It is of general interest to have robust horses, but the definition of robustness is broad and specific measurements are needed. One important factor in robustness is health and this project will focus on immunocompetence and how to measure it in the horse. The project will work with immune markers and the establishment of methods to detect them.

Potential study areas include

• Content of selected plasma proteins with relevance for immune competence (e.g. serum amyloid A, Mannose-binding lectin, Haptoglobin, Fibrinogen, “natural” antibodies
• Content of plasma opsonins (the potential of serum proteins to stimulate phagocytosis in macrophages in vitro)
• The capacity of leukocytes to phagocytose and destroy pathogens (full blood phagocytose assay)
• The capacity of leukocytes to activate via the Toll-like receptors (e.g. LPS induced TNFA-alpha response)
• Proliferation of lymphocytes after mitogen stimulation.