Ascending placentitis is an infection of a mare's placenta that commonly causes late-term abortions; it can have a devastating economic impact on the breeding industry.
A new study has helped to identify which mares might be at risk of developing this infection by focusing on one variant of an inflammation-related protein, reports The Horse. The study was led by Dr. Yatta Linhares-Boakari, who found that mares that developed ascending placentitis had more messenger RNA (mRNA) of serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) in their placental tissues than those mares who didn't. Yatta Linhares-Boakari says her research might allow scientists to determine the difference between placentitis and other causes of inflammation.
The study team bred 10 pony mares and introduced Streptococcus equi spp zooepidemicus into the cervixes of half of them to induce ascending placentitis. Three days later, the researchers took blood samples, sedated and euthanized all of the mares used in the study to investigate the tissues of the mares and the fetuses.
The scientists found that mares that had placentitis had significantly higher SAA values. They also discovered that haptoglobin (Hp, another protein associated with inflammation) values in the fetuses' blood was significantly higher in the placentitis group.
Additionally, the team found distinct patterns of proteins in the tissues of infected mares and a never-before-seen mRNA trend: Both SAA and Hp were found at increased levels in the mares with ascending placentitis. SAA1 and mRNA were found in greater numbers in the placental membranes of infected mares, as well.
The team concludes that their findings — specifically the elevation of SAA1 in blood – may eventually be able to assist in pinpointing ascending placentitis in its early stages when it might be treated more easily.
Read more at The Horse.
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