Septic arthritis is an important disease in horses, necessitating aggressive and prolonged therapy. In order to guide therapy, reliable methods of detecting the eradication of infection are needed. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate detection of eradication of infection in an experimental model of equine septic arthritis using standard diagnostic techniques. For this purpose, 17 adult horses were assigned to 3 experimental groups. The middle carpal joint of each horse was injected with Escherichia coli (Septic group, n = 8), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (LPS group, n = 6), or sterile saline (Control group, n = 3) at day 0. Contralateral joints were not injected. Standard therapy was applied to all joints except non-injected joints in the Control group at day 1. Sequential samples of synovial fluid (SF) were collected for bacterial culture using 3 culture media [Columbia blood agar (CBA), brain heart infusion broth (BHI), and Signal blood culture medium] and for cytological evaluation [percentage neutrophils (PN), total nucleated cell count (TNCC), and total protein (TP)]. Escherichia coli-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out to detect E. coli DNA in synovial fluid. Culture and PCR were positive for E. coli in all joints injected with E. coli at day 1 and 1 joint was positive on BHI at day 4. Based on the results of bacterial culture, PCR, and TNCC, the elimination of infection in our experimental model occurred by day 4 post-infection in 6 out of 7 cases. Total protein (TP) and PN remained elevated at clinical threshold used for diagnosis of septic arthritis until day 14. In our experimental model of E. coli-induced arthritis, we conclude that TP and PN may not be good indicators for detecting the eradication of bacterial infection caused by E. coli from infected and subsequently treated joints.

The efficacy of GI24-lysed Brucella abortus cells as a vaccine candidate against brucellosis in goats was evaluated on 2 groups of Korean black goats. Group A goats were immunized subcutaneously (SC) with sterile phosphate-buffered saline, whereas group B goats were immunized SC with approximately 3 × 10(9) lysed B. abortus cells. Subcutaneous immunization with the lysed cells did not cause any negative impact on the overall clinical status, such as behavior and appetite, throughout the study period. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) optical densities values for B. abortus lipopolysaccharide in serum were considerably higher in group B than those in group A. Also, the levels of the cytokines interleukin 4 (IL-4), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) were significantly elevated in group B compared with those in group A. Following intraconjunctival challenge with B. abortus strain 544, the severity of brucellosis in terms of infection index and colonization of B. abortus in tissues was significantly lower in group B than in group A. The present study concluded that 3 of 5 goats immunized with GI24-lysed bacteria were completely protected against challenge. Future investigations are required to improve the protective efficacy offered by lysed B. abortus cells for practical applications in small ruminants.

OBJECTIVE To investigate effects of body condition on permeability of intestinal mucosa in horses. ANIMALS 13 horses (7 obese and 6 lean) from 8 to 15 years of age. PROCEDURES Body condition score was assessed, and an oral sugar test (OST) was performed to evaluate glucose and insulin dynamics. Horses were allowed a 2-week diet acclimation period and were then euthanized. Tissue samples were collected from the jejunum, ileum, cecum, pelvic flexure, right dorsal colon, and rectum. Mucosal permeability was assessed by measuring transepithelial resistance and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) flux across tissue samples mounted in Ussing chambers. RESULTS 5 obese horses and 1 lean horse had evidence of insulin dysregulation, whereas 1 obese and 5 lean horses had no abnormalities in results of the OST. Results for the OST were not available for 1 obese horse. Mucosal transepithelial resistance did not differ in any intestinal segment between obese and lean horses. Obese horses had a significantly higher LPS flux across jejunal mucosa, compared with results for lean horses, but there were no significant differences between obese and lean horses for other intestinal segments. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Obese horses may have had greater paracellular mucosal permeability of jejunal mucosa to LPS, compared with that for lean horses. This finding was consistent with data for the gastrointestinal mucosa of humans and mice and supported the hypothesis that obese horses may be at higher risk from chronic exposure to increased amounts of LPS, compared with the risk for lean horses.