Abstract
Severe equine asthma is an incurable obstructive respiratory condition affecting 10–15% of horses in temperate climates. Upon exposure to airborne antigens from hay feeding, affected horses show neutrophilic airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction, leading to increased respiratory effort. The resulting implications range from welfare concerns to economic impacts on equestrian sports and horse breeding. Immunological and pathophysiological characteristics of severe equine asthma show important parallels with allergic and severe neutrophilic human asthma. Our study aimed at investigating regulatory networks underlying the pathophysiology of the disease by profiling miRNA and mRNA expression in lung tissue samples from asthmatic horses compared with healthy controls. We sequenced small RNAs and mRNAs from lungs of seven asthmatic horses in exacerbation, five affected horses in remission, and eight healthy control horses. Our comprehensive differential expression analyses, combined with the miRNA–mRNA negative correlation approach, revealed a strong similarity on the transcriptomic level between severe equine asthma and severe neutrophilic asthma in humans, potentially through affecting Th17 cell differentiation. This study also showed that several dysregulated miRNAs and mRNAs are involved in airway remodeling. These results present a starting point for a better transcriptomic understanding of severe equine asthma and its similarities to asthma in humans.
Highlights
Severe equine asthma is an incurable obstructive respiratory condition affecting approximately 10% to 15% of horses in temperate climates [1]
We identified molecular mechanisms and pathways that may play important roles in the pathogenesis of Severe equine asthma (sEA) and offer novel comparative data for human asthma research based on comprehensive global miRNA and mRNA expression profiling in lung tissue samples of sEA-affected horses in exacerbation, in remission, and in healthy controls
We decided to focus on the three miRNAs that were found to be upregulated in both comparisons, asthmatic horses in exacerbation versus healthy controls and horses in remission versus controls (Figure 2)
Summary
Severe equine asthma (sEA) is an incurable obstructive respiratory condition affecting approximately 10% to 15% of horses in temperate climates [1]. When exposed to airborne antigens, mainly during hay feeding, affected horses develop the characteristic signs of sEA exacerbation: neutrophilic airway inflammation, bronchial hyperreactivity, bronchoconstriction, and mucus. These chronic or recurrent exacerbations manifest with coughing, exercise intolerance, and increased respiratory effort. Elucidation of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of asthma in horses is needed to improve prevention and treatment of this condition. Such advances may improve our understanding of asthma in humans, as immunological and pathophysiological characteristics of sEA show important parallels with allergic as well as severe neutrophilic human asthma [5]
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