Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?

Information on skin barrier in horses is limited. A study on the epidermal ultrastructure of normal and allergic horses documented disorganized amorphous intercellular lipids in the stratum corneum of allergic samples. These findings are similar to atopic canine and human skin. Currently, there is n...

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Main Author: Rosanna Marsella
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Veterinary Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/2/91
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author Rosanna Marsella
author_facet Rosanna Marsella
author_sort Rosanna Marsella
collection DOAJ
description Information on skin barrier in horses is limited. A study on the epidermal ultrastructure of normal and allergic horses documented disorganized amorphous intercellular lipids in the stratum corneum of allergic samples. These findings are similar to atopic canine and human skin. Currently, there is no published study comparing skin barrier function parameters between normal and allergic horses; thus, the functional implications of the ultrastructural changes are unknown. In normal horses, body location, gender, breed, and ambient conditions affect skin barrier parameters, such as Transepidermal Water Loss. Skin microbiome studies on normal horses have highlighted the importance of season and environmental conditions, since horses housed together share similar microbiomes. Skin dysbiosis and predominance of staphylococcus have been described in horses with pastern dermatitis. Transcriptomic studies of the epidermis of normal and allergic horses have found that lesional allergic skin has substantial transcriptomic differences when compared with healthy skin, namely downregulation of genes of tight junctions, keratins, and upregulation of serine proteases and IL-13. Keratinocytes harvested from horses with insect bite hypersensitivity show upregulation of IL-31 gene expression under stimulation. While more research is clearly needed, preliminary results seem to support skin barrier differences between normal and allergic horses.
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spelling doaj-art-6a8a142f9d744366906abc04db41ea4b2025-08-20T02:17:24ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812025-01-011229110.3390/vetsci12020091Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?Rosanna Marsella0Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, USAInformation on skin barrier in horses is limited. A study on the epidermal ultrastructure of normal and allergic horses documented disorganized amorphous intercellular lipids in the stratum corneum of allergic samples. These findings are similar to atopic canine and human skin. Currently, there is no published study comparing skin barrier function parameters between normal and allergic horses; thus, the functional implications of the ultrastructural changes are unknown. In normal horses, body location, gender, breed, and ambient conditions affect skin barrier parameters, such as Transepidermal Water Loss. Skin microbiome studies on normal horses have highlighted the importance of season and environmental conditions, since horses housed together share similar microbiomes. Skin dysbiosis and predominance of staphylococcus have been described in horses with pastern dermatitis. Transcriptomic studies of the epidermis of normal and allergic horses have found that lesional allergic skin has substantial transcriptomic differences when compared with healthy skin, namely downregulation of genes of tight junctions, keratins, and upregulation of serine proteases and IL-13. Keratinocytes harvested from horses with insect bite hypersensitivity show upregulation of IL-31 gene expression under stimulation. While more research is clearly needed, preliminary results seem to support skin barrier differences between normal and allergic horses.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/2/91horseskin barrierTEWLpHmicrobiomeallergies
spellingShingle Rosanna Marsella
Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?
Veterinary Sciences
horse
skin barrier
TEWL
pH
microbiome
allergies
title Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?
title_full Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?
title_fullStr Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?
title_full_unstemmed Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?
title_short Skin Barrier in Normal and Allergic Horses: What Do We Know?
title_sort skin barrier in normal and allergic horses what do we know
topic horse
skin barrier
TEWL
pH
microbiome
allergies
url https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/2/91
work_keys_str_mv AT rosannamarsella skinbarrierinnormalandallergichorseswhatdoweknow