Luis Morales Luna

Prof. Luis Morales Luna


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

View All Publications
17 February 2026 in Microorganisms
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Rafaela Rodrigues Dos SantosRafaela Rodrigues Dos Santos
Rafaela Rodrigues Dos Santos
LHLaszlo M. Hunyadi
Laszlo M. Hunyadi
ESEmily Sundman
Emily Sundman
LLLuis Morales Luna
Luis Morales Luna
SHSarah Cate Hyde
Sarah Cate Hyde
FRFernanda Rosa
Fernanda Rosa
Severe equine asthma (SEA) is a chronic inflammation of airways affecting ~14–20% of adult horses in the Northern Hemisphere. SEA is characterized by a mixed phenotype of T helper cell responses with marked neutrophilia in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of affected horses. Human studies have demonstrated the impact of gut microbiota in many diseases, including asthma susceptibility and severity. However, the potential role of the gut–lung axis in the development and persistence of SEA remains to be determined. This study aimed to identify key bacterial, archaeal, and fungal microbiota alterations in the feces of horses with severe neutrophilic asthma (n = 4) compared to healthy horses (n = 8). Archaea alpha diversity was lower in the feces of SEA-affected horses, but with high abundance of archaea genus Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus, which impacts hydrogen metabolism in horses with SEA. Other key bacterial and fungi species differences lower in SEA included Blautia and Alternaria, respectively. Blautia is associated with positive metabolic health due to its fibrolytic capabilities. Overall, our findings indicate that horses experiencing severe neutrophilic asthma have an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota that may exacerbate systemic inflammatory responses through the gut–lung axis.