Department of Animal Reproduction with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
Department of Internal Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
PLoS One. 2020 Aug 17;15(8):e0237765. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237765. eCollection 2020.
The failure of the maternal immune system to recognize fetal antigens and vice versa due to MHC similarity between the foal and its dam might result in the lack of placental separation during parturition in mares. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of MHC similarity between a mare and a foal on the incidence of retained fetal membranes (RFM) in post-partum mares. DNA was sampled from 43 draft mares and their foals. Mares which failed to expel fetal membranes within three hours after foal expulsion were considered the RFM group (n = 14) and mares that expelled fetal membranes during the above period were the control group (n = 29). Nine MHC microsatellites of MHC I and MHC II were amplified for all mares and foals. MHC compatibility and MHC genetic similarity between mares and their foals was determined based on MHC microsatellites. The inbreeding coefficient was also calculated for all horses. The incidence of RFM in the studied population was 33%. Compatibility in MHC I and MHC II did not increase the risk of RFM in the studied population of draft mares (P>0.05). Differences in MHC similarity at the genetic level were not observed between mare-foal pairs in RFM and control group (P>0.05). We suspect that RFM in draft mares may not be associated with MHC similarity between a foal and its dam. Despite the above, draft horses could be genetically predisposed to the disease.
由于马驹和其母马的 MHC 相似，母体免疫系统无法识别胎儿抗原，反之亦然，这可能导致母马分娩时胎盘无法分离。本研究旨在探讨马驹和母马之间的 MHC 相似性对产后马驹发生胎衣不下（RFM）的影响。从 43 匹母马和其驹中采集 DNA。在驹排出后 3 小时内未能排出胎衣的母马被视为 RFM 组（n=14），而在上述时间段内排出胎衣的母马为对照组（n=29）。所有母马和驹都扩增了 9 个 MHC I 和 MHC II 的 MHC 微卫星。基于 MHC 微卫星确定了母马和驹之间的 MHC 相容性和 MHC 遗传相似性。还计算了所有马匹的近交系数。在所研究的人群中，RFM 的发病率为 33%。在研究的母马群体中，MHC I 和 MHC II 的相容性并未增加 RFM 的风险（P>0.05）。在 RFM 和对照组的母马-驹对中，在遗传水平上的 MHC 相似性差异不明显（P>0.05）。我们怀疑，RFM 在母马中可能与胎儿和母体之间的 MHC 相似性无关。尽管如此，役马可能存在遗传易感性。
