Equine Program Review

The Department of Animal Science equine program provides the highest quality active learning environment that promotes life-long learning in both career and life skills for students. Courses accommodate the range of experiences by incorporating the science with the “hands-on” activity. In addition the equine community is served through extension and outreach activities

Evaluation of Mare’s Milk Composition and Quality during Lactation

Our objective was to evaluate changes in the composition and quality of mare’s milk throughout lactation. Milk samples were obtained from fifteen mares immediately after foaling, and then once weekly from the first week of lactation up until the second through eighth week depending on the foaling date of each mare. Samples averaging 3 mL for colostrum samples, 3 mL for weekly sampling thereafter, and 2 oz. for DHI milk composition analysis, were collected after each teat was disinfected with a cotton ball that was moistened with 70% ethanol. Each 3 mL sample was examined for microbial growth via the application of approximately 0.1 mL milk sample on ¼ of a blood agar culture plate which was then incubated for 24 to 48 hours before being analyzed. Each 2 oz. sample was analyzed for fat, protein, lactose, milk urea nitrogen, and somatic cell count. The concentrations of fat, protein, and somatic cell counts decreased as a whole throughout lactation, while lactose and milk urea nitrogen concentrations increased. The averages for fat, protein, lactose, milk urea nitrogen, and somatic cell count were 1.73%, 2.08%, 6.62%, 25.77mg/dl, and 79,000 cells/ml (39,000 cells/ml without 1 outlier sample), respectively for the collection period. No bacterial infections were found on the culture plates. A California Mastitis Test (CMT) was also conducted, of which no inflammatory results were found. All mares maintained good condition throughout lactation, and foals grew well. Overall, composition was similar to other studies with horses showing excellent mammary health and milk quality

Gene-Centric Meta-Analysis of Lipid Traits in African, East Asian and Hispanic Populations

Meta-analyses of European populations has successfully identified genetic variants in over 100 loci associated with lipid levels, but our knowledge in other ethnicities remains limited. To address this, we performed dense genotyping of ∼2,000 candidate genes in 7,657 African Americans, 1,315 Hispanics and 841 East Asians, using the IBC array, a custom ∼50,000 SNP genotyping array. Meta-analyses confirmed 16 lipid loci previously established in European populations at genome-wide significance level, and found multiple independent association signals within these lipid loci. Initial discovery and in silico follow-up in 7,000 additional African American samples, confirmed two novel loci: rs5030359 within ICAM1 is associated with total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) $(p = 8.8×10^{−7} and p = 1.5×10^{−6}$ respectively) and a nonsense mutation rs3211938 within CD36 is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels $(p = 13.5×10^{−12})$. The rs3211938-G allele, which is nearly absent in European and Asian populations, has been previously found to be associated with CD36 deficiency and shows a signature of selection in Africans and African Americans. Finally, we have evaluated the effect of SNPs established in European populations on lipid levels in multi-ethnic populations and show that most known lipid association signals span across ethnicities. However, differences between populations, especially differences in allele frequency, can be leveraged to identify novel signals, as shown by the discovery of ICAM1 and CD36 in the current report

Early stop polymorphism in human DECTIN-1 is associated with increased candida colonization in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients

Background. Intensive treatment of hematological malignancies with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is accompanied by a high incidence of opportunistic invasive fungal infection, but individual risk varies significantly. Dectin-1, a C-type lectin that recognizes l, 3-β-glucans from fungal pathogens, including Candida species, is involved in the initiation of the immune response against fungi. Methods. Screening for the DECTIN-1 Y238X polymorphism within a group of 142 patients undergoing HSCT was correlated with Candida colonization and candidemia. Furthermore, functional studies were performed on the consequences of the polymorphism. Results. Patients bearing the Y238X polymorphism in the DECTIN-1 gene were more likely to be colonized with Candida species, compared with patients bearing wild-type DECTIN-1, necessitating more frequent use of fluconazole in the prevention of systemic Candida infection. Functional assays demonstrated a loss-of-function phenotype of the polymorphism, as shown by the decreased cytokine production by immune cells bearing this polymorphism. Conclusions. The Y238X polymorphism is associated with increased oral and gastrointestinal colonization with Candida species. This suggests a crucial role played by dectin-1 in the mucosal antifungal mechanisms in immunocompromised hosts. The finding that DECTIN-1 polymorphisms rendered HSCT recipients at increased risk for fungal complications may contribute to the selection of high-risk patients who should be considered for antifungal prophylaxis to prevent systemic candidiasis

Genetic variation of innate immune genes in HIV-infected african patients with or without oropharyngeal candidiasis.

Contains fulltext : 88534.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: The occurrence of oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) in combination with HIV disease progression is a very common phenomenon. However, not all HIV-infected patients develop OPC, even when they progress to low CD4 T-cell counts. Because T-cell immunity is defective in AIDS, the innate defence mechanisms are likely to have a central role in antifungal immunity in these patients. We investigated whether genetic variations in the innate immune genes DECTIN-1, TLR2, TLR4, TIRAP, and CASPASE-12 are associated with the presence of OPC in HIV-infected subjects from East Africa. METHODS: A total of 225 HIV patients were genotyped for several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and this was correlated with the occurrence of OPC in these patients. In addition, primary immune cells obtained from individuals with different genotypes were stimulated with Candida albicans, and cytokine production was measured. RESULTS: The analysis revealed that no significant differences in the polymorphism frequencies could be observed, although a tendency toward a protective effect on OPC of the DECTIN-1 I223S SNP was apparent. Furthermore, interferon gamma production capacity was markedly lower in cells bearing the DECTIN-1 SNP I223S. It could also be demonstrated that the 223S mutated form of the DECTIN-1 gene exhibits a lower capacity to bind zymosan. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that common polymorphisms of TLR2, TLR4, TIRAP, and CASPASE-12 do not influence susceptibility to OPC in HIV-infected patients in East Africa but suggest an immunomodulatory effect of the I223S SNP on dectin-1 function and possibly the susceptibility to OPC in HIV patients

Identification of the First Marine-Derived Opioid Receptor “Balanced” Agonist with a Signaling Profile That Resembles the Endorphins

Opioid therapeutics are excellent analgesics, whose utility is compromised by dependence. Morphine (<b>1</b>) and its clinically relevant derivatives such as OxyContin (<b>2</b>), Vicodin (<b>3</b>), and Dilaudid (<b>4</b>) are “biased” agonists at the μ opioid receptor (OR), wherein they engage G protein signaling but poorly engage β-arrestin and the endocytic machinery. In contrast, endorphins, the endogenous peptide agonists for ORs, are potent analgesics, show reduced liability for tolerance and dependence, and engage both G protein and β-arrestin pathways as “balanced” agonists. We set out to determine if marine-derived alkaloids could serve as novel OR agonist chemotypes with a signaling profile distinct from morphine and more similar to the endorphins. Screening of 96 sponge-derived extracts followed by LC-MS-based purification to pinpoint the active compounds and subsequent evaluation of a mini library of related alkaloids identified two structural classes that modulate the ORs. These included the following: aaptamine (<b>10</b>), 9-demethyl aaptamine (<b>11</b>), demethyl (oxy)–aaptamine (<b>12</b>) with activity at the δ-OR (EC₅₀: 5.1, 4.1, 2.3 μM, respectively) and fascaplysin (<b>17</b>), and 10-bromo fascaplysin (<b>18</b>) with activity at the μ-OR (EC₅₀: 6.3, 4.2 μM respectively). An <i>in vivo</i> evaluation of <b>10</b> using δ-KO mice indicated its previously reported antidepressant-like effects are dependent on the δ-OR. Importantly, <b>17</b> functioned as a balanced agonist promoting both G protein signaling and β-arrestin recruitment along with receptor endocytosis similar to the endorphins. Collectively these results demonstrate the burgeoning potential for marine natural products to serve as novel lead compounds for therapeutic targets in neuroscience research

Gene-centric meta-analysis of lipid traits in African, East Asian and Hispanic populations.

Meta-analyses of European populations has successfully identified genetic variants in over 100 loci associated with lipid levels, but our knowledge in other ethnicities remains limited. To address this, we performed dense genotyping of ∼2,000 candidate genes in 7,657 African Americans, 1,315 Hispanics and 841 East Asians, using the IBC array, a custom ∼50,000 SNP genotyping array. Meta-analyses confirmed 16 lipid loci previously established in European populations at genome-wide significance level, and found multiple independent association signals within these lipid loci. Initial discovery and in silico follow-up in 7,000 additional African American samples, confirmed two novel loci: rs5030359 within ICAM1 is associated with total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (p = 8.8×10(-7) and p = 1.5×10(-6) respectively) and a nonsense mutation rs3211938 within CD36 is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (p = 13.5×10(-12)). The rs3211938-G allele, which is nearly absent in European and Asian populations, has been previously found to be associated with CD36 deficiency and shows a signature of selection in Africans and African Americans. Finally, we have evaluated the effect of SNPs established in European populations on lipid levels in multi-ethnic populations and show that most known lipid association signals span across ethnicities. However, differences between populations, especially differences in allele frequency, can be leveraged to identify novel signals, as shown by the discovery of ICAM1 and CD36 in the current report