Porcine models of digestive disease: the future of large animal translational research

Abstract

There is increasing interest in non-rodent translational models for the study of human disease. The pig, in particular, serves as a useful animal model for the study of pathophysiological conditions relevant to the human intestine. This review assesses currently used porcine models of gastrointestinal physiology and disease and provides a rationale for the use of these models for future translational studies. The pig has proven its utility for the study of fundamental disease conditions such as ischemia/ reperfusion injury, stress-induced intestinal dysfunction, and short bowel syndrome. Pigs have also shown great promise for the study of intestinal barrier function, surgical tissue manipulation and intervention, as well as biomaterial implantation and tissue transplantation. Advantages of pig models highlighted by these studies include the physiological similarity to human intestine as well as to mechanisms of human disease. Emerging future directions for porcine models of human disease include the fields of transgenics and stem cell biology, with exciting implications for regenerative medicine.

Bioavailability of Microencapsulated Iron from Fortified Bread Assessed Using Piglet Model

“…Iron encapsulation was chosen because of its potential to help overcome unwanted sensory changes in fortified food, reduce interactions of Fe with food components, and increase Fe bioavailability [19,20]. Swine provide possibly the best preclinical animal model for investigating the gastrointestinal system and its functions [21,22]. New piglet models are constantly emerging [23].…”

Combined Enteral and Parenteral Glutamine Supplementation in Endotoxemic Swine: Effects on Portal and Systemic Circulation Levels

“…Despite numerous publications, there is still limited evidence regarding systemic and portal circulation levels of GLN in sepsis and, in particular, in relation to the route of administration [7]. Thus, we decided to apply this experimental model to swine, since their gastrointestinal tract closely resembles that of humans [10]. We recorded the systemic and portal levels of GLN achieved after intravenous, enteral and combined supplementation compared to the baseline, as well as to placebo, at the same time points, throughout a 3-h study period.…”

Large Animal Models: The Key to Translational Discovery in Digestive Disease Research

“…12,16–22 The pig also shows potential for interspecies transplantation work, as well as the ability to fulfill United States Food and Drug Administration requirements for pharmaceutical testing. 23 These features of the pig combined with an increasing availability of biological tools and reagents for use to study porcine tissue make the pig arguably the best model available for translational biomedical research.…”

“…28 The subcellular structure of porcine enterocytes within the crypt base have been characterized and found to be similar to the description of these cells in human beings. 23,29 The colon of the pig and human beings both possess sacculations and longitudinal muscular bands (tenia) along their length, which results in similar transit times and thus comparable digestive physiology in the intestine, whereas the colon of the mouse and rat are nonsacculated. 30,31 Pigs and human beings are capable of fermenting digesta within the colon, and have been shown to have similar microbial flora within the small intestine and large intestine.…”