The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency conducts a targeted sampling plan and analysis for veterinary drugs within the country every year. Target compounds included tetrachlorvinphos as an organophosphate, diminazene as an anti-infective medication, ketoprofen as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, triclabendazole and clorsulon as flukicides in 2022. These compounds were not included in National Residues Program (NRP), despite their high sales ranking. A total of 94 bovine muscle samples and 20 equine muscle samples were collected from various locations across the country. The analysis of target compounds in muscle was performed using LC-MS/MS coupled with Food code 8.3.1 revised in 2022. A 2 g sample of muscle tissue was extracted using a water: acetonitrile (1:4, v/v) solution, then cleaned up with C18 and hexane saturated with acetonitrile. Compounds were separated with C18 column and mobile phases consisted of 0.1% formic acid in water (A) and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile (B). All analytes exhibited good linearity with correlation coefficients (R2) higher than 0.992. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of these compounds ranged from 0.21 to 2.79 μg/kg except for diminazene (3.85~6.86 μg/kg). The average recoveries of these analytes were 89.45~129.13% in muscle at spiked level of 10 or 20 μg/kg. Relative standard deviations (%) (intra-day and inter-day) were lower than 20% for all target compounds, except for diminazene and triclabendazole, whose intra-day RSD % was slightly higher than 20% in equine muscle. Testing confirmed that all 94 bovine and 20 equine muscle samples from 9 provinces were free from residues of veterinary drugs. Monitoring of compounds not included in the NRP should continue to ensure consumer health and food safety.

This study investigated changes in psychological stress levels of 60 firefighters after participation in an eight-week Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) program consisting of 16 sessions. The Korean versions of the Posttraumatic Diagnosis Scale (PDS-K), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (K-CESD), and the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale (K-DERS) were used for measurements. Participants were divided into two groups according to level of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS): the PTSS risk group and the PTSS non-risk group. Results showed that PDS-K, K-CESD, and K-DERS scores were significantly reduced after the program in the PTSS risk group. Significant reduction was also found in all sub-scales of PDS-K: re-experiencing, avoidance/emotional numbing, and hyperarousal. Moreover, in the PTSS risk group, there were greater improvements with significant group x time interactions. These findings suggest that EAL is effective in relieving PTSD and PTSD-related symptoms of firefighters with subsyndromal or more severe levels of PTSD.

Mutations in the luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptors (LH/CGRs), representatives of the G protein-coupled receptor family, have been rapidly identified over the last 20 years. This review aims to compare and analyze the data reported the activating and inactivating mutations of the LH/CGRs between human, rat, equine and fish, specifically (Japanese eel Anguilla japonica). Insights obtained through detailed study of these naturally-occurring mutations provide a further update of structure-function relationship of these receptors. Specifically, we present a variety of data on eel LH/CGR. These results provide important information about LH/CGR function in fish and the regulation of mutations of the highly conserved amino acids in glycoprotein hormone receptors.

In this study, antibody responses after vaccination against equine influenza were investigated among 1,591 horses in the Republic of Korea using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Equine influenza has not occurred since 2011 and a commercial vaccine against H3N8 has been used. The equine influenza virus, A/equine/South Africa/4/03 (H3N8), was used as the antigen in the HI assay. The mean seropositive rate was 90.5% in 2019. Except for stallion whose seropositive rate was 78.5%, all seropositive rates of other horse types were over 90%. Regionally, except for Gangwon-do and Jeju-do whose seropositive rates were 89.0% and 87.1%, all seropositive rates in other provinces were over 90%. In the future, more through vaccination against equine influenza needs to be done based on this investigation result.

Equine follicle stimulating hormone receptor (eFSHR) has a large extracellular domain and an intracellular domain containing approximately 10 phosphorylation sites within the G protein-coupled receptor. This study was conducted to analyze the function of phosphorylation sties at the eFSHR C-terminal region. We constructed a mutant of eFSHR, in which the C-terminal cytoplasmic tail was truncated at residue 641 (eFSHR-t641). This removed 10 potential phosphorylation sites from the C-terminal region of the intracellular loop. The eFSHR-wild type (eFSHR-wt) and eFSHR-t641 cDNAs were subcloned into the pCMV-ARMS1-PK2 expression vector. These plasmids were transfected into PathHunter CHO-K1 Parental cells expressing β-arrestin 2 enzyme acceptor fusion protein and analyzed for agonist-induced cAMP response. The cAMP response in cells expressing eFSHR-t641 was lower than the response in cells expressing eFSHR-wt. EC50 values of eFSHR-wt and eFSHR-t641 were 1079 ng/mL and 1834 ng/mL, respectively. eFSHR-t641 was approximately 0.58-fold compared with that of eFSHR-wt. The maximal response in eFSHR-wt and eFSHR-t641 was 24.7 nM and 16.7 nM, respectively. The Rmax value of phosphorylation sites in eFSHR-t641 was also decreased to approximately 68.4% of that in eFSHR-wt. The collective data implicate that the phosphorylation sites in the eFSHR C-terminal region have a pivotal role in signal transduction in PathHunter CHO-K1 cells, and indicate that β-arrestin is involved in coupling the activated receptors to the internalization system.

Equine reproductive failures for many different reasons are the main contributors to economic losses in the horse industry. This paper describes major bacterial agents isolated from thoroughbred mares that had reproductive failures in the previous year as well as the antimicrobial susceptibility of these bacterial isolates. A total of 146 vaginal and uterine swab samples were submitted to Jeju Self-Governing Veterinary Research Institute by equine veterinarians from 2011 to 2015. Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus were the most frequently encountered bacteria in 29 samples (48.3%). Other identified species included 21 samples (35%) with Escherichia coli, six samples (10%) with Klebsiella pneumoniae, and four samples (6.7%) with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates were sensitive to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefazolin, cefuroxime, and florfenicol, while all were resistant to tetracycline and kanamycin. All E. coli were sensitive to enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and most were susceptible to cefazolin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefuroxime, florfenicol, and gentamicin. All K. pneumoniae isolates were sensitive to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefazolin, cefuroxime, florfenicol, and ciprofloxacin, while all were resistant to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. P. aeruginosa exhibited sensitivity to quinolones and aminoglycosides, particularly gentamicin, while all were resistant to cefazolin and cefuroxime.

Musculoskeletal disorders including fracture, tendonitis, osteoarthritis, and laminitis are common diseases in racehorses that can cause large economic losses in the racehorse industry. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are being applied as new clinical tools for treatment of musculoskeletal disorders of racehorses. To investigate the immunomodulatory effects of stem cell therapy, we analyzed the anti- and pro-inflammatory factors in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of racehorses before and after stem cell application using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors (CCL5, IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-18) were decreased while those of anti-inflammatory factors (TIMP-1, IL-10, TGF-β1, and VEGF) were increased significantly after application of equine adipose tissue-derived MSCs (eAD-MSCs) to racehorses with fracture. Moreover, the expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors (IL-2, IL-18, and TNF-α) were decreased while those of anti-inflammatory factors (TIMP-1, TIMP-2, IL-10, TGF-β1, and VEGF) increased significantly after stem cell application of eAD-MSCs in racehorses with tendonitis. After evaluating immunomodulatory effects of stem cell therapy on equine musculoskeletal disorders such as fracture and tendonitis, our results showed that expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors were decreased, while those of anti-inflammatory factors increased significantly after stem cell application of eAD-MSCs. These findings suggest that the healing effects of the stem cell therapy might be due to its modulation of inflammatory factors.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are present in all tissues, can differentiate into cells with various specific functions. Recently, cell-based therapies using MSCs have been increasing in the veterinary research and related fields. In this study, we investigated the cellular morphology, proliferating capacities, expression of cell surface markers such as CD13, CD34, CD44, CD45, CD90, and CD105, mesodermal differentiation potentials, and expression of senescence-related markers of p53, p21, and telomerase reverse transcriptase in equine adipose tissue-derived MSCs (eAD-MSCs) after cryopreservation. The eAD-MSCs were analyzed immediately and after being frozen in liquid nitrogen for 1 year (< 1 year, G1) and more than 3 years (> 3 years, G2), respectively. After cryopreservation for 1 - 3 years, G2 eAD-MSCs showed similar cellular morphology, proliferating capacities, and expression of cell surface markers when compared with G1 eAD-MSCs. Moreover, cryopreservation did not affect the adipogenic, chondrogenic, or osteogenic differentiation potentials of G1 and G2 eAD-MSCs. Collectively, cryopreservation for (or over) 3 years maintained the stem cell phenotype and differentiation potentials of eAD-MSCs. These results will be an advantage that can be effectively used for future development of cell-based therapies.

In this study, we analyzed signal transduction by equine follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (eFSHR) on stimulation with recombinant eelFSHβ/α (rec-eelFSHβ/α), natural porcine FSH (pFSH), and natural human FSH (hFSH). cAMP stimulation in CHO-K1 cells expressing eFSHR was determined upon exposure to different doses (0-1450 ng/mL) of these hormones. The EC50 value of rec-eelFSHβ/α was 53.35 ng/mL. The Rmax values of rec-eelFSHβ/α and pFSH were 28.12 and 2.88 ng/mL, respectively. The activity of rec-eelFSHβ/α was much higher than that of natural pFSH. However, signal transduction in CHO PathHunter Parental cells expressing eFSHR was not enhanced by stimulation with natural hFSH. Thus, rec-eelFSHβ/α was completely active in cells expressing eFSHR. However, natural hFSH did not invoke a signal response in cells expressing eFSHR. Particularly, natural pFSH was weakly active in the same cells. These results showed that eelFSHβ/α has potent activity in cells expressing eFSHR. Thus, rec-eelFSHβ/α may efficiently bind to eFSHR, where as natural hFSH does not bind to eFSHR.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the concentration of seminal plasma in aerobic and anaerobic conditions on the total motility(TM) and the progressive motility(PM) of spermatozoa in long term preservation of cooled equine semen. We also examine the pregnancy rates after artificial insemination using fresh, cooled or frozen semen, and different durations of cooled-preserved equine semen. In the aerobic state of cooledpreserved semen, As the increase of preserved duration to 24h, 48h, 72h, and 96h, TM tended to decrease in each of different concentrations of formalin-containing experimental group, TM tended to decrease regardless of the concentrations of SP. In different concentrations of SP, TM of without seminal plasma(SP W/O) group tended to be higher than that of SP 20%, SP 33% and SP 50%, especially TM of SP W/O group was significantly higher than other groups at 96 h (p<0.05). PM was higher in the groups of SP W/O and SP 20% than in the groups of SP 33% and SP 50% from 24 h to 72 h in cooled-preservation, especially PM of SP W/O group was significantly higher than other groups at 96 h (p<0.05). In the anaerobic condition of cooled-preserved semen, the results of TM and PM at different concentrations of SP were similar to the results in the aerobic condition although there was a difference in the ratio. The pregnancy rates of fresh-cooled, cooled-preserved and frozen semen were 66.3%, 60.7% and 34.5%, respectively, and the pregnancy rate of frozen semen was the lowest. We also found that it is possible to pregnancy after artificial insemination using 72 h cooled-preserved equine semen. There was similar of the pregnancy rates in the different month from April to August.

This study was conducted to evaluate the changes of pH, dry matter digestibility (DMD), NH3-N concentrate, gas production and volatile fatty acid (VFA) through in vitro fermentation by adding horse feces to various juice pomaces fermented with Bacillus, yeast and lactic acid bacteria. The pH range of fermented fluid with juice pomaces was 6.4-7.1, indicating that the digestion by microbial fermentation was normal. Juice pomaces adopted will be helpfully used to assist with digestion by microbes in intestines because approximately 109 CFU/㎖ microbes were grown after 48 hours in fermented fluid. DMD rate gradually increased from 12 hours. It was 39.19% in pomaces of apple, 38.22% in grape, 37.02% in carrot, 36.2% in citrus and 34.35% in mixture respectively after 48 hours. NH3-N concentrate was not changed significantly as it was maintained at 1.5 mg/100㎖ level in the entire treatment group from beginning of fermentation until 12 hours, but increased rapidly from 24 hours. Amount of gas produced was lowest in the mixture and increased rapidly after 12 hours. Total VFA increased from 24 hours and was highest at 48 hours. It was suggested that dry matter digestion was processed while fermented juice pomaces kept proper pH during in vitro digestion, and cellulose degrading microorganisms could act actively in the caecum and colon of horses.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have restricted life spans in vitro and can therefore only be expanded for a limited number of cell divisions before entering a senescent state and unequivocally stopping proliferation. Several types of cell culture systems have been used for large-scale expansion of MSCs. A recent trend in cell culture has been the change from serum-use to serum-supplement media. This study was conducted to investigate the proliferative effects of vegetable resources (VR) on equine adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (eAD-MSCs) in the absence of serum and their possible mechanisms of action. Regulation of cell cycling is a key process involved in the fate of stem cells, including renewal and differentiation. In this study, we observed that the viability of eAD-MSCs was increased significantly when treated with VR under serum-free conditions. We also observed that expression levels of cell cycling-related proteins such as p53 and p21 were decreased, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen increased significantly in response to treatment with VR in eAD-MSCs under serum-free conditions. Furthermore, expression levels of cell survival-related proteins were increased in response to treatment with VR in eAD-MSCs under serum-free conditions. Therefore, our results suggest that VR promotes proliferation of eAD-MSCs under serum-free conditions.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are primary candidates for cell therapy and tissue engineering applications. A two-dimensional (2D) culture system is typically used for cell growth, but that method affects the characteristics of stem cells. The physiological cell environment connects cells not only to each other, but also to the extracellular matrix providing mechanical support, exposing the entire cell surface, and opening signaling pathways. The hanging drop method is the most widely used 3D culture method for spheroid formation. In this study, we investigated the relationship between spheroid size and changes in gene expression to determine the optimum spheroid size for use in tissue engineering. The expression levels of stemness factors such as NANOG, OCT4, and SOX2, angiogenic factors such as VEGF and IL-8, and osteogenic factors such as COX2 and TGF-β1 increased with spheroid size in the respective spheroid formation groups unlike the responses in their monolayer groups. Therefore, our results indicate that spheroid formation through the hanging drop method can increase the efficiency of MSCs-based tissue engineering over that obtained via traditional 2D cell culture systems.

Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is a member of the glycoprotein hormone. eCG, over 40%, is a heavily glycosylated glycoprotein than other glycoprotein hormones. eCG is composed of non-covalently linked α and β subunit. The α subunit is common to all glycoprotein hormones, whereas the β subunit was known distinct sequences and specific receptor binding. Unusually, eCG shows both FSH and LH activities in other species. eCG α subunit has two N-glycosylation sites (Asn56, Asn82) and β subunit has one N-glycosylation site (Asn13) and about 13 O-glycosylation sites in the C-terminal region. We constructed 3 type mutants (βα△56: α-subunit Asn56→ Gln56; β-Da: β-subunit C-terminal deletion; β-Dα△56: β C-terminal deletion & α Asn56→Gln56) in the tethered eCGβα (wild type) and all mutants included myc-tag between first and second amino acid of β subunit. The plasmid DNAs cloned into pcDNA3 mammalian expressing vector were transiently transfected into CHO-Suspension cells. We also constructed rat LH/CG receptor and rat FSH receptor into pcDNA3 expression vector. These receptors were transiently transfected into CHO-K1 cell. Each receptor cells were used for further assays at 3 days after transfection. cAMP and IP-one were evaluated by CISBIO cAMP HiRange and IP-one kits using the rec-eCGβα mutants. According to cAMP assay results, IC50 values of 4 type ligand treatment in the rat FSH receptor cells were: eCGβα: IC50_16.8841; eCGβα56: IC50_95.6099; eCGβ-Dα: IC50_395.0087; eCGβ-Dα56: IC50_1439.8702. In the rat LH/CG receptor cells of 4 types ligand treatments, cAMP results were: eCGβα: IC50_0.9760; eCGβα56: IC50_8.3884; eCGβ-Dα: IC50_9.2550; eCG β-Dα56: IC50_45.9439. As seen in these data, β C-terminal region and α Asn56 play an important role in rat FSHR and rat LH/CGR, respectively. And rat LHCG receptor cells was remarkably stronger than rat FSH receptor cells. According to IP-one assay, IC50 values in rat FSH receptor cells, the results were: eCGβα: IC50_561.4490; eCGβα56: IC50_361.3005; eCGβ-Dα: IC50_911.8577; eCGβ-Dα56: IC50_139.1193. And in rat LH/CG receptor cells, IP-one results were: eCGβα: IC50_422.7315; eCGβα56: IC50_406.4915; eCGβ-Dα: IC50_537.8300; eCGβ-Dα56: IC50_254.2004. As shown in these data, IP-one result was a little different to cAMP result. The β eCGβ-Dα56 of IC50 value was shown generally high signal. Now we are trying to analyse role of C-terminal region of eLH/CGR with cAMP, IP-one and ERK signal transduction assays.

This study was conducted to analyze the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on the equine chromosomes (ECA) 3 for the body conformations of 12 month of age in Jeju crossbred (Jeju horses × Thoroughbred). A total of 199 Jeju crossbred horse samples were obtained from the National Institute of Subtropical Livestock Research Institute for this study. To correctly estimate the body conformations, we measured thirteen elements relevant to the body conformation such as body weight, wither height, body length for all the 199 horses at 12 month of age. Furthermore, all the horses were genotyped using four SNPs including the BIEC2-808466, BIEC2-808543, BIEC2-808967, BIEC2-809370, of which genomic coordinates range approximately from 105.1Mbp to 110 Mbp in the ECA3. For the phenotypic data sets, the average body weight was 193.7 ± 24.5㎏ and the height was 124.5 ± 4.0㎝. As for the genotypic data, the miner allele frequencies of the SNPs were shown to be varied from 0.01 to 0.291. Using the phenotypic and genotypic data sets, analysis of covariance was performed to find any association between those SNP genotypes and body conformations, using year of birth, month of birth, sex, and parity as the covariance components. The result showed that alternative genotypes in the BIEC2-808967 and BIEC2-809370 SNPs were significantly associated with the body length (P<0.05) and the wither height (P<0.05) respectively in the Jeju crossbred horses. Therefore, it is estimated that there are significant associations in the body conformation of 12 month of age of Jeju crossbred for those two SNPs used in this study.

Bone fractures are most often seen in racetrack horses because of the high level of intensity in racing. These issues are the main cause of decreased performance in racehorses. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been explored to improve intra-articular therapy in racehorses. MSCs are essential for the repair and regeneration of damaged tissues. In this study, the effect of intra-articular injection of MSCs in racehorses was investigated. Before accessing the MSC therapy, synovial fluids were obtained from the fracture site of racehorses, and adipose tissue was collected for MSC isolation. Using the MSC specific marker, adipose tissue-derived MSCs were identified. The racehorses received intra-articular injection of autologous MSCs (or allogeneic) (3 × 107 cells/3 mL). After 1 or 2 weeks, synovial fluids were collected from racehorses. To test the effect of MSC injection using ELISA, we analyzed inflammatory factors from the untreated samples compared to MSC-treated samples of racehorses. The level of pro-inflammatory factors (interleukin-1β and prostaglandin E2) was significantly decreased in synovial fluids of MSC-injected racehorses, compared to before accessing the MSC therapy, whereas, the level of anti-inflammatory factor (interleukin-10) was higher than prior to accessing the MSC therapy. Further studies are needed to investigate the anti-inflammatory mechanism of MSC in racehorses.

말에서 주요 경제형질인 운동과 관련된 연구는 중요하지만, 현재까지의 연구는 물리학적, 생리학적 연구에 치중되어 있어 분자수준의 연구는 미비한 실정이다. 이에 본 연구는 선행연구를 통하여 경주마에서 RNA-sequencing을 수행하여 운동 전·후 alternative transcript 이형에 따라 발현 양상이 상이한 유전자(DYNC1LI2, COBLL1, AXL, PLEKHG1)를 발굴하였다. 이 중, DYNC1LI2 유전자를 선택하여 분자생물학적 분석 및 운동성과의 관계에 대하여 연구를 수행하였다. 그 결과, DYNC1LI2 유전자의 2가지 전사 이형은 긴 형태의 전사체(DYNC1LI2a)와 결손이 일어나 상대적으로 짧아진 전사체(DYNC1LI2b)의 형태로 존재하는 것을 확인하였고, 두 가지 전사 이형 모두가 말의 각 조직(갑상선, 결장, 골격근, 맹장, 심장, 신장, 척수, 폐)에 존재함을 확인하였다. 또한, 운동 전과 운동 후 발현량 분석을 통해 두 가지 전사 이형이 동일하게 운동에 따라 발현이 감소하는 것을 확인하였다. 추가적으로 두 가지 전사 이형의 아미노산 비교 분석 결과, 엑손영역에 결손이 일어나는 부분은 단백질의 인산화 및 당질화와 관련이 있음을 확인하였다. 이는 DYNC1LI2a가 DYNC1LI2b에 비해 더욱 단백질의 안정화 작용을 하는 것을 의미하며, DYNC1LI2 유전자가 운동에 따라 발현이 달라짐에 따라 차후 말에서 운동관련 연구에 대한 기반 자료로써 사용될 수 있음을 시사한다.

The objective of the study is to assess temperament of a horse based on general temperament test by a questionnaire survey. Five test criteria were identified: gentleness, patience, aggressiveness, sensitivity, and friendliness, each on a 5-point scale. 114 horses bred at the National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The horses recorded scores of 3.6∼3.9 for gentleness, 3.1∼3.6 for patience, 3.4∼4.0 for aggressiveness, 2.8∼3.2 for sensitivity, and 3.4∼3.8 for friendliness, the overall score for sensitivity the lowest. Horses born in 2012 scored lower than the rest in all five areas at a statistically significant level (P<0.05). By gender, the colts scored higher than the fillies in all five areas, but the discrepancy was not statistically significant. Factor analysis yielded only one factor, and the Cronbach's α value was 0.980 for standardization of Factor 1, indicating a high reliability of internal consistency. The correlation coefficients among the test criteria ranged between 0.85 and 0.91 (P<0.01). The assessment criteria used in this study are expected to provide a useful basis designing a temperament test horses.