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Principal Investigator: Gillian Perkins and Kenneth Simpson
Contact Information:
E-mail: gap7@cornell.edu and kws5@cornell.edu
Phone: 607-253-4186 and 607-253-3251
Sponsor: USA Equestrian, Inc.
Grant Number: N/A
Title: Defining the Relationship of the Mucosa Associated Microflora to Gastric Ulceration in Horses
Annual Direct Cost: $22,682
Project Period: 07/23/07-07/22/08
Gastric ulcers are common in show horses and racehorses, and may cause overt clinical signs of gastric disease, or decreased performance. The specific cause of gastric ulcers in horses has not been determined, and treatment is symptomatic and supportive, and principally directed at reducing gastric acidity. In other animal species bacterial colonization of the gastric mucosa is of fundamental importance in the development of gastritis and ulcers (e.g. humans and Helicobacter pylori), and antimicrobial drugs rather than antacids enable cure rather than remission. At the present time little is known about the mucosa-associated bacterial flora of horses and its potential role in gastric ulceration or inflammation has not been critically evaluated
We propose to test the hypothesis: "An abnormal mucosa-associated bacterial flora is associated with gastric ulceration in horses." In order to test this hypothesis we plan to define the mucosa-associated gastric flora in healthy horses and horses with clinical signs of gastrointestinal disturbance or gastric ulcers by use of culture independent methodologies. The initial objective of this proposal is to identify mucosa-associated bacteria in the squamous portion of the stomach of healthy horses with and without ulcers followed by an evaluation of horses that have clinical signs of gastric ulcers. An overview of the bacterial diversity of the equine stomach will be generated by constructing libraries of bacterial 16s rDNA present in biopsies procured from the squamous mucosa of the stomach of healthy horses without ulcers, the squamous mucosa of clinically healthy horses with ulcers and ulcerated mucosa from clinically healthy horses. Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) with labeled oligonucleotide probes directed against the predominant bacterial species in these 16s libraries will be used to determine the regional and local spatial distribution of mucosa -associated bacteria.
If bacteria are found to be associated with gastric ulcers in horses this would have major implications for treatment, and could enable the formulation of more effective and less costly solutions aimed at killing (antimicrobial drugs) or modulating (e.g. probiotics, prebiotics) mucosa associated bacteria.
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