Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral and intravenous metoprolol tartrate in clinically healthy horses.

Cardiac drugs with defined pharmacological parameters in horses are limited. The objective of this study was to characterize the pharmacokinetic properties and cardiovascular effects of intravenous and oral metoprolol tartrate (MET) in horses. In a 2-period randomized cross-over design, MET was administered IV (0.04 mg/kg) and PO (6 mg/kg) once to six healthy adult horses. Horses were monitored via continuous telemetry and non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP). Blood samples were serially collected for 72 h post-administration, and concentrations were determined by LC-MS/MS. Pharmacokinetics were modeled using a 3-compartment model and non-linear least squares regression. Median (range) MET concentration was 110 (40.1-197) ng/ml collected 1 min (0.0167 h) after a bolus IV administration. Maximum concentration (Cmax ) after PO administration was 2135 (1590-4170) ng/ml at 0.5 (0.25-0.5) hours. Oral bioavailability was 54% (17-100%). Median apparent volume of distribution was 0.39 (0.17-0.58) l/kg, clearance was 12.63 (11.41-18.94) ml/kg/min, and elimination half-life was 21.1 (7.46-34.36) minutes. No clinically relevant effects of IV or PO metoprolol were noted on cardiac rhythm or NIBP. Sweating was the most common side effect. The metoprolol doses used in this study achieve plasma concentrations reported to achieve ß-blockade in humans.

Fetal morphological features and abnormalities associated with equine early pregnancy loss.

BACKGROUND: Early pregnancy loss (EPL) occurs in approximately 8% of equine pregnancies, although the aetiology is mostly unknown and embryonic/fetal morphological abnormalities associated with EPL are not defined. OBJECTIVES: To compare the morphology of EPL to clinically normal embryos/fetuses and previously described embryonic/fetal developmental milestones. To identify morphological abnormalities associated with equine EPL. STUDY DESIGN: Observational case-control study. METHODS: Embryos/fetuses were obtained from clinically normal Thoroughbred and pony pregnancies (n = 11) and following EPL from Thoroughbred mares (n = 27). The crown-rump length (CRL) of embryos/fetuses was measured and macroscopic morphology and developmental age were determined independently by three blinded examiners. Sagittal sections of EPL (n = 13) and control (n = 6) embryos/fetuses were assessed microscopically. Fisher's exact test was used to determine significance (P < .05) and correlations were expressed by Pearson coefficient. RESULTS: Age and CRL were strongly positively correlated in clinically normal Thoroughbred and reference (n = 15, R = .9 (95% CI: 0.8-1.0), R2  = .9, P < .0001) but not EPL embryos/fetuses (n = 19, R = .1 (95% CI: -0.4 to 0.5), R2  = .01, P = .75). Relative to controls, the CRL of EPL embryos/fetuses was smaller, with evidence of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in 3/8 fetuses assessed. In 9/13 EPL embryos/fetuses, nonspecific neural tissue alterations were identified including disruption of developing pros-, mes- and rhombencephalon and the presence of haemosiderin, indicating premortem haemorrhage. Failed neural tube closure was identified in 1/13 EPL embryos/fetuses. Subcutaneous haemorrhage was present in 14/27 EPL embryos/fetuses. MAIN LIMITATIONS: Autolysis significantly affected 15/27 EPL embryos/fetuses, excluding them from complete assessment. The IUGR reference cut-off values were based on a small number of controls. CONCLUSIONS: Morphological features associated with equine EPL were a mismatch between embryonic/fetal size and age, and alterations of the developing neural tissue and localised subcutaneous haemorrhage. Failed neural tube closure was confirmed as a rare specific abnormality.

Effect of thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation testing on the oral sugar test in horses when performed as a combined protocol.

BACKGROUND: The use of parallel dynamic tests to identify insulin dysregulation (ID) and pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) in horses could have better diagnostic utility than measuring baseline hormone concentrations, if the tests do not alter diagnostic interpretation of one another. HYPOTHESIS: Performing a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test before an oral sugar test (OST) would not affect results of OST. ANIMALS: Twenty-six healthy university-owned horses. METHODS: A prospective randomized placebo-controlled, crossover design was used to evaluate 3 OST protocols: OST alone, TRH followed by OST (TRH + OST), and placebo followed by OST (placebo + OST). Agreement for plasma insulin concentrations and diagnostic interpretation were assessed with Bland-Altman and logistic regression analyses, respectively. RESULTS: Bland-Altman analysis of TRH + OST versus OST alone showed good agreement between testing protocols, with bias ± SD for insulin concentrations at baseline 0.4 ± 4.7 µIU/mL (95% limits of agreement [LOA], -8.8 to 9.7), 60 minute -0.5 ± 22.6 µIU/mL (95% LOA, -44.7 to 43.8), and 90 minute 1.9 ± 20.6 µIU/mL (95% LOA, -38.5 to 42.4) after OST, similar to placebo + OST versus OST alone. Diagnostic interpretation (positive/negative) was not different between protocols (TRH + OST versus OST alone [P = .78], placebo + OST versus OST alone [P = .77], or TRH + OST versus placebo + OST [P = .57]). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Concurrent testing for PPID and ID with a TRH stimulation test before an OST is an acceptable diagnostic tool for investigation of endocrinopathies in horses and allows accurate testing to be performed efficiently in 1 visit.

A Multivariate Genome-Wide Association Study of Wing Shape in Drosophila melanogaster.

Due to the complexity of genotype-phenotype relationships, simultaneous analyses of genomic associations with multiple traits will be more powerful and informative than a series of univariate analyses. However, in most cases, studies of genotype-phenotype relationships have been analyzed only one trait at a time. Here, we report the results of a fully integrated multivariate genome-wide association analysis of the shape of the Drosophila melanogaster wing in the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel. Genotypic effects on wing shape were highly correlated between two different laboratories. We found 2396 significant SNPs using a 5% false discovery rate cutoff in the multivariate analyses, but just four significant SNPs in univariate analyses of scores on the first 20 principal component axes. One quarter of these initially significant SNPs retain their effects in regularized models that take into account population structure and linkage disequilibrium. A key advantage of multivariate analysis is that the direction of the estimated phenotypic effect is much more informative than a univariate one. We exploit this fact to show that the effects of knockdowns of genes implicated in the initial screen were on average more similar than expected under a null model. A subset of SNP effects were replicable in an unrelated panel of inbred lines. Association studies that take a phenomic approach, considering many traits simultaneously, are an important complement to the power of genomics.

How well do you know your mutation? Complex effects of genetic background on expressivity, complementation, and ordering of allelic effects.

For a given gene, different mutations influence organismal phenotypes to varying degrees. However, the expressivity of these variants not only depends on the DNA lesion associated with the mutation, but also on factors including the genetic background and rearing environment. The degree to which these factors influence related alleles, genes, or pathways similarly, and whether similar developmental mechanisms underlie variation in the expressivity of a single allele across conditions and among alleles is poorly understood. Besides their fundamental biological significance, these questions have important implications for the interpretation of functional genetic analyses, for example, if these factors alter the ordering of allelic series or patterns of complementation. We examined the impact of genetic background and rearing environment for a series of mutations spanning the range of phenotypic effects for both the scalloped and vestigial genes, which influence wing development in Drosophila melanogaster. Genetic background and rearing environment influenced the phenotypic outcome of mutations, including intra-genic interactions, particularly for mutations of moderate expressivity. We examined whether cellular correlates (such as cell proliferation during development) of these phenotypic effects matched the observed phenotypic outcome. While cell proliferation decreased with mutations of increasingly severe effects, surprisingly it did not co-vary strongly with the degree of background dependence. We discuss these findings and propose a phenomenological model to aid in understanding the biology of genes, and how this influences our interpretation of allelic effects in genetic analysis.

SMAD1/5 signaling in the early equine placenta regulates trophoblast differentiation and chorionic gonadotropin secretion.

TGFß superfamily proteins, acting via SMAD (Sma- and Mad-related protein)2/3 pathways, regulate placental function; however, the role of SMAD1/5/8 pathway in the placenta is unknown. This study investigated the functional role of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)4 signaling through SMAD1/5 in terminal differentiation of primary chorionic gonadotropin (CG)-secreting trophoblast. Primary equine trophoblast cells or placental tissues were isolated from day 27-34 equine conceptuses. Detected by microarray, RT-PCR, and quantitative RT-PCR, equine chorionic girdle trophoblast showed increased gene expression of receptors that bind BMP4. BMP4 mRNA expression was 20- to 60-fold higher in placental tissues adjacent to the chorionic girdle compared with chorionic girdle itself, suggesting BMP4 acts primarily in a paracrine manner on the chorionic girdle. Stimulation of chorionic girdle-trophoblast cells with BMP4 resulted in a dose-dependent and developmental stage-dependent increase in total number and proportion of terminally differentiated binucleate cells. Furthermore, BMP4 treatment induced non-CG-secreting day 31 chorionic girdle trophoblast cells to secrete CG, confirming a specific functional response to BMP4 stimulation. Inhibition of SMAD2/3 signaling combined with BMP4 treatment further enhanced differentiation of trophoblast cells. Phospho-SMAD1/5, but not phospho-SMAD2, expression as determined by Western blotting was tightly regulated during chorionic girdle trophoblast differentiation in vivo, with peak expression of phospho-SMAD1/5 in vivo noted at day 31 corresponding to maximal differentiation response of trophoblast in vitro. Collectively, these experiments demonstrate the involvement of BMP4-dependent pathways in the regulation of equine trophoblast differentiation in vivo and primary trophoblast differentiation in vitro via activation of SMAD1/5 pathway, a previously unreported mechanism of TGFß signaling in the mammalian placenta.