matched to ABX (n=15) and CON (n=31) horses for diet, antimicrobial agent and duration of antimicrobial therapy (< 5 days or > 5 days). Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes on fecal DNA was performed. Alpha and beta diversity metrics were generated using QIIME 2.0. A Kruskal-Wallis with Dunn’s post-test and ANOSIM testing was used for statistical analysis. Microbiome composition in AAD was significantly different from CON (ANOSIM, R= 0.568, p=0.001) and ABX (ANOSIM, R=0.121, p=0.0012). Fecal samples were lyophilized and extracted using a solvent-based method. Untargeted metabolomics using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry platforms was performed. Metabolomic data was analyzed using Metaboanalyst 4.0 and Graphpad Prism v 7. Principal component analysis plots (PCA) were used to visualize the distribution of metabolites between groups. Heat maps were used to identify the relative concentrations amongst the most abundant 25 metabolites. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare differences in metabolites amongst the three groups of horses. Only named metabolites were included in the analysis. The microbiome of AAD and ABX horses had significantly decreased richness and evenness than CON horses (p<0.05). Actinobacteria (q=0.0192) and Bacteroidetes (q=0.0005) were different between AAD and CON. Verrucomicrobia was markedly decreased in AAD compared to ABX and CON horses (q=0.0005). Horses with AAD have a dysbiosis compared to CON horses, and show minor differences in bacterial community composition to ABX horses. Metabolite profiles of horses with AAD clustered separately from those with AAD or CON. Ten metabolites were found to be significantly different between groups (P<0.05) and are listed according to their metabolic pathway: amino acid metabolism (R-equol, L-tyrosine, kynurenic acid, xanthurenic acid, 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid ) lipid metabolism (docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester), biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (daidzein, isoquinoline) and two metabolites with unidentified pathways (1,3-divinyl-2-imidazolidinone, N-acetyltyramine).
Project description:We undertook gene expression microarray experiments to identify genes that are differentially expressed in heaves-affected horses versus matched controls. Mediastinal (pulmonary-draining) lymph nodes were sterilely obtained from affected and control horses, dissected, and frozen at -80oC. RNA was extracted from these tissues for downstream applications. These experiments utilized a commercially available Agilent horse array that featured >43,000 probes on a 4x44k array format. Mediastinal lymph node RNA from seven heaves-affected horses was compared to matching RNA from healthy, normal control horses.