Lower serum IgA levels in horses kept under intensive sanitary management and physical training

Abstract

Quantity and variety of environmental antigens, age, diet, vaccine protocols, exercising practice and mucosal cytokine microenvironment are factors that influence serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels. IgA, IgG, IgG(T) and IgM were quantified in 60 horses, which were classified into two groups, 'intensive' or 'relaxed', according to sanitary standards of the facilities and physical exercise to which animals were subjected to. The 'intensive' group presented lower means for all isotypes, but only IgA presented a significant (P , 0.0064) difference when compared to the 'relaxed' group. This suggests that mucosal immunity found in the 'intensive' group is lower when compared to the 'relaxed' group. Our data suggest that athlete horses may be less poised to mount an effective mucosal immunity response to environmental challenges and should not be considered by the same perspectives as a free-ranging horse.

Measuring Chronic Stress in Broiler Chickens: Effects of Environmental Complexity and Stocking Density on Immunoglobulin-A Levels

“…We were able to confirm our hypothesis that IgA concentrations increased in response to high-complexity environments and decreased in response to high-density environments as the PIgA and SIgA concentrations on day 48 differed in response to environmental complexity and stocking density, respectively. This is in line with previous studies in which IgA concentrations responded to positive and negative experiences in mice, rats, dogs, horses, and laying hens [ 39 , 41 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 66 , 67 ]. The current study is the first to detect an impact of environmental complexity on PIgA concentrations and an impact of stocking density on SIgA concentrations in broiler chickens.…”

“…In rats and pigs, transferring animals to metabolic housing systems decreased SIgA concentrations compared to animals in non-metabolic housing systems [ 46 , 47 , 48 ]. In rats [ 39 , 49 ], mice [ 50 ], and horses [ 51 ], forced intense exercise decreased SIgA and serum IgA concentrations, while voluntary exercise had the opposite effect. When a male rat is paired with a female, the male’s SIgA concentrations initially decrease before steadily increasing, indicating that male/female pairing is a positive stimulus [ 43 ].…”

Gut Microbiome Characteristics in feral and domesticated horses from different geographic locations

“…Antibiotic exposure is one of the likely causes considering the observed increase in ARGs. This may imply health consequences because intensive sanitary and hygienic management, as may occur for domestic animals, has been associated with a lower production of IgA 48 . Moreover, common management practices of horse feeding include high-concentrate diets, low forage quality, meal feeding and confinement housing, which may have impacts on intestinal function, specifically large intestinal fermentation 49 .…”

Effects of Housing System on Anxiety, Chronic Stress, Fear, and Immune Function in Bovan Brown Laying Hens

“…In mice, prolonged voluntary exercise (a high arousal-positive-valence activity) increased salivary IgA concentrations after 3 weeks, indicating that IgA concentrations can increase in response to positive activities [ 34 ]. In addition, forced prolonged exercise (a high arousal-negative-valence activity) had the opposite effect in horses, rats, and humans [ 26 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. The valence-dependent response of circulating and secretory IgA indicates the potential for use as a marker for the affective state.…”