@article{hobbs_davis_cooper_ueda_burke_sheats_2024, title={Hemadsorption extracorporeal therapy removes cytokines ex vivo in horses}, volume={85}, ISSN={["1943-5681"]}, DOI={10.2460/ajvr.24.01.0022}, abstractNote={Plasma cytokine adsorption has shown benefit as an adjunctive therapy in human sepsis but has yet to be investigated in horses. We hypothesized that ex vivo filtration of equine plasma with a novel cytokine adsorption device would significantly reduce concentrations of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated cytokines. We also hypothesized that the device would adsorb medications commonly used to treat sepsis.8 horses owned by North Carolina State University.Four liters of heparinized whole blood was collected from healthy adult horses (n = 8) and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (100 ng/mL) for 6 hours (37 °C.) from June 4, 2023, to December 15, 2023. Plasma was filtered through a cytokine adsorption device or sham circuit. Samples were collected at 11 time points for multiplex cytokine analysis. Chemistry analysis was performed before and after filtration. To investigate the impact of the device on medication concentrations, equine plasma containing potassium penicillin, gentamicin, and flunixin meglumine was filtered through the cytokine adsorption device or sham for 6 hours. Drug concentrations before and after filtration were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. Prefiltration versus postfiltration sample concentrations were analyzed by Student paired t test using GraphPad Prism 9.0 (P < .05).Filtration of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated equine plasma (n = 8) for 6 hours resulted in significant mean reductions in the cytokines IL-10, IL-5, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-1β, as well as albumin. Drug concentrations of potassium penicillin, gentamicin, and flunixin meglumine were also significantly reduced by filtration.This work provides proof of concept for further investigation of extracorporeal cytokine adsorption as a potential adjunct treatment for equine sepsis.}, number={6}, journal={AMERICAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY RESEARCH}, author={Hobbs, Kallie J. and Davis, Jennifer L. and Cooper, Bethanie L. and Ueda, Yu and Burke, Megan J. and Sheats, Katie}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @misc{woodrow_sheats_cooper_bayless_2023, title={Asthma: The Use of Animal Models and Their Translational Utility}, volume={12}, ISSN={["2073-4409"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12071091}, DOI={10.3390/cells12071091}, abstractNote={Asthma is characterized by chronic lower airway inflammation that results in airway remodeling, which can lead to a permanent decrease in lung function. The pathophysiology driving the development of asthma is complex and heterogenous. Animal models have been and continue to be essential for the discovery of molecular pathways driving the pathophysiology of asthma and novel therapeutic approaches. Animal models of asthma may be induced or naturally occurring. Species used to study asthma include mouse, rat, guinea pig, cat, dog, sheep, horse, and nonhuman primate. Some of the aspects to consider when evaluating any of these asthma models are cost, labor, reagent availability, regulatory burden, relevance to natural disease in humans, type of lower airway inflammation, biological samples available for testing, and ultimately whether the model can answer the research question(s). This review aims to discuss the animal models most available for asthma investigation, with an emphasis on describing the inciting antigen/allergen, inflammatory response induced, and its translation to human asthma.}, number={7}, journal={CELLS}, author={Woodrow, Jane Seymour and Sheats, M. Katie and Cooper, Bethanie and Bayless, Rosemary}, year={2023}, month={Apr} }
 @article{bayless_cooper_sheats_2022, title={Investigation of plasma cell-free DNA as a potential biomarker in horses}, volume={2}, ISSN={["1943-4936"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1177/10406387221078047}, DOI={10.1177/10406387221078047}, abstractNote={ Plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is a biomarker of ischemia, systemic inflammation, and mortality in humans with gastrointestinal disease. Cell-free DNA has not been investigated as a biomarker for equine colic, to our knowledge. We hypothesized that cfDNA could be measured accurately in neat equine plasma using a benchtop fluorometer and that plasma cfDNA would be elevated in emergency patients compared to healthy horses. Plasma was obtained from blood collected in Roche DNA stabilizing tubes. We used the Qubit 4 fluorometer and 1× dsDNA HS assay kit to measure cfDNA concentration in neat patient plasma and following DNA extraction of plasma with a commercial kit. Assay precision and linearity of dilution were satisfactory for neat plasma cfDNA, but DNA spike and recovery results were variable. Further, cfDNA concentrations in paired neat plasma and extracted-plasma samples ( n = 66) were not correlated. Median extracted-plasma cfDNA was higher in emergency patients ( n = 50) and a subgroup of colic patients ( n = 36), compared to healthy horses ( n = 19). Our results with extracted-plasma samples provide proof of concept for further investigation of plasma cfDNA as a biomarker in horses. }, number={3}, journal={JOURNAL OF VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATION}, publisher={SAGE Publications}, author={Bayless, Rosemary L. and Cooper, Bethanie L. and Sheats, M. Katie}, year={2022}, month={Feb} }