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Alterations in Toll‐like Receptor Regulation in the Liver from Horses with Laminitis
Author(s) -
McGeachy Matthew,
Bell Amy,
Keowen Michael L,
Peiro Juliana,
Stokes Ashley M.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.1_supplement.1190.8
Subject(s) - laminitis , downregulation and upregulation , tlr9 , taqman , horse , inflammation , medicine , receptor , pathology , immunology , biology , real time polymerase chain reaction , gene expression , gene , paleontology , biochemistry , dna methylation
Laminitis can occur secondary to an ischemic‐reperfusion injury of the GI tract. When the normal flora of the GI or pH is disrupted, stimulators of inflammation can be released into the GI bloodstream. The next point of organ contact is the liver via the portal blood stream potentially leading to increased expression of inflammatory mediators, such as Toll‐like receptors (TLR)‐2 and ‐4. Liver samples of normal (n=18) and horses with naturally‐acquired (n=5) and experimentally‐induced (n=7) laminitis were collected and TaqMan RT‐PCR was used to quantify TLR‐2 and ‐4. Beta‐Gus was used as the housekeeping gene and standard curves were utilized. Data is presented as delta‐delta CT. Equine TLR‐2 and ‐4 are upregulated in liver collected from laminitic compared to normal. Upregulation of TLR‐2 in laminitic horses is over 3‐fold higher than normal. Upregulation of TLR‐4 was only a minor increase. However, horses with experimentally‐induced laminitis (48 hours after induction) had the greatest increase compared to chronic cases having a 6‐fold TLR‐4 increase. Identification of inflammatory mediators may aid in the unraveling of equine laminitis, helping horses such as Barbaro. Also, pinpointing an earlier point in this cataclysmic reaction will help in the development of gene specific therapeutics as this technology is developed and utilized. Funded by Louisiana State University Equine Health Studies Program.