Homeostasis of the Intestinal Mucosa in Healthy Horses—Correlation between the Fecal Microbiome, Secretory Immunoglobulin A and Fecal Egg Count
Agnieszka Żak-Bochenek,
Joanna Bajzert,
Dominika Sambor,
Natalia Siwińska,
Bogumiła Szponar,
Łukasz Łaczmański,
Paulina Żebrowska,
Aleksandra Czajkowska,
Maciej Karczewski,
Anna Chełmońska-Soyta
Affiliations
Agnieszka Żak-Bochenek
Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C. Norwida 31, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland
Joanna Bajzert
Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C. Norwida 31, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland
Dominika Sambor
Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C. Norwida 31, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland
Natalia Siwińska
Department of Internal Diseases and Clinic of Diseases of Horses, Dogs and Cats, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C. Norwida 31, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland
Bogumiła Szponar
Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
Łukasz Łaczmański
Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
Paulina Żebrowska
Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
Aleksandra Czajkowska
Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, 53-114 Wroclaw, Poland
Maciej Karczewski
Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Geodesy, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C. Norwida 31, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland
Anna Chełmońska-Soyta
Department of Immunology, Pathophysiology and Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C. Norwida 31, 50-375 Wroclaw, Poland
The defensive function of the intestinal mucosa depends both on the ability to secrete immunoglobulin A and communication with the mucus microbiome. In horses, the functioning of this system is also influenced by the presence of nematode eggs. Feces collected from healthy horses were examined to determine the fecal egg count, immunoglobulin A level (ELISA), microbiome composition (Next-Generation Sequencing, NGS, V3–V4 and V7–V9 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene analysis and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production ((high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC). In the taxonomic analysis within the phylum, the following order of dominance was found: Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Verrucomicrobiota and Fibrobacterota. The coefficient of phylogenetic diversity of the microbiome positively correlated with both secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) [μg/g of feces] (p = 0.0354, r = 0.61) and SIgA [μg/mg of fecal protein] (p = 0.0382, r = 0.6) and with the number of Cyathostomum eggs (p = 0.0023, r = 0.79). Important components of the key microbiome in horses, such as phylum Proteobacteria and species Ruminococcus flavefaciens, were positively correlated with the fecal SIgA (p < 0.05). All the obtained results indicate the existence of significant relationships between the host response (SIgA production) and composition and SCFA production in the microbiome as well as the presence of small strongyles in the digestive tract of horses.
