Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How high-carb diet affects energy markers in lean and obese ponies'
By Burns, T A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2014·The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of dietary nonstructural carbohydrate content on activation of 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase in liver, skeletal muscle, and digital laminae of lean and obese ponies.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A group of mixed-breed ponies was studied to see how their diets, specifically high in carbohydrates, affected their health, particularly in relation to laminitis, a painful hoof condition. The ponies were divided into lean and obese groups and fed either a low or high carbohydrate diet for a week. The results showed that the lean ponies had a decrease in a specific marker (P-AMPK) in their hoof tissue when on a high carbohydrate diet, indicating a response to energy changes. However, there were no significant changes in the liver or muscle tissues for either group. This suggests that the hoof tissue reacts differently to dietary carbohydrates compared to other body tissues.
People also search for: pony laminitis symptoms · high carbohydrate diet effects on ponies · treating laminitis in ponies
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In EMS-associated laminitis, laminar failure may occur in response to energy failure related to insulin resistance (IR) or to the effect of hyperinsulinemia on laminar tissue. 5'-Adenosine-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a marker of tissue energy deprivation, which may occur in IR. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To characterize tissue AMPK regulation in ponies subjected to a dietary carbohydrate (CHO) challenge. ANIMALS: Twenty-two mixed-breed ponies. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting for total AMPK and phospho(P)-AMPK and RT-qPCR for AMPK-responsive genes were performed on laminar, liver, and skeletal muscle samples collected after a 7-day feeding protocol in which ponies stratified on body condition score (BCS; obese or lean) were fed either a low-CHO diet (ESC + starch, approximately 7% DM; n = 5 obese, 5 lean) or a high-CHO diet (ESC + starch, approximately 42% DM; n = 6 obese, 6 lean). RESULTS: 5'-Adenosine-monophosphate-activated protein kinase was immunolocalized to laminar keratinocytes, dermal constituents, and hepatocytes. A high-CHO diet resulted in significantly decreased laminar [P-AMPK] in lean ponies (P = .03), but no changes in skeletal muscle (lean, P = .33; obese, P = .43) or liver (lean, P = .84; obese, P = .13) [P-AMPK]. An inverse correlation existed between [blood glucose] and laminar [P-AMPK] in obese ponies on a high-CHO diet. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Laminar tissue exhibited a normal response to a high-CHO diet (decreased [P-AMPK]), whereas this response was not observed in liver and skeletal muscle in both lean (skeletal muscle, P = .33; liver, P = .84) and obese (skeletal muscle, P = .43; liver, P = .13) ponies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24750267/