Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis
Uveitis is a sight-threatening eye disease in equids known worldwide that leads to considerable pain and suffering. By far the most common type of uveitis in Germany and neighboring countries is classical equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), which is caused by chronic intraocular leptospiral infection an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/2/387 |
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| author | Bettina Wollanke Hartmut Gerhards Kerstin Ackermann |
| author_facet | Bettina Wollanke Hartmut Gerhards Kerstin Ackermann |
| author_sort | Bettina Wollanke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Uveitis is a sight-threatening eye disease in equids known worldwide that leads to considerable pain and suffering. By far the most common type of uveitis in Germany and neighboring countries is classical equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), which is caused by chronic intraocular leptospiral infection and is the main cause of infectious uveitis in horses. Other infectious causes are extremely rare and are usually clinically distinguishable from ERU. ERU can be treated very effectively by vitreous cavity lavage (vitrectomy). For proper indications of this demanding surgery, it is necessary to differentiate ERU from other types of uveitis in which vitrectomy is not helpful. This can be conducted on the basis of anamnesis in combination with ophthalmologic findings and by aqueous humor examination. During vitrectomy, vitreous material is obtained. These vitreous samples have historically been used for numerous etiologic studies. In this way, a chronic intraocular leptospiral infection has been shown to be the cause of typical ERU and, among other findings, ERU has also been recognized as a biofilm infection, providing new insights into the pathogenesis of ERU and explaining some thus far unexplainable phenomena of ERU. ERU may not only have transmissible aspects to some types of uveitis in humans but may also serve as a model for a spontaneously occurring biofilm infection. Vitreous material obtained during therapeutically indicated vitrectomy can be used for further studies on in vivo biofilm formation, biofilm composition and possible therapeutic approaches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:23:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-835d6befd0ff41daaffb26a17659dc24 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:23:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-835d6befd0ff41daaffb26a17659dc242023-11-23T21:15:21ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072022-02-0110238710.3390/microorganisms10020387Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related PathogenesisBettina Wollanke0Hartmut Gerhards1Kerstin Ackermann2Equine Clinic, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, 80539 Munich, GermanyEquine Clinic, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, 80539 Munich, GermanyEquine Clinic, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, 80539 Munich, GermanyUveitis is a sight-threatening eye disease in equids known worldwide that leads to considerable pain and suffering. By far the most common type of uveitis in Germany and neighboring countries is classical equine recurrent uveitis (ERU), which is caused by chronic intraocular leptospiral infection and is the main cause of infectious uveitis in horses. Other infectious causes are extremely rare and are usually clinically distinguishable from ERU. ERU can be treated very effectively by vitreous cavity lavage (vitrectomy). For proper indications of this demanding surgery, it is necessary to differentiate ERU from other types of uveitis in which vitrectomy is not helpful. This can be conducted on the basis of anamnesis in combination with ophthalmologic findings and by aqueous humor examination. During vitrectomy, vitreous material is obtained. These vitreous samples have historically been used for numerous etiologic studies. In this way, a chronic intraocular leptospiral infection has been shown to be the cause of typical ERU and, among other findings, ERU has also been recognized as a biofilm infection, providing new insights into the pathogenesis of ERU and explaining some thus far unexplainable phenomena of ERU. ERU may not only have transmissible aspects to some types of uveitis in humans but may also serve as a model for a spontaneously occurring biofilm infection. Vitreous material obtained during therapeutically indicated vitrectomy can be used for further studies on in vivo biofilm formation, biofilm composition and possible therapeutic approaches.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/2/387equine recurrent uveitis (ERU)<i>Leptospira</i> spp.biofilm infectionamyloidneutrophil extracellular trapsGoldmann–Witmer coefficient |
| spellingShingle | Bettina Wollanke Hartmut Gerhards Kerstin Ackermann Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis Microorganisms equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) <i>Leptospira</i> spp. biofilm infection amyloid neutrophil extracellular traps Goldmann–Witmer coefficient |
| title | Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis |
| title_full | Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis |
| title_fullStr | Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis |
| title_short | Infectious Uveitis in Horses and New Insights in Its Leptospiral Biofilm-Related Pathogenesis |
| title_sort | infectious uveitis in horses and new insights in its leptospiral biofilm related pathogenesis |
| topic | equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) <i>Leptospira</i> spp. biofilm infection amyloid neutrophil extracellular traps Goldmann–Witmer coefficient |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/2/387 |
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