Laboratory of Veterinary Histopathology, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, 1-21-24, Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan.
In Vivo. 2013 Sep-Oct;27(5):617-21.
Swine have been used extensively in biomedical research, with a significant increase in recent decades. Minipigs are increasingly becoming an especially attractive animal model in life science research because of their physiological and anatomical similarities to humans. The Microminipig (MMPig) has emerged as a novel and small minipig for non-clinical pharmacological/toxicological use. The MMPig is docile, weighs less than 10 kg in early maturity, and has an easily manageable size. In this study, we report on sex and age patterns in serum biochemistry parameters, including lipid analysis items and lipid profiles in healthy MMPigs. In total, 58 males and 67 females aged 0-34 months underwent serum biochemistry parameter measurements. Most parameters showed no effect of age or sex (although some did). Lipid analyses showed that the serum levels of total cholesterol, but not those of triglycerides (TG), were consistently higher in females at 0-34 months of age. Lipid profiles in 5-month-old MMPigs were investigated in greater detail. Serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) values were higher in females. The percentage of LDL-C against total cholesterol was also higher, although high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol was lower, in females. There were no sex differences in the TG fraction. Although the sex difference in the serum lipid profile remains unexplained, the reference values obtained in this study could help facilitate the use of MMPigs in life science research.
猪在生物医学研究中被广泛应用，近几十年来的应用数量显著增加。小型猪越来越成为生命科学研究中一种极具吸引力的动物模型，因为它们在生理和解剖学上与人类相似。微型小型猪（MMPig）作为一种新型的小型猪，已被用于非临床药理学/毒理学用途。MMPig 温顺，在早期成熟时体重不到 10 公斤，且体型易于管理。在这项研究中，我们报告了健康 MMPig 血清生化参数的性别和年龄模式，包括脂质分析项目和脂质谱。共有 58 名雄性和 67 名雌性 MMPig 年龄在 0-34 个月，进行了血清生化参数测量。大多数参数不受年龄或性别的影响（尽管有些参数受影响）。脂质分析表明，在 0-34 月龄的雌性中，总胆固醇水平但不是甘油三酯（TG）水平始终较高。更详细地研究了 5 月龄 MMPig 的血脂谱。雌性的血清低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）值较高。尽管高密度脂蛋白胆固醇较低，但 LDL-C 占总胆固醇的百分比也较高。TG 分数没有性别差异。尽管血清脂质谱的性别差异仍未得到解释，但本研究获得的参考值可能有助于促进 MMPig 在生命科学研究中的应用。
