Zusammenarbeit mit der University of Minnesota

Während meines USA Aufenthaltes hatte ich ein Meeting mit der University of Minnesota hier Molly McCue und Kendall Blanchard.

Molly McCue leitet ein großes Projekt zu genetischen Diagnosen, Defekten und deren Auffälligkeiten. An dieser Studie kann jeder betroffene Pferdebesitzer teilnehmen, auch Pferdebesitzer aus Europa. Um aussagefähige Informationen zu erarbeiten benötigt man die Daten von mehr als 2000 Pferden, damit eine entsprechende Datenbank erstellt werden kann.

Letztendlich soll diese Studie ein tieferes Verständnis der genetischen und umweltbedingten Faktoren vermitteln, die Muskelerkrankungen bei Pferden beeinflussen, und Tierärzten, Forschern und Pferdebesitzern bei der Entwicklung von Behandlungsstrategien für Muskelerkrankungen bei einzelnen Pferden helfen.

Wir beschlossen hier einen Zusammenarbeit, um das Verstehen von Myopathien. Deren Auslöser, Trainingserfahrungen, Futtermöglichkeiten und Haltungsformen. 

Wer an dieser Studie gerne teilnehmen möchte und noch weitere Informationen benötigt kann sich gerne an mich wenden. 

Ich freue mich sehr, gemeinsam mit Molly McCue und Kendall Blanchard das Projekt voranzutreiben. 

Muscle Disease Study Overview:

The Equine Genetics and Genomics Laboratory at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine in the United States of America is conducting a study that involves building an extensive database with information about muscle diseases from 2,000+ horses to 

1) Estimate the impacts of the proposed disease-causing mutations for PSSM2, MFM, and RER reported by EquiSeq; 

2) Determine if these mutations are influenced by environmental factors, and 

3) Determining the impact of having one or more muscle disease mutations (PSSM1, PSSM2, HYPP, MH, IMM, MFM, RER) on clinical symptoms of muscle disease.  

Ultimately, the purpose of this study is to provide a deeper understanding of the genetic and environmental factors that influence muscle disease in horses and aid veterinarians, researchers, and horse owners in developing treatment strategies for muscle disease in individual horses.

           To accomplish this, The Equine Genetics and Genomics Laboratory is requesting the help of owners of horses with muscle disease. Find out how you can participate in the study athttp://bit.ly/participationrequirements. They can also be reached on Facebook at https://bit.ly/UMNEquineGenetics or on Instagram (@umnequinegeneticslab).

 

The Equine Genetics and Genomics Laboratory:

Our research group uses the latest molecular genetics and genomics tools to study complex genetic diseases, physiological variations, and genetic diversity in equine populations. Recently, we have expanded to the genetic-based behavior of service dogs. Our goals are to improve equine health through understanding complex genetic diseases, allowing veterinarians to better predict, diagnose, and treat genetic diseases, and improve human health through the use of the horse as a biomedical model. We are working on various diseases in horses including Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy Types 1 and 2, Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) (or Equine Cushing’s Disease), Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis, and cardiac arrhythmias in racehorses.

 

Recently, we have expanded our research to include complex genetic traits in the dog including the genetic underpinnings of service dog behavior and success, Border Collie collapse, and several diseases impacting the Doberman Pinscher including copper-associated hepatitis, cardiomyopathy, and hypothyroidism among many others. For more information about our current projects please see the Equine Genetics and Genomics Laboratory website at: https://bit.ly/eggl-research.

 

 

Molly McCue:

Dr. Molly McCue, DVM, MS, Ph.D., DACVIM, is the Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Equine Internal Medicine and Genomics at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a veterinarian and researcher with a specialty in large animal internal medicine. She has a diverse research portfolio ranging from studies of single-gene mutations to complex genetic traits impacting disease and performance in horses and dogs. Dr. McCue is internationally-recognized for her work in muscle disease, particularly with polysaccharide storage myopathy type 1 (PSSM1), and for discovering mutations affecting muscle metabolism and contractility in the horse. Within the animal genome research community, Dr. McCue is known for shaping the field through the generation of research tools such as single nucleotide polymorphism arrays, tools for whole-genome analysis and mutation discovery, genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic resources allowing the research community to assess genetic variation and gene function, and tying this variation to clinical manifestations of disease.

 

 

Kendall Blanchard:

Kendall Blanchard, MS, is a researcher at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine specializing in equine genetics. She is responsible for processing samples and running the analyses for the muscle disease study. As the project coordinator for the study, she is the main point of contact for questions and sample coordination. She can be reached at eggl-muscledis@umn.edu.Kendall will be starting veterinary school and graduate school this fall to obtain her DVM and Ph.D.