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Fungal detection in equine airways may be performed on either tracheal wash (TW) or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) by either cytology or culture. However, method comparisons are sparse. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of fungi in airways of horses according to the sample site and laboratory methodology. Sixty-two adult horses, investigated in the field or referred for respiratory disease, were included. Tracheal wash, and BALF collected separately from both lungs, were collected using a videoendoscope. Fungi were detected in cytologic samples examined by light microscopy, and by fungal culture. Hay was sampled in the field. Prevalence of fungi was of 91.9% in TW and 37.1% in BALF. Fungi were cultured from 82.3% of TW and 20.9% of BALF. Fungal elements were observed cytologically in 69.4% of TW and 22.6% of BALF. In 50% of horses, the same fungi were detected in both TW and hay, but fungi detected in BALF and hay differed in all horses. Poor agreement was found for the detection of fungi between TW and BALF and between fungal culture and cytologic examination (Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) < 0.20). Moderate agreement was found between cytologic examination of left and right lungs (κ = 0.47). The prevalence of fungi detected cytologically on pooled BALF was significantly different (p = 0.023) than on combined left and right BALF. Fungi were more prevalent in the TW than BALF, and results suggest that hay might not be the primary source of fungi of the lower respiratory tract of horses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) cold receptor is highly expressed in prostate cancer (PCa) and constitutes a promising diagnostic and prognostic indicator, the natural agonists of this channel in the prostate, as well as its physiological and pathological functions, remain unknown. In this study, we identified the well-known PCa marker, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), as a physiological TRPM8 agonist. Electrophysiological and Ca2+ imaging studies demonstrated that PSA activated TRPM8-mediated current by the bradykinin 2 receptor signaling pathway. Further investigation of this mechanism by cell-surface biotinylation revealed that the increase in TRPM8 current induced by PSA was due to an increase in the number of functional TRPM8 channels on the plasma membrane. Importantly, wound-healing and migration assays revealed that TRPM8 activation by PSA reduced motility of the PC3 PCa cell line, suggesting that plasma membrane TRPM8 has a protective role in PCa progression. Consequently, PSA was identified as a natural TRPM8 agonist in the prostate and we propose a putative physiological role for both of these proteins in carcinogenesis, making this pathway a potentially important target for anticancer agent development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]