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Miniature Pigs (miniature + pig)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	78%
Medical Sciences	21%

Selected Abstracts

Localization of Hyaluronic Acid in the Seminal Vesicles of the Miniature Pig

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 1 2007
A. Sakairi
Summary We studied the detailed localization of hyaluronic acid in the seminal vesicles of the miniature pig, using hyaluronic acid-binding protein as a specific histochemical probe at the ultrastructural level. According to the results, the basolateral surface of the plasma membrane of the glandular epithelial cells, was found to contain hyaluronan. However, abundantly present was hyaluronan in the subepithelial connective tissue, in particular, in the extracellular matrix surrounding the fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, small blood vessels and capillaries. The substance was also observed in the surface coat of the plasma membrane of the fibroblasts, but not in that of the smooth muscle cells. The findings suggest that hyaluronan in the seminal vesicles of the miniature pig is synthesized onto the surface coat of the plasma membrane of the fibroblasts, is contributed to the extracellular matrix, and consequently concentrates in the subepithelial connective tissue. The substance may particularly be involved in a variety of cellular functions to maintain morphological organization as well as to regulate physiological homeostasis in the reproductive organ of this species, rather than participate in sperm functions. [source]

Histological and Ultrastructural Characterization of Developing Miniature Pig Salivary Glands,

THE ANATOMICAL RECORD : ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2010
Jian Zhou
Abstract Salivary glands are a classic model of organ development and differentiation. Miniature pigs are considered as a unique animal model for salivary gland researchers in the fields of gene transfer, radiation damage, and functional reconstruction. However, there is little information about the development of miniature pig salivary glands. The present article was designed to study the developmental stages of salivary glands in miniature pigs using histological and ultrastructural methods. Sections from E40, E60, E80, E95 embryos, and P0 pups were stained with hematoxylin,eosin, Alcian blue, or periodic acid-schiff. Selected specimens were also processed for electron microscopy. The development of the miniature pig salivary glands can be divided into five different stages that refer to the stages of the developing mouse submandibular gland. The histological characteristics of the miniature pig salivary glands at different developmental stages were synchronously verified at the ultrastructural level. Interestingly, the development of the miniature pig parotid gland trailed that of the submandibular gland by ,15 days. Our study provides first-hand data regarding the morphological organogenesis of salivary glands in the miniature pig and provides a foundation for further research on this model. Anat Rec 293:1227,1239, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Localization of Hyaluronic Acid in the Seminal Vesicles of the Miniature Pig

Sequence polymorphisms in porcine homologs of murine coat colour-related genes

ANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 2 2010
N. Okumura
Summary Herein, we report the variability among 57 porcine homologs of murine coat colour-related genes. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (InDels) within 44 expressed gene sequences by aligning eight pig complementary DNA (cDNA) samples. The sequence alignment revealed a total of 485 SNPs and 15 InDels. The polymorphisms were then validated by performing matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) with reference DNA samples obtained from 384 porcine individuals. Of the 384 individuals, three parents of the experimental F2 family were included to detect polymorphisms between them for linkage mapping. We also genotyped previously reported polymorphisms of 12 genes, and one SNP each in three genes that were detected by performing a BLAST search of the Trace database. A total of 211 SNPs and three InDels were successfully genotyped from our porcine DNA panel. We detected SNPs in 33 of the 44 genes among the parents of an experimental F2 family and then constructed a linkage map of the 33 genes for this family. The linkage assignment of each gene to the porcine chromosomes was consistent with the location of the BAC clone in the porcine genome and the corresponding gene sequence. We confirmed complete substitutions of EDNRB and MLPH in the Jinhua and Clawn miniature breeds, respectively. Furthermore, we identified polymorphic alleles exclusive to each pig group: 13 for Jinhua, two for Duroc, three for Meishan, four for the Japanese wild boar, one for the Clawn miniature pig and four for the Potbelly pig. [source]

Analysis of recessive lethality on swine chromosome 6 in a Göttingen miniature resource family

ANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 5 2005
S. Mikawa
Summary Previously, we reported recessive gene(s) that terminate fetal development on swine chromosome (SSC) 6 between SW855 and SW122. The affected alleles originated from a Göttingen miniature pig used for construction of a Göttingen miniature pig × Meishan resource population. However, it is not known when the gene(s) are activated during fetal development, which is one of the important factors in selecting candidate genes responsible for fetal death. In the present study, a second swine population consisting of 159 progeny was produced by mating pigs carrying the deleterious allele(s). This population allowed us to narrow the genetic region harbouring the affected gene(s) and to demonstrate that the region was confined between RYR1 and SW782 (5.7 cM on the National Institute of Animal Industry (NIAI) map and 100 cR on the INRA/University of Minnesota porcine radiation hybrid panel map). In order to determine when the affected gene(s) are activated and in turn terminate fetal development, embryos produced in the second population were collected at several development stages and genotyped for markers in the region. Genes in the homozygous state affected embryo development between 9 and 11 days post-coitus. [source]

Phylogenetic analysis for the Seoul National University (Minnesota) miniature pig by mitochondrial DNA sequence polymorphism

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Su-Cheong YEOM
ABSTRACT Seoul National University (SNU) miniature pigs are originated from the Minnesota miniature pig. This study was conducted to investigate the maternal origin of SNU (Minnesota) miniature pigs and their phylogenetic relationships by analyzing the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop (control region) sequence. Two mtDNA D-loop sequences of the SNU miniature pigs were identified. On an unweighted pair-group method with an arithmetic mean (UPGMA) phylogenetic tree analysis, the large white was the pig breed closest to the SNU miniature pig, and the pairwise distance analysis showed the same result. While mtDNA sequences of 4 pig breeds which were used to establish Minnesota miniature pig were not known, our result might be different from the history of the Minnesota miniature pig development. In conclusion, we thought that some haplotypes of the Minnesota miniature pig maternally were originated from the Large white pig, or that wild pigs had similar mtDNA sequences to the Large white pig, and all SNU miniature pigs were derived from this colony. [source]

A minipig model of high-fat/high-sucrose diet-induced diabetes and atherosclerosis

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2004
Shoumin Xi
Summary Type 2 diabetes is a major risk factor of the development of atherosclerosis in humans. However, studies examining mechanisms underlying diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis have been limited by the lack of suitable humanoid animal models. Pigs have a cardiovascular system that is very similar to that of humans and is useful as a model for human physiology and pathophysiology. In this study, we established a new miniature pig model for studying dyslipidaemia and atherosclerosis in diabetes. Chinese Guizhou minipigs were fed a normal control diet or a high-fat/high-sucrose diet (HFSD) for 6 months. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), insulin and glucose were quantified at monthly intervals. The induction of insulin resistance and dysfunction of the pancreatic ,-cell were assessed by oral glucose tolerance test and insulin sensitivity test. The aortic fatty streak lesions were quantified following lipid staining with Sudan IV. During the feeding period, mild high plasma TC and TG were induced. At the end of 6 months, in HFSD-fed animals, the adipocytes were hypertrophic, fat deposit in the liver was observed, loss of pancreatic ,-cells was observed, and the aortic fatty streak lesions were clearly present in the animals' aortas. Our study established that miniature pigs that were fed a HFSD without adding dietary cholesterol developed insulin resistance, mild diabetes and atherosclerotic lesions. HFSD-fed miniature pigs may be good animal models for research on the treatment of diabetic dyslipidaemia complicated with atherosclerosis. [source]

Deformation of nasal septal cartilage during mastication

JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 10 2009
Ayman A. Al Dayeh
Abstract The cartilaginous nasal septum plays a major role in structural integrity and growth of the face, but its internal location has made physiologic study difficult. By surgically implanting transducers in 10 miniature pigs (Sus scrofa), we recorded in vivo strains generated in the nasal septum during mastication and masseter stimulation. The goals were (1) to determine whether the cartilage should be considered as a vertical strut supporting the nasal cavity and preventing its collapse, or as a damper of stresses generated during mastication and (2) to shed light on the overall pattern of snout deformation during mastication. Strains were recorded simultaneously at the septo-ethmoid junction and nasofrontal suture during mastication. A third location in the anterior part of the cartilage was added during masseter stimulation and manipulation. Contraction of jaw closing muscles during mastication was accompanied by anteroposterior compressive strains (around ,1,000 ,,) in the septo-ethmoid junction. Both the orientation and the magnitude of the strain suggest that the septum does not act as a vertical strut but may act in absorbing loads generated during mastication. The results from masseter stimulation and manipulation further suggest that the masticatory strain pattern arises from a combination of dorsal bending and/or shearing and anteroposterior compression of the snout. J. Morphol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Biomechanics of the rostrum and the role of facial sutures

JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
Katherine L. Rafferty
Abstract The rostrum is a large diameter, thin-walled tubular structure that receives loads from the teeth. The rostrum can be conceptualized both as a rigid structure and as an assemblage of several bones that interface at sutures. Using miniature pigs, we measured in vivo strains in rostral bones and sutures to gain a better understanding of how the rostrum behaves biomechanically. Strains in the premaxillary and nasal bones were low but the adjacent maxillary-premaxillary, internasal, and intermaxillary suture strains were larger by an order of magnitude. While this finding emphasizes the composite nature of the rostrum, we also found evidence in the maxillary and nasal bones for rigid structural behavior. Namely, maxillary strain is consistent with a short beam model under shear deformation from molar loading. Strain in the nasal bones is only partially supported by a long beam model; rather, a complex pattern of dorsal bending of the rostrum from incisor contact and lateral compression is suggested. Torsion of the maxilla is ruled out due to the bilateral occlusion of pigs and the similar working and balancing side strains, although it may be important in mammals with a unilateral bite. Torsional loading does appear important in the premaxillae, which demonstrate working and balancing side changes in strain orientation. These differences are attributed to asymmetrical incisor contact occurring at the end of the power stroke. J. Morphol. 257:33,44, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Time series analysis of jaw muscle contraction and tissue deformation during mastication in miniature pigs

JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 1 2004
Z. J. Liu
summary, Masticatory muscle contraction causes both jaw movement and tissue deformation during function. Natural chewing data from 25 adult miniature pigs were studied by means of time series analysis. The data set included simultaneous recordings of electromyography (EMG) from bilateral masseter (MA), zygomaticomandibularis (ZM) and lateral pterygoid muscles, bone surface strains from the left squamosal bone (SQ), condylar neck (CD) and mandibular corpus (MD), and linear deformation of the capsule of the jaw joint measured bilaterally using differential variable reluctance transducers. Pairwise comparisons were examined by calculating the cross-correlation functions. Jaw-adductor muscle activity of MA and ZM was found to be highly cross-correlated with CD and SQ strains and weakly with MD strain. No muscle's activity was strongly linked to capsular deformation of the jaw joint, nor were bone strains and capsular deformation tightly linked. Homologous muscle pairs showed the greatest synchronization of signals, but the signals themselves were not significantly more correlated than those of non-homologous muscle pairs. These results suggested that bone strains and capsular deformation are driven by different mechanical regimes. Muscle contraction and ensuing reaction forces are probably responsible for bone strains, whereas capsular deformation is more likely a product of movement. [source]

Paracrine effect of transplanted rib chondrocyte spheroids supports formation of secondary cartilage repair tissue,

JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH, Issue 9 2009
Kolja Gelse
Abstract The study's objective was to investigate if transplanted chondrocyte or periosteal cell spheroids have influence on ingrowing bone marrow-derived cells in a novel cartilage repair approach in miniature pigs. Autologous rib chondrocytes or periosteal cells were cultured as spheroids and press-fitted into cavities that were milled into large, superficial chondral lesions of the patellar joint surface. Within the milled cavities, the subchondral bone plate was either penetrated or left intact (full-thickness or partial-thickness cavities). The transplantation of chondrocyte spheroids into full-thickness cavities induced the formation of additional secondary repair cartilage that exceeded the original volume of the transplanted spheroids. The resulting continuous tissue was rich in proteoglycans and stained positive for type II collagen. Cell labeling revealed that secondarily invading repair cells did not originate from transplanted spheroids, but rather from arroded bone marrow. However, secondary invasion of repair cells was less pronounced following transplantation of periosteal cells and absent in partial-thickness cavities. According to in vitro analyses, these observations could be ascribed to the ability of chondrocyte spheroids to secrete relevant amounts of bone morphogenetic protein-2, which was not detected for periosteal cells. Transplanted chondrocyte spheroids exert a dual function: they provide cells for the repair tissue and have a stimulatory paracrine activity, which promotes ingrowth and chondrogenesis of bone marrow-derived cells. © 2009 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res [source]

Marvels, Mysteries, and Misconceptions of Vascular Compensation to Peripheral Artery Occlusion

MICROCIRCULATION, Issue 1 2010
MATTHEW A. ZIEGLER
Microcirculation (2010) 17, 3,20. doi: 10.1111/j.1549-8719.2010.00008.x Abstract Peripheral arterial disease is a major health problem and there is a significant need to develop therapies to prevent its progression to claudication and critical limb ischemia. Promising results in rodent models of arterial occlusion have generally failed to predict clinical success and led to questions of their relevance. While sub-optimal models may have contributed to the lack of progress, we suggest that advancement has also been hindered by misconceptions of the human capacity for compensation and the specific vessels which are of primary importance. We present and summarize new and existing data from humans, Ossabaw miniature pigs, and rodents which provide compelling evidence that natural compensation to occlusion of a major artery (i) may completely restore perfusion, (ii) occurs in specific pre-existing small arteries, rather than the distal vasculature, via mechanisms involving flow-mediated dilation and remodeling (iii) is impaired by cardiovascular risk factors which suppress the flow-mediated mechanisms and (iv) can be restored by reversal of endothelial dysfunction. We propose that restoration of the capacity for flow-mediated dilation and remodeling in small arteries represents a largely unexplored potential therapeutic opportunity to enhance compensation for major arterial occlusion and prevent the progression to critical limb ischemia in the peripheral circulation. [source]

Isolation and culture of embryonic stem cells from porcine blastocysts

MOLECULAR REPRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2003
Ming Li
Abstract This study was conducted to establish embryonic stem (ES) cell lines from porcine blastocysts. Blastocysts were collected from China miniature pigs at day 7,9 of pregnancy. Embryos were either directly (intact embryos) cultured on mitomysin C-inactivated murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) as feeder layers, or were used to isolate the inner cell masses (ICM) by enzyme digestive method and then cultured. It was found that enzyme digestive method could isolate ICMs without any damages of cells in all blastocysts (28). All ICMs attached to the feeder layers. Primary cell colonies were formed in 68% of ICM culture and 28% of intact blastocyst culture. Two ES cell lines derived from ICM passed six subcultures (passages). These cells morphologically resembled mouse ES cells and consistently expressed alkaline phosphatase activity. When the ES cells were cultured in a medium without feeder layer and leukemin inhibitory factor, they differentiated into several types of cells including neuron-like, smooth muscle-like, and epithelium-like cells. Some cells formed embryoid bodies in a suspension culture. These results indicate that porcine ES cell line can be established under the present experimental conditions and these ES cells are pluripotent. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 65: 429,434, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Histological and Ultrastructural Characterization of Developing Miniature Pig Salivary Glands,

SLA typing using the PCR-SSP method and establishment of the SLA homozygote line in pedigreed SNU miniature pigs

ANIMAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010
Su-Cheong YEOM
ABSTRACT Seoul National University (SNU) miniature pigs represent a closed colony with 24 founder pigs and a well preserved pedigree. Characterization using mRNA sequence analysis was conducted for 6 swine leukocyte antigen (SLA) loci in parental or founder pigs, and 17 defined alleles were detected. Based on these complete coding sequences, 17 sequence specific primers (SSPs) were designed for polymorphic sites. To validate the specificity of each allele SSP, the PCR-SSP was conducted with defined allele clones as templates. PCR-SSP was conducted with the hot start polymerase and touch-down PCR. The parental or found SNU miniature pigs showed overall SLA class I and II heterozygotes. Using the established PCR-SSP method, we conducted SLA typing for breeding stock including 2 pedigreed pigs and identified the novel SLA class II homozygote haplotye (DRA*0201, DRB1*0403, DQA*0102 and DQB1*0701) and 2 SLA homozygote pig lines: SLA class I Hp-3.0 and class II Hp-0.3, and SLA class I Hp-2.0 and class II Hp-0.2. We thought that our PCR-SSP SLA typing method could be applicable for new SLA homozygote line establishment by assignment and scheduled breeding. [source]