B- and T-cell lymphocytes and other immune cell infiltration in the duodenal and rectal mucosa of severe asthmatic horses.

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this study were to quantify lymphocytes and eosinophils in the mucosa of the duodenum and rectum in asthmatic horses.

ANIMALS: 8 healthy and 10 asthmatic horses.

PROCEDURES: Asthmatic horses were evaluated in a symptomatic (after 6 weeks of exposure to moldy hay) and asymptomatic status (3 and 7 months after being fed alfalfa pellets [n = 4] or treated with inhaled fluticasone [6]). Duodenal and rectal biopsies were endoscopically (n = 4 to 6) taken in each horse. Eosinophils were counted on slides stained with hematoxylin, eosin, phloxine, and saffron, and immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate T and B lymphocytes using CD3 and CD20, respectively.

RESULTS

The duodenal and rectal epithelium of asthmatic and control horses contained exclusively T lymphocytes (CD3). Symptomatic asthmatic horses, compared to controls, had a significantly higher number of T lymphocytes (CD3) in the duodenal epithelium (P = .016) and the adjacent lamina propria of the villi (P = .04). Compared to symptomatic asthmatic horses, the fluticasone-treated group had significantly fewer T lymphocytes in the total lamina propria of the rectal mucosa (P < .01).

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Taken together, these results suggest that asthmatic horses have greater infiltration of T lymphocytes in the duodenal and rectal mucosa, indicating a certain degree of inflammation, which could be due to a systemic inflammatory effect and/or a local effect of ingested hay allergens in asthmatic horses. Systemic markers of inflammation have not been investigated to better qualify if the infiltration noted is due to a local and/or systemic effect.