Conditionally Immortalised Equine Skeletal Muscle Cell Lines for in Vitro Analysis

BackgroundThoroughbred racehorse performance is largely influenced by a major quantitative trait locus at the myostatin (MSTN) gene which determines aptitude for certain race distances due to a promoter region insertion mutation influencing functional phenotypes in skeletal muscle. To develop an in vitro system for functional experiments we established three novel equine skeletal muscle cell lines reflecting the variation in phenotype associated with MSTN genotype (CC/II, CT/IN and TT/NN for SNP g.66493737C>T/SINE insertion 227 bp polymorphism). Primary equine skeletal muscle myoblasts, isolated from Thoroughbred horse gluteus medius, were conditionally immortalised and evaluated to determine whether cell phenotype and metabolic function were comparable to functional characteristics previously reported for ex vivo skeletal muscle isolated from Thoroughbred horses with each genotype.ResultsPrimary myoblasts conditionally immortalized with the temperature sensitive SV40TtsA58 lentivirus vector successfully proliferated and could revert to their primary cell phenotype and differentiate into multinucleated myotubes. Skeletal muscle fibre type, MSTN gene expression, mitochondrial abundance, and mitochondrial function of the three MSTN genotype cell lines, were consistent with equivalent characterisation of ex vivo skeletal muscle samples with these genotypes. Furthermore, addition of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) to the cell lines improved mitochondrial function, an observation consistent with ex vivo skeletal muscle samples with these genotypes following supplementation with CoQ10 in the diet. ConclusionsThe observation that the phenotypic characteristics and metabolic function of the cells lines are equivalent to ex vivo skeletal muscle indicates that this in vitro system will enable efficient and cost-effective analyses of equine skeletal muscle for a range of different applications including understanding metabolic function, testing of nutritional supplements, drug test development and gene doping test development. In the multi-billion-euro international Thoroughbred horse industry research advances in the biological function of skeletal muscle are likely to have considerable impact. Furthermore, this novel genotype-specific system may be adapted and applied to human biomedicine to improve understanding of the effects of myostatin in human physiology and medicine.

The race that segments a nation: Findings from a convenience poll of attitudes toward the Melbourne Cup Thoroughbred horse race, gambling and animal cruelty

The annual Melbourne Cup Thoroughbred horse race has iconic status among many Australians but sits in the context of increasing criticism of the welfare of Thoroughbred racing horses and the ethics of gambling. Despite heated debates and protests playing out in the public domain, there is scant empirical research to document Australian attitudes to the Melbourne Cup, or horse racing more generally. Specifically, little is known about how support for or against the Melbourne Cup correlate with age, gender, income and level of education. To provide a more nuanced understanding of attitudes towards the cup beyond the rudimentary binaries of those who are ‘for’ or ‘against’ gambling and horse racing, the purpose of the study was to identify clusters of people with particular views. An opportunistic survey collected data on respondents’ gender, age, place of residence, weekly income, employment status and highest level of education, and sought their level of agreement with six statements about the Melbourne Cup, gambling and animal cruelty. Ordinal logistic regression and Chi-square analysis were used to evaluate the age and gender of respondents in clusters respectively. Agreement with the statements revealed some significant associations. Male respondents were at greater odds for agreement with the statement: I regularly bet on horse races (OR = 2.39; 95% CI = 1.78–3.22) as were respondents aged 18–19 years (OR = 2.88; 95% CI = 1.13–7.35) and 20–24 years (OR = 1.90; 95% CI 1.00–3.62) compared with the median 35–40 years age bracket. Agreement with the statement: I will watch the Melbourne Cup but will not place a bet was more likely among the full-time employed (OR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.10–2.32), for those aged 20–24 years (OR = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.16–2.95). The odds of increasing agreement with the statement: I have never been interested in the Melbourne Cup were multiplied by 0.87 (95% CI = 0.82–0.92) with each successive five-year age bracket. The most useful of the predictor variables for agreement was level of education. The odds of increasing with the statement: I have become less interested in the Melbourne Cup over recent years because of my concerns with gambling were multiplied by 1.09 (95% CI = 1.02–1.15) for each increased level of education. Agreement with the statement: I have become less interested in the Melbourne Cup because of my concerns about animal cruelty was weaker amongst male respondents (OR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.48–0.80), and those in increasing age brackets (OR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.83–0.93). A series of six clusters were identified that show how certain attributes of respondents characterise their responses. The authors labelled these clusters “Devotees” (n = 313; 30.4% of respondents), “Flaneurs” (n = 244; 21.8% of respondents), “Disapprovers” (n = 163; 15.9% of respondents), “Casuals” (n = 148; 14.4% of respondents), “Gamblers” (n = 126; 12.3% of respondents) and “Paradoxical-voters” (n = 54; 5.3% of respondents). The implications for support of the Melbourne Cup are explored.

Efficiency of use and influence of mares and mares families on productivity Orlov’s trotterof class 2.05

The article examines horses of the Orlov trotter class 2.05 as of 01.01.2017 in the amount of 272. Of these, purebred Eagle trotters (up to and including the fifth row) numbered 167 (61%), others - 105 (39%) had in their pedigrees the share of three breeds identified for introductory crossing (thoroughbred horse, American standardbred and Russian trotters). Most often, 64 (23.5%) Orlov trotters class 2.05 in different variants and ratios occurs half-blood mare Fabula from thoroughbred Faktotum. Out of 272 trotters of class 2.05, from 24 mares 2 trotters of this class were received, including from two - three trotters. The best and most frequent combinations of the family with lines in obtaining Orlov trotters class 2.05 are as follows: mare family 8199a Barvikha with male lines Pion, Barchuk and family 0468 Cadetka with male lines Pilot, Barchuk. Also in the article given the analysis of 21 mares of the Orlov trotter breed of a class 2.05, as fertile mares and the absence of outstanding horses among their offspring.

Optimal speed in Thoroughbred horse racing

The objective of this work is to provide a mathematical analysis on how a Thoroughbred horse should regulate its speed over the course of a race to optimize performance. Because Thoroughbred horses are not capable of running the whole race at top speed, determining what pace to set and when to unleash the burst of speed is essential. Our model relies on mechanics, energetics (both aerobic and anaerobic) and motor control. It is a system of coupled ordinary differential equations on the velocity, the propulsive force and the anaerobic energy, that leads to an optimal control problem that we solve. In order to identify the parameters meaningful for Thoroughbred horses, we use velocity data on races in Chantilly (France) provided by France Galop, the French governing body of flat horse racing in France. Our numerical simulations of performance optimization then provide the optimal speed along the race, the oxygen uptake evolution in a race, as well as the energy or the propulsive force. It also predicts how the horse has to change its effort and velocity according to the topography (altitude and bending) of the track.

The External Workload of Thoroughbred Horse Racing Jockeys

The objectives of this study were to quantify the external workload of thoroughbred racing jockeys in relation to their experience and racing performance. The number of rides of 786 jockeys and apprentices who rode in 407,948 flat and 13,648 jumps racing starts over 14 seasons were examined. Jockey work (ride numbers, seasons riding) and performance characteristics (race falls or wins) between cohorts with low (1–10), middle (10–200) and high (>200) numbers of rides per season were compared. Flat racing apprentices had more rides per season (25, interquartile range [IQR] 7–97 vs. 14, IQR 3–222, p < 0.001) but fewer rides per race day (2, IQR 1–4 vs. 4, IQR 2–6, p < 0.001) than flat racing jockeys. Flat racing jockeys in the high workload cohort (23%) were responsible for 83% of the race-day rides, riding in a median of 375 (IQR 283–520) races per season. These jockeys had half the fall rate (Incidence rate [IR] 1.0, 95% CI 0.9–1.1) and 1.4 times the success rates per 1000 rides (IR 98, 95% CI 97–99) than jockeys in the low and middle workload cohorts (p < 0.05). Most jockeys had light workloads, greater risk of injury and lower winning rates than the smaller cohort of jockeys with heavier workloads. This disparity in opportunity and success between cohorts indicates inefficiencies within the industry in recruitment and retention of jockeys. These data provide a foundation to further studies investigating jockey competition-specific fitness and its effect on both riding success and reducing injury risk.