A Novel Approach to Minimising Acute Equine Endometritis That May Help to Prevent the Development of the Chronic State.
Authors: Morrell J M, Rocha A
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
Endometritis remains a substantial challenge in equine breeding, causing considerable economic losses and potentially progressing from acute inflammation to chronic degenerative changes including mucociliary dysfunction and vascular degeneration. Morrell and Rocha's 2021 review synthesises current evidence on the condition's multifactorial aetiology, examining how breeding itself triggers an exaggerated physiological inflammatory response to seminal plasma components, spermatozoa, bacteria and cellular debris, and considering both conventional bacterial pathogens and dysbiosis of the uterine microbiome as causative factors. Whilst bacterial culture frequently fails to isolate organisms in affected mares, the authors identify that unresolved acute inflammation—characterised by excessive fluid accumulation and neutrophil infiltration—poses the greatest risk of progression to chronic pathology. Their examination of emerging therapeutic and preventative approaches offers farriers, vets and reproductive specialists evidence-based directions for intervention at the acute stage, potentially interrupting the trajectory towards the significantly more difficult to treat chronic form of the disease.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Endometritis is multifactorial and may not always involve culturable pathogens; consider uterine dysbiosis as a potential mechanism in mares with recurrent inflammation
- •Early intervention to prevent progression from acute to chronic endometritis is critical, as chronic cases develop irreversible tissue changes including mucociliary and vascular damage
- •Emerging research on inseminate composition and microbiome management offers new prevention strategies that may reduce economic losses in breeding programs
Key Findings
- •Endometritis develops as an exaggerated physiological inflammatory response to breeding, with seminal plasma, spermatozoa, bacteria and debris triggering prolonged neutrophil infiltration and fluid accumulation
- •Pathogenic bacterial culture is not always positive in acute endometritis cases, suggesting dysbiosis of the uterine microbiome may be responsible in some mares
- •Repeated acute endometritis episodes progress to chronic endometritis characterized by mucociliary dysfunction, vascular degeneration and plasma cell infiltration
- •Novel treatment and prevention strategies targeting the inseminate composition and uterine microbiome show promising research directions for resolving breeding-related endometritis