Development of a Model of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea in Microminipigs

Abstract

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) induces an often fatal gastrointestinal disease in piglets. In this study, we performed a PEDV infection experiment with the Microminipig, the smallest of experimental minipigs, as a novel small animal model. We orally inoculated a neonatal Microminipig with an intestinal homogenate of a PEDV-infected pig and housed it in a small cage originally designed for rats in an animal biosafety level 2 facility. The infected Microminipig showed the typical signs of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), such as watery diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight loss. We also recognized a high amount of excreted PEDV in its rectal swabs and villus atrophy of the small intestine. These results suggest that the Microminipig is a good small animal model for PED, which may contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of PEDV.

NR6A1Allelic Frequencies as an Index for both Miniaturizing and Increasing Pig Body Size

“…The body weight of a young mature Microminipig is <10 kg, enabling easy handling (5,15,16). Some human disease models (5,6,10,13,15,17) and infectious disease models (18) of Microminipig have already been developed.…”