• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.66 no.1
• /
• pp.156-166
• /
• 2024

Pigs are genetically, anatomically, and physiologically similar to humans. Recently, pigs are in the spotlight as a suitable source animal for xenotransplantation. However, to use pigs as source animals, pigs should be raised in designated pathogen-free facilities. There is abundant data from embryo transfer (ET) experiments using farm pigs as surrogates, but data on ET experiments using minipigs are scarce. Eighty minipigs were used for ET experiments and after transplantation, the implantation and delivery rates were investigated. It was also confirmed whether the pregnancy rate could be increased by changing the condition or surgical method of the surrogate. In the case of minipigs that gave birth, the size of the fetal sac on the 28th day of ET was also measured. The factors that can affect the pregnancy rate such as estrus synchronization program, ovulation status at the time of ET, the number of repeated ET surgeries, and the ET sites, were changed, and the differences on the pregnancy rate were observed. However there were no significant differences in pregnancy rate in minipigs. The diameter of the implanted fetal sac on the 28th day after ET in the minipigs whose delivery was confirmed was calculated to be 4.7 ± 0.5 cm. In conclusion, there were no significant differences in pregnancy rate of minipigs in the comparative experiment on various factors affecting the pregnancy rate. However, additional experiments and analyses are needed due to the large individual differences of the minipigs.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.79-85
• /
• 2012

Minipigs are regarded as one of the most important laboratory animal in that anatomical and physiological properties are similar to human and their reproduction efficiency is relatively higher compared to other large animal species. Particularly, several diseases that cannot be mimicked in rodent models are successfully occurred or induced in pig models therefore it has been interested in a valuable model for human diseases. Pigs are also 'standard' species in xenotransplantation research. To maximize experimental outcome using minipigs, establishment and management of proper animal facility, right animal husbandry and control of pathogens are very important. In this review, we summarized several international guidelines related with minipigs published by several companies or governments and discuss optimal conditions for providing informative ideas to the researchers who want to use minipigs in their future studies.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.305-310
• /
• 2017

Miniature pig (minipig) has been considered as an important laboratory animal in the developmental biotechnology researches with respect to xenotransplantation, stem cell, somatic cell nuclear transfer and embryo transfer. Given that the laboratory minipigs are normally housed at an indoor facility, they pass the time with lying or sleeping unless it is feeding time. Therefore, it is necessary to provide environmental enrichments to satisfy their innate needs and to lessen atypical behaviors caused by stress, on the purpose of welfare. We quantitatively investigated the type of preferable enrichment for the laboratory minipigs as well as its effect on their daily life. They presented a great interest to the pliable pail but a rapid loss of attraction to non-preferable enrichments. When the daily life of the single housed minipigs was quantified based on duration of playing or resting, they were more actively engaged in lively activities in the presence of enrichments. In addition, the provision of enrichments could effectively alleviate the conflicts during group housing when new pen mate was introduced, resulting in reduction of wound cases. We believe the considerations of animal welfare are essential to the conduct of better research because animals in the non-stressful environment will be more physiologically stable and provide more reliable results in the animal experiments.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.235-238
• /
• 2008

This study describes thoracic radiographic features of normal premature minipigs at the age of 4, 8, 12 and 20 weeks. The evaluation for appearance, shape, contour, location and extent of distribution of thoracic organs was recorded through right lateral and ventrodorsal thoracic radiographs. The size of the tracheal diameter, cranial mediastinum, and the heart were measured, and information about the correlation of each organ in their thoracic conformation could be obtained. Although there were limitations with plain thoracic radiographs, basic characteristics and data for thoracic radiographs of normal premature minipigs according to each age were useful.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.58 no.3
• /
• pp.131-136
• /
• 2018

Blood pressure (BP) measurement plays a pivotal role in veterinary medicine for diagnosing cardiovascular disorders and monitoring anesthesia of animals. Although indirect BP measurement has been widely applied to monitor BP because of its convenience and non-invasiveness, it is still unclear whether indirect BP measurement is compatible with direct BP measurement in minipigs. In addition, the effect of animal posture during BP measurement is not well understood in minipigs despite its importance to cardiovascular performance. Therefore, both systolic and diastolic arterial BPs in minipigs were measured via femoral artery catheterization for direct BP measurement and using a compressive cuff as an indirect BP measurement under the dorsal or right lateral recumbent postures. Numerical values were processed by the Bland-Altman method to calculate the bias ${\pm}$ SD and the limits of agreement (LOA). In accordance with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine guidelines, the results between direct and indirect BP measurements were determined as apparent disagreements in both systolic and diastolic arterial BPs under all postures because of large bias ${\pm}$ SD and wide LOA. The results of the present will help prevent misinterpretation of the anesthetized patient's condition during monitoring of BP by indirect measurement.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.59 no.1
• /
• pp.17-24
• /
• 2019

Animal models of osteoarthritis (OA) have played a key role in understanding the etiology of OA and in the development of new therapeutic strategies. Although pigs have an advantage as an animal disease model due to their similarity to humans, there are few studies on the induction of OA in minipigs. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize disease progression of OA in total medial meniscectomy (TMM)-operated skeletally mature minipigs, up to day 180 postoperatively. There were no significant alterations in vital signs or hematological indices throughout the observation period. However, clinical manifestations of OA in the medial femoral condyles of TMM-operated minipigs were progressive, depending on postoperative duration, with respect to osteophytes formation and roughened surfaces on radiological observation, cartilage erosion under macroscopic examination, and severe cartilage defects including fibrillation, vertical fissures, and cartilage denuding on histopathological observation, with the highest score indicating late-stage OA on day 180 and without indicating apparent variation between subjects. In particular, the lateral femoral condyles were also degenerated, possibly due to localization of weight-bearing from both menisci to the lateral meniscus. Therefore, TMM in minipigs is suitable for reproducible induction of degenerative changes in the femorotibial joints that closely resemble late-stage OA, and is suitable for use in further research.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.574-577
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study is to evaluate gastric motility of conscious minipigs with ultrasonography from contraction number of the pyloric antrum and gastric emptying time (GET). Five-month-old, clinically healthy minipigs weighing 13.5-15 kg were used for this experiment. Assessment of gastric motility was performed using saline (10 ml/kg) in all five minipigs. Contraction number of the pyloric antrum for 3 minutes and gastric emptying time were calculated. Gastric emptying time was considered to be the time at which the antral area returned to the basal value. The mean value of contraction number of the pyloric antrum before feeding was 1.60${\pm}$2.30 (mean${\pm}$SD) for 3 min and the overall mean value after saline administration was 5.40${\pm}$3.62 for 3 min. The mean value of GET by area was 58.06${\pm}$5.23 min. This data can be used as basic database for evaluation of gastric motility in minipigs as normal and various experimental models.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.57 no.3
• /
• pp.7.1-7.7
• /
• 2015

To meet the increasing demands of specific pathogen free (SPF) minipigs in biomedical researches, 8 pregnant Chinese Wuzhishan minipigs (WZSP) sows with clear background were chosen to obtain SPF WZSP by hysterectomy. At $111{\pm}days2$ of the pregnancy, piglets were aseptically taken out from the sows and artificially suckled for 40 to 45 days in the positive isolators. Then, the piglets defined as F0 were transferred to barrier environment and fed with standard feeds. The original SPF colony was formed for breeding by selected piglets from F0 group of 6-8 months old. Biological characteristics of SPF WZSP were collected and further compared to those of conventional (CV) WZSP, including growth performance, reproductive performance, hematology and blood biochemistry, and major pathogens detection. As a result, 61 F0 piglets were obtained from 8 candidate sows, and 55 out of them survived. After strictly selection, 35 F0 piglets were used to form the original SPF colony, which produced 14 litters of SPF piglets defined as F1. Piglet survival rates, growth performance, and reproductive performance of SPF WZSP were similar to CV WZSP. Some hematology and blood biochemistry parameters showed significant differences between SPF and CV WZSP. Eighteen kinds of pathogens were identified to be free in F0 and F1 SPF colony by repeated pathogen detections. In conclusion, we established a satisfied SPF WZSP colony maintaining original characteristics, free of controlled diseases, and being proved to be a suitable laboratory animal.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.375-379
• /
• 2011

Introduction: This study examined the effect of autogenous tooth bone used as a graft material for bone regeneration in an artificial bony defect of minipigs. Materials and Methods: Four healthy minipigs, weighing approximately 35-40 kg, were used. Four standardized artificial two-walled bony defects, 5 mm in length and depth, were made on the bilateral partial edentulous alveolar ridge on the mandible of minipigs, and autogenous tooth bone was augmented in the right side as the experimental group. On the other hand, only alloplastic bone graft material HA was grafted with the same size and manner in the left side as the control group. All minipigs were sacrificed at 4 weeks after a bone graft and evaluated histologically by Haematoxylin-eosin staining. The specimens were also evaluated semi-quantitatively via a histomorphometric study. The percentage of new bone over the total area was evaluated using digital software for an area calculation. Results: All specimens were available but one in the left side (control group) and two in the right side (experimental group) were missing during specimen preparation. The amount of bone formation and remodeling were higher in all experimental groups than the control. The mean percentage area for new bone in the experimental and control groups was $43.74{\pm}11.96%$ and $30.79{\pm}2.93%$, respectively. Conclusion: Autogenous tooth bone is a good alternative to autogenous bone with the possible clinical feasibility of an autogenous tooth bone graft in the reconstruction of bony defects.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
• /
• v.42 no.3
• /
• pp.146-153
• /
• 2017

Background: Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) primarily refers to damage to the hematopoietic system, myeloid system, and gastrointestinal (GI) system caused by radiation exposure. Such damage progresses to become life-threatening. In particular, as the syndrome develops very rapidly-within several hours from radiation exposure-prompt and accurate diagnosis and treatment are needed, as is further research into appropriate diagnostic and treatment modalities. Materials and Methods: Minipigs, which display human-like properties, underwent whole-body irradiation at 2 or 4 Gy (doses causing hematopoietic ARS) or at higher doses of 7 or 12 Gy. Changes in the blood cells and clinical symptoms were analyzed and we performed a necropsy when the animals succumbed to ARS. Results and Discussion: The minipig irradiated with 2 Gy showed a decrease in white blood cells, including neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets in the early stages. However, the blood cell counts gradually increased and returned to normal values. The minipig irradiated with 4 Gy succumbed due to hematopoietic ARS. In contrast, the minipigs irradiated with 7 or 12 Gy exhibited clinical symptoms of combined GI damage and hematopoietic syndrome. Moreover, a characteristic pattern of platelet changes was observed in the 7 and 12 Gy irradiated minipigs. Conclusion: The changes in the platelet count caused by radiation exposure observed in minipigs, which are hematologically and pathohistologically similar to humans, suggest that they can be used as a novel diagnostic criterion.