Equine
Immune System
We
are proud to announce that the magazine "The Horse" has
been so impressed with our Transfer Factor Equine Products
that they have mentioned us in their magazine article on the
equine immune system, March 2002 issue.
Due
to the length of the original article Dr. Mac Barksdale has
written condensed version for our site.
The
immune system
Fighting
the invaders
Transfer
Factors
Four
important functions of the immune system
The
complexity of a horse's immune response
How
Vaccines Work
Compromising
the system
PROMOTING
GOOD HEALTH
Transfer
factor: Long-awaited next step in immunotherapy> DVM
Magazine
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The
equine immune system, which is designed to protect a
horse from invading pathogens, is extremely complex. When
everything is functioning in synchrony, the system works
well.
The
problem is that many things can compromise the immune system,
and when that happens, the horse is at an increased risk of
developing disease.
Often one (or more) of three key elements are at the root of the problem when
the immune system becomes compromised, says Glen Gamble, DVM, of Riverton,
Wyo.
They
are stress, nutrition, and age.
When
a horse is stressed, more nutrients are required and those
available may not be in the proper proportion for the stressful
situation.
Stress can be by fatigue, putting all strength into a performance or a race.
As a person or a horse in this case ages his health is less resilient this
is due mainly to a reduced capability of the immune system.
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Fighting
the Invaders :
in the following example
The
island is the animal or human body.
The enemies are parasites, bacteria, virus particles, toxins from organisms,
and yes even cancer cells.
Some
one likened the immune system while protecting the body from
invasion (by disease producing organisms) to that of an "Island" from
which "enemies" are to be expelled and if possible prevented
from ever entering in the first place.
For
example
Imagine that the "Coast Watchers" announce to the Island
Army and Navy that Invaders are coming!
The
Navy presumes them to be enemy ships. The Navy sends out all
their submarines loaded with all the torpedo's they have available.
It
turns out that the approaching invaders are "Enemy Aircraft
Bombers". The submarines become frustrated at not being able
to find the enemy "Ships" and in their enthusiasm begin shooting
tornados at each other.
Unchallenged
the enemy Bombers damage the "island terribly" and may even "kill" it!
While the submarines have killed off each other. Not good!
By
this illustration one can see that to be effective an immune
system must be able to recognize an invading organism and use
the proper weapons against it.
Who
are these enemies and how are they dealt with?
Think of an antigen as a foreign invader, or disease causing organism. Once observed
and dealt with the antigen can be recognized when seen again.
Vanguards
and Transfer Factors:
Factors are cytokines or biochemical messengers that "teach" and "train" the
immune system to recognize an invading organism and "what weapon" to
use against that organism.
Among
those invaders may be parasites, bacteria, virus particles,
toxins from organisms, and yes even cancer cells !
First,
of course, the system must recognize that it is under attack
and identify the attacker. Think back to our Island illustration,
to be effective the defense system must recognize and attack "enemy
aircraft" differently than it does "enemy ships". So there
is a great advantage in being able to prepare the body defense
system before an attack. Recognizing the attacker and "remembering" to
use the proper weapon is of great importance.
It
is up to two systems to come up with the appropriate weapons
through the production of specific antibodies or cells that
are capable of eliminating the antigens.The antibody-forming
system or the cell-mediated immune system.
Gentlemen
start your engines!
There
are four important functions of the immune system:
- A
method of trapping and processing antigens
- A
mechanism for reacting specifically to the specific antigen
- Cells
to produce antibodies or to participate in the cell-mediated
immune response
- Cells
to retain memory and to react specifically in the future.
Antigens
are trapped, processed, and eventually eliminated by cells
known as macrophages. Lymphocytes (cells that originate from
stem cells and differentiate in lymphoid tissue such as the
thymus or bone marrow) also function as memory cells and therefore
initiate a secondary immune response. · The cells that mediate
the cell-mediated responses are also identified as lymphocytes
while antibody-producing cells are derived from lymphocytes
and are known as plasma cells.
Recruiting
soldiers in Peacetime
The
complexity of a horse's immune response is that he must
permit access of necessary nutrients and oxygen, while at
the same time excluding potentially dangerous organisms,
such as bacteria, parasites, and viruses.
Another
challenge is that if the body is going to reject foreign invaders,
it must tolerate or recognize its own cells as being autologous
or "not-foreign." If such recognition does not occur, the animal
will suffer from autoimmune disease, which means that antibodies
or lymphocytes destroy normal cells in an effort to eliminate
the offending organisms.
An
example of this is Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia in the
horse where the horse's own red blood cells are destroyed by
his immune system.
Also some believe that when we unravel the mystery of Laminitis an autoimmune
condition will be found.
Lymphocytes
are divided into two identities B cells and T cells.
The two cell types play different roles.
B
cells -are thymus-independent, migrating to the tissues
without passing through or being influenced by the thymus.
They play a major role in humoral (found in body fluids)
immunity. When stimulated by an antigen, they mature into
plasma cells that synthesize humoral antibody.
T
cells- are thymus-dependent they either pass through
the thymus or are influenced by it as they travel toward
the tissues. They can kill such cells as tumor and transplant
tissue cells. T cells are largely responsible for cell-mediated
immunity.
Lymph
nodes-These round or bean-shaped structures are strategically
placed on lymphatic channels in such a way that they can
trap antigens being carried through the lymph, which is a
transparent,slightly yellow liquid found in lymphatic vessels
and derived from tissue fluid. In essence, lymph nodes filter
antigens from lymph fluid.
How
Vaccines Work
Simply
put, vaccination involves a person administering to the horse
an antigen derived from an infectious agent so that an immune
response is mounted and resistance to that infectious agent
is achieved.
It
was also learned that the substances that provided disease
resistance could be found in blood serum. For example, if serum
obtained from a horse which was vaccinated against tetanus
toxin is injected into a normal horse, the normal horse will
become resistant to tetanus for a short period of time. Serum
derived from an immune horse in this way is known as tetanus
immune globulin or tetanus antitoxin, and it is used today
in the prevention of tetanus.
Compromising
the system
In
stressed animals,there often will be increased steroid production,
which tends to suppress the immune system.
If
horses are malnourished this negatively impacts cell production.
Even the well-fed horse can be at risk of suppression of the
immune system if his diet doesn't contain the necessary micro-
and macro-minerals. Micro-minerals include such elements as
zinc, copper, cobalt, selenium, and manganese, while macro-minerals
include calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.
Age
can have an effect at both ends of the spectrum. The very young
and the very old. In the very young horse, the immune system
is in a developmental stage, and in the old horse, its capabilities
are diminished as part of the aging process.
PROMOTING
GOOD HEALTH
Human
doctors and veterinarians long have known that there are adjuncts
they can use in the treatment of a patient that can help promote
good health.
Among
these treatments are vitamins and additives used to stimulate
the immune system in the expectation that the person's or animal's
body will then be better able to fight off illness and disease.
Grandmother
said "Eat your vegetables" and she was RIGHT!
A
newcomer to animal medicine is something called transfer
factor.
Discovered
in the 1949, it was not much used in human medicine due to
the cost and complexity of preparation. Transfer factor will
improve and regulate the immune system in other species, including
humans.
For
Cytokines, as Transfer Factors are properly named are non species
specific. That is they are the same for people and all the
animals.
Human
medical doctors have used transfer factor in situations as
simple as a cold or flu, and as complicated as cancer and AIDS. >
Horse
owners are advised to discuss their horses' health with their
veterinarians before implementing management changes.
Since
transfer factor is so new to large and small animal medicine,
the company that holds the patent on transfer factor has help
numbers available. Please contact the person who sent you to
this page they will be able to get you in touch with the vet
that can best answer your questions.
Links
to more information on transfer factor and Equine information
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