The Colostrum-Deprived, Artificially Reared Neonatal Pig as a Model Animal for Studying Rotavirus Gastroenteritis

Abstract

g astroenteritis is one of the main causes of acute diarrhea in young humans and animals u Rotavirus worldwide. T he colostrum-deprived, arti cially rear ed neonatal pig has been extensively used in our laborat ory as a model animal for studying an exper imentally induced rotaviral g astroenteritis. D etails on procurement of new born pig s, immunolog ic characteristics, and arti cial rearing conditions of colostrumdeprived neonatal pig s as well as on rotavirus inoculation, clinical manifestations, and evaluation of intestinal damag e caused by rotavirus inf ection are described. O ur exper imentally induced rotavirus g astroenteritis model has been characterized clinically by anor exia, diarrhea, occasional vomiting, and hig h titers of rotavirus shedding in f eces. D ata repor ted her e provide additional inf ormation, particularly on f eeding reg imens of pig s bef ore rotavirus inoculation, extent of anorex ia, severity of diarrhea, and extent of fecal virus shedding , as well as on the eÚ ect of rotavirus inf ection and size of rotavirus inocula on intestinal damag e, g rowth, and mortality during the postinfection period. O n the basis of these results and others previously reported by us and by other resear chers, and because of the intestinal anatomy and physiolog y similarities to that of human infants, the colostrum-deprived, arti cially reared neonatal pig is the most suitable and usef ul model animal f or studies desig ned to evaluate prevention and treatment of rotaviral g astroenteritis.Gastrointestinal viral infection s are comm on in young animals and hum ans and often are associa ted w ith enteritis and diarrhea [ 1, 2] . R otavirus infection is a major cau se of severe diarrhea in children [ 3] as w ell as of neonatal diarrhea in several animal species w orldwide [ 4] . The main characteristics of rotavirus infections have been review ed extensiv ely [ 5, 6] . The need for an anim al model in which to study the pathogenesis, as w ell as the prevention and treatment of rotaviru s gastroenteritis, has long been recognized [ 1] . Because the porcine gastrointestin al tract and digestiv e physiology are very sim ilar to that of hum ans, gnotobiotic [ 7-16] as well as conventional [17][18][19][20][21][22]

In Vivo and in Vitro Colonization Patterns of AIDA-I–Positive Escherichia Coli Isolates from Piglets with Diarrhea

“…The piglets were fed a commercial pig milk replacer d based on a previously described regimen. 7 Intervals between feeding and observations of the piglets were never longer than 4 hr. The piglets were handled in accordance with the guidelines set forward in The Guide to the Care and Use of Experimental Animals of the Canadian Council on Animal Care.…”

Refinement of a colostrum-deprived pig model for infectious disease research

“…Protocols used for rearing of CD pigs as a newborn infant model for studying immune responses [ 10 , 11 ] or neurological development [ 12 ] have been recently described. Although several manuscripts report the use of CD pigs for study of infectious pathogens, few detail the rearing conditions [ 1 , 5 , 13 , 14 ]. Rearing protocols for CD piglets with limited or no use of antibiotics and more intensive feeding schedules have been previously described [ 1 , 5 ] and would be more appropriate for bacterial challenge studies.…”

Immune and cytokine/chemokine responses of PBMCs in rotavirus‐infected rhesus infants and their significance in viral pathogenesis

“…In vivo evaluation using RV‐induced diarrhea animal models has provided key insights to understanding the pathogenesis of RVs and evaluation of the immune response of IRV. Studies have shown that cow, germ‐free pigs, rabbits, rats, and suckling mice can be induced into diarrhea models and used to study the RV infection, pathology, immune response, and vaccine efficacy . The immune mechanisms involved in the clearance of and immunity to RV infection need to be uncovered.…”