Preliminary Results on CD147 Expression in Red Blood Cells of Arabian Horses

Abstract

IntroductionDuring anaerobic glycolysis for energy production, lactate and H+ ions accumulate in muscle fibers and pass into the bloodstream. Monocarboxylate transporter type 1 and its ancillary protein CD147 transport H+ and lactate ions from the plasma into red blood cells, thereby maintaining acid/base homeostasis and retarding systemic acidosis and fatigue. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of CD147 protein in the red blood cells of Arabian horses with different levels of athletic ability.MethodsBlood samples were taken from 12 Arabian horses before exercise. The horses were divided into two groups: untrained horses (UH, n = 6) and 160‐km endurance horses (FEI, n = 6). The amount of CD147 in the plasma membranes of their red blood cells was determined by Western blotting analysis using a human‐specific anti‐CD147 antibody previously validated for horses. The medians were compared by Mann‐Whitney Rank Sum test at 5%.ResultsCD147 protein with a molecular mass of approximately 45 kDa was found in the red blood cell membranes of the studied horses. The CD147 expression levels of the two groups were not different (P = 0.065). The observed median values (min–max) were 0.50 (0.37–1.26) and 0.27 (0.09–0.69) arbitrary optical density units for the FEI and UH group respectively.ConclusionsStudies must be performed with more horses to determine if a different level of CD147 expression exists in FEI horses related to their intensive training programs or to the genetic traits of each horse.Ethical Animal ResearchAll procedures were approved by the institutional animal care and use committee of the university (CEUA, Process: 019314/13). Explicit owner informed consent for participation in this study is not stated. Sources of funding: FAPESP ‐ Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. Process: 2012/24193‐0. Competing interests: none.