Introduction The main objective of this study was to characterise an animal model of colon cancer in the F344-ApcPircUwm rat through the analysis of microRNAs expressed in plasma by Next Generation Sequencing. Methods Colonoscopic follow-ups of the colon cancer model were performed for 10 months (n=60). At each follow-up, 2 ml of whole blood was collected in EDTA tubes, centrifuged for plasma extraction and frozen at - 80 °C. After euthanasia of the animals the different regions of the colon and their respective findings were analysed by histopathological analysis to obtain a ground truth. After this, 14 plasma samples were analysed by Next Generation Sequencing to observe the different expressions of microRNAs between the animals corresponding to the Neoplasia group and the healthy animals (n=6/8). Results After the corresponding functional analysis of the microRNAs deregulated in the animals of the colonic adenoma group and the healthy animals, we highlight rno-miR-192–5p, rno-miR-125b-5p and rno-miR-29c-3p, which appear underexpressed in the animals with adenomatous and adenocarcinomatous lesions in the colon. Conclusions The microRNAs deregulated in this animal model compared to their healthy counterpart without lesions obtained by liquid biopsy are miR-125b-5p, miR-192–5p and miR-29c-3p and their study could open the door to novel therapeutic strategies for prognosis and diagnosis by studying their expression in animal models that could be transferred to humans in the fight against colon cancer.

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The epicardial administration of therapeutics via the pericardial sac offers an attractive route, since it is minimally invasive and carries no risks of coronary embolization. The aim of this study was to assess viability, safety and effectiveness of Cardiosphere-Derived Cells (CDCs), their extracellular vesicles (EVs) or placebo administered via a mini-thoracotomy 72h after experimental infarction in swine. The epicardial administration was completed successfully in all cases in a surgery time (knife-to-skin) below 30 minutes. No significant differences between groups were found in cardiac function parameters evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging before therapy and at the end of the study, despite a trend towards improved function in CDC-treated animals. Moreover, infarct size at 10 weeks was smaller in treated animals, albeit not significantly. Arrhythmia inducibility did not differ between groups. Pathological examination showed no differences, nor were there any pericardial adhesions evidenced in any case 10 weeks after surgery. These results show that the epicardial delivery of CDCs or their EVs is safe and technically easy 3 days after experimental myocardial infarction in swine, but it does not appear to have any beneficial effect on cardiac function. Our results do not support clinical translation of these therapies as implemented in this work.