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Biomedical subjects

B McGorum

Publications and source records attributed to B McGorum.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Comparison of IgG antibody levels to Clostridium botulinum antigens between euthanased and surviving cases of chronic grass sickness.

Serum from 12 horses suffering from chronic grass sickness (CGS) were assayed for IgG antibodies against botulinum neurotoxins C and D (BoNT/C and BoNT/D) and to a surface antigen extract of a neurotoxin negative strain of Clostridium botulinum type C. Collectively, the six surviving CGS cases demonstrated significantly higher initial IgG levels (P=0.05) against surface antigens than the six that were subsequently euthanased. The surviving animals also demonstrated higher initial IgG levels against the BoNT/C but not reaching significance (P=0.06). The two groups demonstrated no difference between IgG levels against BoNT/D. This study supports existing evidence of the involvement of C. botulinum type C in the aetiology of grass sickness.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Dose responses to inhalation of endotoxin, hay dust suspension and Aspergillus fumigatus extract in horses as measured by levels and activation of matrix metalloproteinase-9.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: Airway matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) increase after endotoxin (LPS) exposure, but there are no reports describing dose-dependent increases or activation following exposure. OBJECTIVES: To study matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and -2 (MMP-2) responses in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from heaves-susceptible and control horses following inhalation of hay dust suspension (HDS), LPS and Aspergillus fumigatus extract (AFE). METHODS: Heaves-susceptible (n = 7) and control (n = 6) horses received inhalation challenges with 3 different doses of HDS and LPS. Heaves-susceptible horses (n = 6) also received 3 different doses of AFE and one dose of AFE depleted of endotoxin (AFE-LPS). BALF collected following inhalation challenges was analysed using gelatin zymography. Gelatinolytic bands were identified as complex, pro-MMP-9, active MMP-9, pro-MMP-2 and active MMP-2 based on molecular weights. RESULTS: Each challenge substance induced a dose-dependent elevation in gelatinolytic activity. The dose-dependency was most evident for pro-MMP-9 and total MMP-9 levels in heaves-susceptible horses following LPS challenges. CONCLUSIONS: There is a dose-dependent elevation in MMP-9 in BALF of heaves-susceptible and control horses following inhalation challenge with organic dust and some of its components, elevation being more marked in heaves-susceptible horses. Organic dust components vary in their pro-inflammatory potential. POTENTIAL RELEVANCE: This study supports the role of MMPs in the pathogenesis of heaves and highlights the potential value of protease inhibitors in attenuating the airway inflammatory response to inhaled organic dust.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Equine dental disease part 1: a long-term study of 400 cases: disorders of incisor, canine and first premolar teeth.

A review of 400 horses referred because of dental disorders showed 44 cases to suffer from primary disorders of their incisors and 11 from canine or 1st premolar teeth disorders. The remaining 345 horses suffered from primary disorders of the cheek teeth. Disorders of incisors included traumatic damage to teeth and their supporting bones, retained deciduous, displaced and supernumerary incisors; brachygnathia and abnormalities of wear, with most of the latter disorders being secondary to primary disorders of the cheek teeth Only 3 cases of apical infection of incisors were recognised. Most cases of fractured incisors responded well to conservative therapy. Retained deciduous incisors were extracted, but most cases with supernumerary and displaced incisors, or brachygnathia were treated conservatively. Most disorders of the canine and 1st premolar were developmental displacements that caused bitting problems (abnormalities of head movement associated with the bit), and these cases responded well to extraction of the displaced teeth.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Priming induces functional coupling of N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine receptors in equine neutrophils.

The synthetic formylpeptide fMLP is widely used as a model chemoattractant and secretagogue for mammalian neutrophils. Despite possessing fMLP receptors, equine neutrophils do not produce superoxide anions in response to fMLP and there is no inflammatory reaction in the horse when fMLP is injected intradermally. The functional capability of these receptors was investigated after pretreatment with recognized priming agents. Purified neutrophils were pretreated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), platelet-activating factor (PAF), or tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and superoxide anion generation and shape change quantified by lucigenin-dependent chemiluminescence (LDCL) and flow cytometry, respectively. LPS, TNF-alpha, and PAF pretreatment induced significant LDCL in response to fMLP; similarly LPS pretreatment was a prerequisite for fMLP-stimulated neutrophil polarization in response to fMLP. However, LPS failed to induce fMLP-mediated chemotaxis of equine neutrophils. These data indicate that equine neutrophil fMLP receptors are not vestigial as previously thought but can trigger both respiratory burst activity and cell polarization responses after priming.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Protozoan encephalomyelitis causing pelvic limb paresis in a yearling sheep.

A pelvic limb paresis of 6 weeks duration in a yearling sheep resulted from protozoan encephalomyelitis involving the spinal cord at the thoracolumbar junction. An elevated lumbosacral cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration but normal cisternal cerebrospinal fluid protein concentration indicated the presence of a thoracolumbar inflammatory lesion resulting in cord compression which obstructed the rostral flow of the cerebrospinal fluid. Under general anaesthesia, myelography at the lumbo-sacral site demonstrated blockage to the rostral flow of contrast medium at T13/L1. At necropsy, there were no gross pathological changes at T13/L1, but histopathology revealed non-tract specific lymphocytic perivascular cuffing, axonal swelling and oedema in the spinal cord, characteristic of a protozoal encephalomyelitis. No parasites were detected in the multiple spinal cord sections examined but immunocytochemistry identified antigens cross-reactive with Sarcocystis spp. antigens in glial cells in these lesions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Pasture-associated seasonal respiratory disease in two horses.

Two horses on separate farms developed severe obstructive pulmonary disease in successive years during the early summer months. In both cases clinical remission of the respiratory distress was achieved by moving the animals to different environments. The suggested aetiology for this outdoor chronic respiratory disease is a pulmonary allergy to pollen. Both animals were also shown to suffer from classical chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, i.e., obstructive pulmonary disease in the presence of hay and, or, straw.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Ovine listerial encephalitis: analysis, hypothesis and synthesis.

Analysis of field data suggested that listerial encephalitis in sheep was most common in winter and early spring in the age groups of sheep which would be cutting, changing and possibly losing teeth. It was hypothesised that under these conditions ingested Listeria monocytogenes could reach the fine dental terminals of the trigeminal nerve causing an ascending neuritis and encephalitis. Experimental inoculation of organisms into the dental pulp demonstrated the feasibility of this route of infection. Histological encephalitis was evident six days after inoculation but the incubation period to clinical neurological disease was at least three weeks.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Granulated intraepithelial lymphocytes: their relationship to mucosal mast cells and globule leucocytes in the rat.

The relationship between mucosal mast cells (MMC) in the intestinal lamina propria, and globule leucocytes (GL) and granulated lymphocytes (GIEL) within the epithelium was compared by analysing the constituents of their granules. Glycosaminoglycan, as well as serine esterase, were present in the granules of all three cell types and the antigenic relationship of these serine esterases to MMC-specific protease (RMCPII) was examined. This enzyme was detected by immunocytochemistry within MMC and GL granules, but not in GIEL. The concentration of RMCPII in preparations of epithelial and lamina propria isolates correlated significantly with the numbers of MMC/GL present within these tissues. RMCPII was detected in epithelial isolates, and in preparations of isolated GIEL, only when MMC and GL were present. These studies add further support to the view that MMC and GL are of a common lineage and strongly suggest that GIEL are unrelated to MMC/GL.

Animals↗