Fluorescence Spectroscopy for the Diagnosis of Endometritis in the Mare

By exploiting the PMN property to produce high quantities of oxygen peroxide to neutralize pathogens, the oxygen peroxide content of uterine cells was measured to diagnose endometritis. After preliminary in vitro studies in which endometrial cells from slaughtered mares were mixed with leukocytes from peripheral blood, endometrial samples were collected by uterine flushing from mares before insemination. Staining endometrial cells with H2DCF-DA was combined with hydroethidine to normalize the fluorescence intensity with the cellular content of the sample. Stained cell smears were assumed as the gold standard of endometritis, and based on this assay, the samples were considered positive (C+) and negative (C-) for endometritis. The amount and the turbidity of fluid recovered by uterine flushing were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in C+ than in C-. Moreover, the oxygen peroxide content of the endometrial cells was significantly higher in the C+ than in the C- group (6.31 ± 1.92 vs. 3.12 ± 1.26, p = 0.001). Using the value of 4.4 as the cutoff level of this fluorescence cytology assay, it was found that only one C- sample exceeded the cutoff level (false positives = 7.7%) while three C+ samples showed values below the cutoff level (false negative = 11.5%).