Endocrine Profiles and Blood Chemistry Patterns of Cloned Miniature Pigs in the Post-Puberty Period

Although the majority of surviving pigs cloned by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) appear to be physiologically normal, there is a general lack of detailed hemato-physiologic studies for the period of early adulthood to substantiate this claim. In the present study, we investigated variation in blood chemistry and endocrinological parameters between mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from cloned and normal age-matched female and male miniature pigs. Cloned females and males showed normal ranges for complete blood count assessments. Biochemical assessments showed that ${\gamma}$-GGT, ALT and cholesterol levels of male and female clones were significantly (P<0.05 or P<0.01, respectively) higher than that of age-matched control miniature pigs. Variations in insulin and IGF-1 were higher in female clones than in male clones and controls. Thus, although female and male cloned miniature pigs may be physiologically similar to normal animals, or at least within normal ranges, a greater degree of physiological and endocrinological variation was found in cloned pigs. The above variation must be taken into account before considering cloned female or male miniature pigs for various biomedical applications.