Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein and Ionized Calcium-Binding Adapter Molecule 1 Immunostaining Score for the Central Nervous System of Horses With Non-suppurative Encephalitis and Encephalopathies.
Authors: Boos Gisele Silva, Failing Klaus, Colodel Edson Moleta, Driemeier David, de Castro Márcio Botelho, Bassuino Daniele Mariath, Diomedes Barbosa José, Herden Christiane
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Equine neurological disease diagnosis often hinges on identifying the causative pathogen, but when infectious agents prove elusive on standard histology, evidence of glial cell activation becomes valuable—yet the field has lacked a systematic way to quantify and classify these changes in horses. Boos and colleagues developed a standardised scoring system for astrogliosis and microgliosis by immunostaining 35 equine cases of encephalitis and encephalopathy (plus four healthy controls) for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ionised calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1), then validated their classifications statistically. The resulting four-tier score (0–3, from non-altered to severely altered) reliably captured the morphological and quantitative changes in astrocytes and microglia across both inflammatory and degenerative CNS lesions. For practitioners, this framework offers a reproducible method to document and communicate the degree of neuroinflammation in problematic cases, potentially strengthening diagnostic conclusions when pathogen identification fails and supporting emerging applications in automated image analysis. Beyond immediate clinical utility, the system establishes a foundation for comparative studies across equine conditions and other species, filling a significant gap in standardised neuropathological assessment.
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Practical Takeaways
- •When neurotropic pathogens are difficult to identify histologically, glial cell changes (astrocytes and microglia) can serve as diagnostic markers for CNS disease in horses
- •This standardized scoring system provides veterinary pathologists with an objective, reproducible method for assessing severity of CNS inflammation and degeneration
- •The approach may improve diagnostic accuracy in equine neurological cases where infectious agents are not readily detected by conventional methods
Key Findings
- •A statistically validated scoring system (0-3 scale) for classifying astrocytic and microglial alterations in equine CNS was developed using GFAP and Iba1 immunohistochemistry
- •Glial cell alterations were identified as reliable pathological hallmarks of CNS injury in 35 equine cases with inflammatory and degenerative lesions
- •The scoring system successfully differentiated altered CNS tissue from four non-altered control cases
- •This morphological classification method could facilitate comparative neuropathology studies and support artificial intelligence algorithms in equine CNS disease diagnosis