Redox Biomarker Variations With Severity of Asthma in Horses Across Different Sample Types.
Authors: Hansen Sanni, Otten Nina D, Ceron Jose Joaquin, González-Arostegui Luis Guillermo, Peres-Rubio Camila
Journal: Journal of veterinary internal medicine
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Redox Biomarkers in Equine Asthma Redox imbalance—the disruption of oxidative and antioxidant homeostasis—has long been suspected as a driver of airway inflammation in equine asthma, yet direct evidence linking specific biomarker patterns to disease severity has been lacking. This cross-sectional investigation validated a panel of five redox biomarkers (FRAP, TEAC, GSHred, SOD, and AOPP) across respiratory samples from 117 horses, including healthy controls and animals with mild-moderate or severe asthma of both neutrophilic and mastocytic phenotypes. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed the most clinically meaningful differences: antioxidant capacity (TEAC and SOD) declined significantly with disease severity, whilst oxidative damage markers (AOPP) also decreased, suggesting a progressive exhaustion of antioxidant defences in severe cases. Notably, saliva biomarkers correlated with airway neutrophil burden, implying that non-invasive sampling might help characterise disease phenotype and oxidative status. These findings provide objective redox signatures that could refine diagnosis, prognostication, and the targeting of antioxidant therapeutics—particularly for neutrophilic asthma—though the weaker redox signal in mastocytic disease suggests distinct underlying pathomechanisms requiring different management approaches.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Redox imbalance (oxidative stress markers) is significantly more pronounced in neutrophilic severe equine asthma compared to mastocytic forms, which may guide targeted antioxidant-based treatment approaches
- •BAL fluid analysis of redox biomarkers (particularly TEAC and SOD) can help characterize asthma phenotype severity and may help assess response to antioxidant therapies
- •Saliva sampling for redox biomarkers shows promise as a non-invasive correlate to BAL findings, potentially allowing easier monitoring in clinical practice
Key Findings
- •BAL fluid TEAC decreased with EA severity (healthy: 0.013 vs severe EA: 0.010; p<0.001, ES=0.36)
- •BAL fluid SOD decreased with EA severity (healthy: 0.95 vs severe EA: 0.70; p<0.001, ES=0.39)
- •BAL fluid AOPP decreased with EA severity (healthy: 44.9 vs severe EA: 20; p=0.05, ES=0.18)
- •BAL neutrophil counts negatively correlated with saliva SOD (rho=-0.52; p=0.001), GSHred (rho=-0.46; p=0.01), and AOPP (rho=-0.34; p=0.04)