Evidence for anti‐inflammatory effects of firocoxib administered to mares with experimentally induced placentitis

Abstract

Problem: Minimal evidence exists supporting therapeutic selections for equine placentitis. The goal of this study was to characterize the anti-inflammatory effects of firocoxib when administered to mares with placentitis.Methods: Mares (gestation D270-300) were assigned to: INFECT (n = 6; placentitis, no treatment), FIRO (n = 6; placentitis, firocoxib, 0.1 mg/kg, PO, daily), and NORM (n = 6; no infection/treatment). Allantoic fluid (8 hours, 24 hours, birth) and amniotic fluid (birth) were collected from mares after infection. Concentrations of IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, IL-10, PGF 2α , and PGE 2 in fluids were measured by ELISA. mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, IL-8, IL-10, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) −1, 3, and 9 in fetal membranes/fetuses was quantified using real-time PCR.

Update on diagnosing and treating ascending placentitis in horses

“…Recent work from Kentucky and Florida in the USA (Fedorka and others 2019a, Macpherson and others 2021) has further characterised the fetal‐maternal immune response to placental infection, demonstrating that the maternal response is largely proinflammatory while the fetal cytokine response is both pro‐ and anti‐inflammatory with levels of cytokines and prostaglandins increasing within the amniotic fluid. Further to this, researchers in Kentucky undertook a field study to determine if these cytokine changes could be detected in maternal serum of clinical cases; additionally they screened for maternal steroid hormones and α‐fetoprotein.…”

Ancillary treatment to support pregnancy in cases of medical disease

“…Recently, the primarily COX‐2‐selective anti‐inflammatory firocoxib has been investigated in the pregnant mare (Giguère et al., 2016; Macpherson et al., 2021) as firocoxib ideally has less deleterious effects on the gastrointestinal and renal systems. Initial work illustrated no adverse effects in mares treated with daily oral firocoxib at 0.1 mg/kg bwt, but the maximum concentration of the drug was significantly lower in pregnant mares (Giguère et al., 2016).…”

“…As firocoxib has a long half‐life, the authors proposed that a steady state in pregnant mares could be reached by using a loading dose of 0.3 mg/kg bwt followed by 0.1 mg/kg bwt by mouth every 24 h akin to the practice performed in other musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal conditions in the horse (Cox et al., 2013; Giguère et al., 2016). Macpherson and colleagues (2021) followed this work by using the loading dose of 0.3 mg/kg bwt per os q. 24 h, followed by 0.1 mg/kg bwt per os q.…”

“…24 h in an experimental model of ascending placentitis. Compared with untreated infected animals, mares who received firocoxib demonstrated reduced concentrations of multiple inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins within the allantoic fluid (Macpherson et al., 2021). Therefore, firocoxib may serve as a beneficial therapeutic in mares requiring prolonged anti‐inflammatory therapy for the treatment of their primary disease process.…”

Efeito modulador do Previcox® sobre a ação carcinogênica da doxorrubicina por meio do teste de tumores epiteliais (ETT) em Drosophila melanogaster

“…O Firocoxib é um anti-inflamatório não esteroidal, indicado para o tratamento da dor e inflamação associada à osteoartrite canina (ALCALÁ et al, 2019;MACPHERSON et al, 2021). É o fármaco inibidor mais seletivo da COX-2, reduzindo em até 80% a ação desta enzima, o que o torna um dos medicamentos veterinários mais potentes na clínica de pequenos animais (VIJARNSORN et al, 2019).…”