• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.175-179
• /
• 2007

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of thawing temperature on the sperm viability and acrosomal morphology for semen storage of miniature pig by the 0.5ml straw method. In this present study, sperm viability (SYBR-14/PI staining), membrane integrity (Hypoosmotic Swelling Test), acrosome intactness, intensity and capacitation status (chlorotetracycline staining) in frozen miniature pig sperm were evaluated after thawing at 37, 50 and $70^{\circ}C$ for 5, 10 and 45 sec, respectively. Interestingly, the results indicated that sperm thawed at $70^{\circ}C$ for 5 sec significantly (p<0.05) increased sperm viability, but lower the percentage of AR (acrosome reacted spermatozoa) pattern compared to sperm thawed at $37^{\circ}C$ for 45 sec and $50^{\circ}C$ for 10 sec. In terms of thawing condition, high temperature for a short time using the 0.5ml straw was improved cryosurvival of miniature pig semen. Therefore, appropriate thawing method for cryopreservation of miniature pig is required for increasing post-thawing viability.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.9 s.89
• /
• pp.1211-1216
• /
• 2007

Excretory urography was performed on eight healthy minipigs to evaluate radiographic anatomical status and excretive function of the urinary tracts and to get an optimal procedure. The right and left kidneys were located in $T13{\sim}L4$and $T12{\sim}L3.5$, respectively. The left kidneys were located more cra-nially than the right. The everage lengths and widths of kidneys were $8.50{\pm}0.58$ $(mean{\pm}SD)$and $4.30{\pm}0.39$ cm on the ventrodorsal projection and $8.70{\pm}0.76$, and $4.10{\pm}0.40$ cm on the lateral projection, respectively. The lengths of kidneys were twice the width. When the lengths of kidneys were com-pared with lengths of the second lumbar vertebras, the ratios of kidney lengths to L2 lengths were $3.62{\pm}0.30$ on the ventrodorsal projection and $3.63{\pm}1.10$ on the lateral projection. The lengths and 쟝손 of renal pelvis including major calices were $4.01{\pm}0.46$, and 2.20{\pm}0.41$ cm, respectively. The lengths and 쟝손 of minor calices were $0.49{\pm}0.06$, and $0.10{\pm}0.01$ cm. The lengths and widths of the ureters were $12.25{\pm}2.05$, and 2.94{\pm}0.86$ cm. The nephrogram stage was reached in 3{\sim}5$ minutes, and the pyelogram phase in $5{\sim}15$ minutes individually after injection of contrast medium. The result of this study shows similar information and procedure of excretory urography for other laboratory ani-mals and leads to the potential use of this method for minipigs.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.303-305
• /
• 2009

A 7-month-old, female miniature pig was presented with excessive cerumen and pruritus. Greasy brown cerumen in both exteranal ear canal and sporadic head shaking were observed in the physical examination. Numerous budding yeasts in the cerumen were examined on microscopic examination. For species identification, PCR-RFLP using incubated colony on modified Dixon's medium was performed and finally, causative yeast was identified as M. furfur.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.57-64
• /
• 2010

This study was conducted to compare the aspects of behavior between miniature pigs and conventional sows during gestation and lactation periods. Miniature pigs and conventional sows at 3 parity were used in this experiment with 4 pigs per treatment. The behavioral patterns and stereotyped behaviors were observed on day 60 and 90 of gestation, at farrowing, and on day 10 of lactation before and after the feeding. On 60 and 90 days of pregnancy, both treatments showed the tendency of frequent lateral lying rather than other postures. On ventral lying, eating and drinking, miniature pigs spent more time than conventional pigs at day 90 of gestation (P<0.01, P=0.0539, P<0.05, respectively). The occurrence of stereotyped behaviors included bar biting and bar mouth chewing. At 90 day of pregnancy was observed, conventional pigs was higher than miniature pigs (P<0.05). At farrowing, miniature pigs spent more time on ventral lying, standing and walking than conventional sows (P<0.05), however, there were more frequency of drinking and eating. And on day 10 of lactation, there was no significant difference in stereotyped behaviors between miniature pigs and conventional sows. In conclusion, miniature pigs were generally more sensitive than conventional sows although sows were reared in stall during gestation and lactation period and the behavioral pattern during lactating period showed the similarity between miniature pigs and conventional sows for protection of nursing pigs. In consideration of the general reproductive performance of conventional sows, the high sensitivity and stress of miniature pigs did not affect the reproductive performance of miniature pigs.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.65-72
• /
• 2015

The basic concepts of radiation-induced skin damage have been established, the biological mechanism has not been studied. In this study, we have examined the effects of gamma rays on skin injury and cyclooxygenase(COX)-2 expression. Gamma irradiation induced clinicopathological changes in a dose- and time-dependent manner in mini-pig skin. The histological changes were consistent with the changes in gross appearance at 12 weeks after irradiation. After three days' irradiation, apoptotic cells in the basal layer were found more frequently in irradiated skin than in normal skin, with the magnitude of the effect being dose-dependent. The thickness of the epidermis transiently increased 3 days after irradiation, and then gradually decreased, although changes in the epithelial thickness of the irradiated field were not observed with irradiation doses over 50 Gy. In the epithelium, there was an initial degenerative phase, during which the rate of basal cell depletion was dependent on the radiation dose (20-70 Gy). One week after irradiation, COX-2 expression was mostly limited to the basal cell layer and was scattered across these cells. High COX-2 expression was detected throughout the full depth of the skin after irradiation. The COX-2 protein is upregulated after irradiation in mini-pig skin. These histological changes associated with radiation exposure dose cause the increased COX-2 expression in a dose-dependent fashion.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.91-99
• /
• 2008

Gnotobiotic piglets were routinely produced by hysterectomy. In this study, 22 pregnant miniature pigs (111th to 113th day of gestation) were used for hysterectomy. Before surgery, 14 pigs were insensibilizated by Ketamine 50^® plus CO₂ gas and 8 pigs by a slaughter pistol. The high level of Ketamine 50^® (0.09㎖/kg) was faster (146 vs 283 seconds) in surgery but the time taken for complete revival of one piglet was more prolonged (427 vs 64 seconds) than 0.03㎖/kg level. In hysterectomies with a slaughter pistol, surgery time was faster (470 vs 155 seconds) and the rate of alive piglets was higher (97.0 vs 83.8%) than in those with Ketamine 50^®. There were no problems in the rate of alive newborn piglets even when sows were hysterectomized at 3 days prepartum.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.593-596
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this study is to investigate normal hepatobiliary functions in healthy miniature pigs. $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ hepatobiliary scintigraphy(HBS) was used for it. Five mCi dose of $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ was injected intravenously into 3 healthy adult miniature pigs, and dynamic images were obtained during 1 hour. $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ HBS in a miniature pig was evaluated for 6 variables. A cardiac washout occurred within 1 min in all miniature pigs and radioactivities in the gallbladder were not detected in two miniature pigs. Thus, the initial radioactivity and Tmax of the gallbladder were non-available to identify. Mean Tmax of liver was $8.67{\pm}2.08$ min and initial small intestinal radioactivity was seen at $9.67{\pm}2.52$ min after $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ injection. Mean hepatic washout time was not detected in 60 min dynamic images. Therefore, $^{99m}Tc-DISIDA$ HBS is the effective diagnostic method to evaluate the function of hepatocyte and bile flow rate. However, it was not a proper method to evaluate the function of gallbladder, which indicates that an additional study is needed to further specify the reasons for the absence of radioactivities in gallbladder of two miniature pigs.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.588-593
• /
• 2008

There are increasing reports regarding regeneration of the defected tissues using tissue engineering technique. In this technique, multipotential stem cells are essential. There are many potential sources of adult stem cells, such as bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, fat, muscle, dental tissues and skin. Among them, skin is highly accessible and easily obtained with a minimum of donor site complications. Moreover, skin is an abundant adult stem cell sources and has the potential for self-replication and immune privilege. In this study, we isolated skin-derived precursor cells (SKPs) from the ear of adult miniature pigs. In these SKPs, the expression of transcriptional factors, Oct-4, Sox-2, and Nanog were detected by RT-PCR. In vitro osteogenesis and adipogenesis were observed at 3 weeks after transdifferentiations as assayed by positive von Kossa and Oil-red O staining, respectively. In addition, expression of osteocalcin and osteonectin in the osteogenic differentiation medium and $PPAR{\gamma}2$ and aP2 in the adipogenic differentiation medium were detected by RT-PCR. In vitro neurogenesis of porcine SKPs was observed during 24 and 72 hours after treatment of neurogenic differentiation medium. The results of this study suggest that SKPs demonstrate the properties of pluripotence or multipotence and multi-lineage differentiation. This indicates that autogenous SKPs are a reliable and useful source of adult stem cells for regenerative medicine.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.83-90
• /
• 2014

The main purpose of this study is to estimate the effect of adding Tea-N-Tris (TES) to the freezing buffer for miniature pig sperm. In particular, we attempted to identify the association between the MMPs expression and the fertility and viability of frozen sperm from each extender (LEY (Lactose Egg-Yolk), TLE (TES + LEY), TFGE (TES + Fructose + Glucose Egg-Yolk)). In accordance with this, Hypoosmotic Swelling Test (HOST) respond test was the lowest among sperms frozen in LEY while the highest HOST respond was observed among sperms frozen in TLE. Furthermore, we observed MMPs expression in all sperm groups, with pro-MMP showing lower expression than active MMPs. The expression of MMP-9 and MMP-2 was the highest in sperms frozen in LEY, Meanwhile, sperms from the TFGE and TLE group showed lower level of MMP-9 and MMP-2 expression in the order of TLE being the lowest. LEY group showed lower rate of blastocyst development than the TES supplement group, although the difference was not statistically significant. Meanwhile the rate of blastocyst development appeared similar when sperms from TLE and TFGE group were used for IVF. Together, these results indicate that adding Tea-N-Tris to the sperm freezing buffer only suppresses MMPs protein activation but also maximize in-vitro fertility, providing a means to improve the success rate in the in vitro manipulation of miniature pig sperm.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.85-91
• /
• 2011

The objective of this study was to evaluated the efficiency on sperm cryosurvival and ability of in vitro fertilization using Triladyl and Lactose Egg-Yolk(LEY) as extenders for cryopreservation of separated sperm by 65% percoll in miniature pig. Sperm viability was measured with SYBR-14/PI double stained sperm by flow cytometry. Ability on embryo cleavage rate and blastocyst development were observed by in vitro fertilization after frozen-thawing of sperm separated by 65% percoll. The experimental groups were designed that separated sperm by 65% percoll with Triladyl (ST) or LEY(SL) and unseparated sperm with Triladyl(UT) or LEY(UL) for cryopreservation. As a results, the viability was significantly(p<0.05) higher in ST(55.1%), SL(63.1%), UL(58.8%) than UT(38.2%) group. Sperm viability in SL(63.1%) group was significantly(p<0.05) higher than other experimental groups. On the other hand, embryo cleavage rate was significantly(p<0.05) higher in ST(79.1%), SL(83.2) than UT(74.1) and UL(75.7%) groups at 96h after in vitro fertilization. Blastocyst development was also significantly(p<0.05) higher in ST(21.5%), SL(20.9%) than UT(17.0%) and UL(18.8%) groups. In conclusion, cryopreservation of miniature boar sperm separated by 65% percoll were beneficial to viability and capacity on in vitro fertilization.