Eclipse clone on the way?

News has emerged that scientists have successfully grown cells containing the DNA of Eclipse, the most famous racehorse of all time. This is the first, and most difficult step to producing a live cloned foal.

Eclipse, born two hundred and fifty years ago, is widely considered to be the greatest Thoroughbred racehorse ever. Unbeaten throughout his racing career from 1769-1770, Eclipse  was in different league to his contemporaries and won eight of his races by default –  “walk overs” - as no-one would put up a horse to run against him.

After retiring from racing he became a very successful sire. It is likely that there are very few Thoroughbred horses alive today that do not contain a link to Eclipse somewhere in their bloodlines.

His skeleton currently adorns the teaching block named after him at the Royal Veterinary College, London.

Attempts to recover DNA from his much studied skeleton proved fruitless, but samples of his tail hair which had been woven into the tassel of "The Whip”, the prize of victory in the self-named race, were found to contain sufficient undamaged genetic material for the scientists to work with.

A team from the University of London’s Department of Veterinary Embryology have been able to transfer DNA from Eclipse into the cytoplasm of cells from the subcutaneous connective tissue of a donor horse. These fibroblasts have then been proliferated in the lab and have been shown to have remained viable and to contain the replicated Eclipse DNA.

The next stage in the cloning process, which is due to start this month, will be the implantation of the chromosomal tissue into an egg from a donor mare and then the chemical signalling to trigger the egg to start the development into an embryo. After the recombined oocyte has been activated, it is transferred surgically to the oviduct of a recipient mare, which carries the foal to birth. If all goes according to plan, a cloned Eclipse foal could be born in early 2015.

Equine Grass Sickness Vaccine Trial

Following the successful completion of a Grass Sickness vaccine pilot trial last year, a full-scale  trial is due to start shortly throughout Great Britain.

Equine grass sickness (EGS) affects grazing horses, ponies and donkeys, and is nearly always fatal. Britain has the highest incidence worldwide. The current theory is that EGS is a toxico-infection involving Clostridium botulinum type C. Several studies have shown horses with natural immunity to Clostridium botulinum type C are less likely to get the disease.

Other equine clostridial diseases are successfully prevented by vaccination, so it should be possible to prevent EGS by vaccination.

The main purpose of last year's pilot study was to assess whether a larger-scale trial would be possible. So it was designed to test the methods and systems used rather than the vaccine itself.

A total of 48 horses and ponies were randomly assigned to the vaccine group and 47 were assigned to the placebo treatment group. All horses in the study completed the primary treatment course of three injections given 21 days part.

The researchers report that the pilot field vaccine trial was a huge success, meeting all of the study objectives. The findings have already been used to revise sample size calculations and trial methodology for the full-scale nationwide randomised placebo-controlled field vaccine trial.

Both the C. botulinum type C toxoid vaccine and placebo injection were shown to be safe.

No systemic adverse reactions (where the entire body may be affected and the horse or pony may become unwell) were reported following any injections administered during the pilot vaccine trial. Minor local injection site abnormalities (such as localised heat, pain or swelling at the injection site) were reported in 19 of a total of 372 injections administered during the study. None of them required treatment or veterinary attention.

There was no significant difference in the number of minor injection site abnormalities between the vaccine or placebo treatment groups.

The researchers report that the response to the vaccine varied, as they expected it would. Some horses showed an increase in antibody levels of up to eight times, but others showed a less marked response. This is in fact what tends to occur with other vaccines, such as influenza. However, it does mean that not all horses would be fully protected by the  vaccination.

This ground-breaking EGS vaccine trial aims to determine the efficacy of Clostridium botulinum type C vaccination in preventing EGS by comparing EGS incidence between groups of horses receiving vaccination or a placebo.

The plan is to recruit 1100 horses for a two year period from premises that have previously had a high incidence of EGS. Demonstration of reduced disease incidence in vaccinated horses would provide a major breakthrough in the prevention of EGS.

For more details see:
www.aht.org.uk/cms-display/egs_vt.htm

WormsAndGermsMap

Researchers in Canada have launched an interactive map designed to track infectious diseases in dogs, cats, and horses around the world.

The "Worms and Germs Map" can be accessed online, and is free to use. It is a companion to the educational site WormsAndGermsBlog. Both were developed by Scott Weese DVM DVSc DipACVIM of the University of Guelph and Maureen Anderson DVM DVSc PhD DipACVIM from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

Dr Weese explains: "This disease mapping site was developed because we perceived a need for real time tracking of companion animal infectious diseases and a need to foster more knowledge about infectious diseases amongst vets, animal owners and people in human medicine and public health.  It may also help track emerging diseases, diseases that have a changing range and allow for more rapid identification of outbreaks."

For more information, and to see what has been reported in your area, go to www.wormsandgermsmap.com 

Herpes infection webcast

The paralytic form of equine herpes infection ( EHV-1 myeloencephalopathy) seems to be occuring more commonly, leading to speculation that viruses with increased neurovirulence are circulating.

What can we learn from recent outbreaks? A free webcast, presented by Dr Nic Pusterla of UC Davis, promises to review the problem and highlight the latest developments in epidemiology, therapy and prevention.

See here for more details..

http://www.myhorseuniversity.com/node/755

Mucus production in RAO

Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) or “heaves”, the equine equivalent of human asthma, is a common cause of poor performance and a significant welfare concern.

Severely affected animals show signs such as dilated nostrils, nasal discharge, and excessive chest movement. A "heave" line may be present. They may be incapable of any athletic activity. Mild cases may appear to breathe normally and require further investigation to confirm the diagnosis. However, most cases fall somewhere between the two extremes.

The signs are caused by a combination of increased mucus production in the respiratory tract and spasm of the muscles surrounding the airways. This results in narrowing of the airways, making it more difficult for the horse to breathe.

Recent research, funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, has been looking at the properties of mucus and the sites of its production in the lungs of horses with RAO.

An essential component of mucus is the mucins – high molecular weight proteins, produced by specialised cells such as those lining the respiratory tract. Their most important characteristic is that they can form gels, and so provide lubrication, transport and a physical barrier.

It was these mucins that formed the subject of this study. A summary of the work, carried out by Adele Williams as part of her PhD studies at the University of Manchester, has been published online.

Dr Williams found no difference in composition of the mucus between healthy and RAO-affected horses; the RAO cases just had more of it. Neither did she find any difference in mucin properties between horses housed inside or maintained at pasture.

The research showed that mucins were produced in cells lining the airways and in deeper glands. There was great variation in the size and number of these cells in both normal and RAO-affected horses. However, the mucin-producing cells in the deeper glands were larger in horses with RAO than in healthy control animals.

In the future it may be possible to use cell cultures to study mucus production in the laboratory, and to investigate ways of modifying mucus production. As part of the current project, mucin-producing cells were grown successfully in the laboratory for a short time. However there were problems with bacterial and fungal overgrowth. The technique needs to be refined before it can be used for analysing and modifying mucus production in the search for a treatment for mucus overproduction in horses with recurrent airway obstruction.

More details:

http://www.hblb.org.uk/documents/blog/RS242.pdf

Research Radio

Equine Guelph, the horse owner’s Centre at the University of Guelph, has launched a new service that aims to bring updates on the latest equine research carried out by scientists at the Ontario Veterinary College and the University of Guelph.

Research Radio, an online podcast  promises to the cutting edge discoveries being made, and explain what they mean for equine health and welfare. It is produced in association with  Trot Radio's Norm Borg and SSG Gloves.

The first two podcasts are now available. The first features Dr. Thomas Koch, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Ontario Veterinary College, discussing his work on stem cell therapy. In the second, Dr. Jeff Thomason, Senior anatomy Professor and research co-ordinator at Equine Guelph, discusses the relationship between track surface and injury in the performance horse.


http://www.equineguelph.ca/research/radio.php

Owners of British horses that don't headshake needed to help understand headshaking!

An international group of researchers are looking for owners of normal healthy horses as well as owners of horses that headshake to complete a short online survey to help understand headshaking. They are trying to understand why some horses develop headshaking behaviour and others do not. With a better understanding it is hoped that more effective treatments can be developed.

The group have launched a simple online survey and the project is funded by UK based Science Supplements Ltd. The group want to hear from owners who have horses that headshake BUT just as importantly, from owners whose horses don't headshake. These horses will act as controls for the study.

To date the group have over 300 completed surveys from owners of horses that headshake and from over 400 that don’t. The group urgently need more surveys, especially from owners of horses that DO NOT HEADSHAKE. (Please note that at this time the survey is limited to horses in the UK)

The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete and can be found here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HEADSHAKING2014