Pigs and Minipigs

Holtz, W.

doi:10.1002/9781444318777.ch32

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In both animals, the terminology that is used for the different stages is estrus, metestrus, diestrus, anestrus (for dogs only), and proestrus. In pigs and minipigs, the term estrus is primarily used to indicate the period of sexual behavior of the sow (Holtz and Bollen 1999) and is not really correlated to specific histologic features within the female reproductive organs. In nonhuman primates, descriptions of the female reproductive organs during the cycle are in parallel with human literature and terminology used is different from rats and dogs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estrous Cycle-dependent Morphology in the Reproductive Organs of the Female Göttingen Minipig

Rijk¹,

Brink²,

Lensen³

et al. 2014

Toxicol Pathol

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The present study describes the normal histology of female reproductive organs during the estrous cycle in the Göttingen minipig. For this purpose, sexually mature females were sacrificed at different phases of the cycle (follicular/proliferation, ovulation, and early-, mid-, and late-luteal/ secretory phase). Ovaries, uterus, cervix, vagina, and mammary gland tissues were processed for microscopic evaluation. Sexual maturity was assured by selecting females in which at least 1 progesterone peak was measured. Stage-distinguishing features in ovaries were the Graafian follicles (disrupted vs. nondisrupted) and corpora lutea of recent and preceding cycles (size, cell morphology, and structural composition). In the uterus, stagespecific markers were epithelial morphology, secretory activity (using periodic acid-Schiff/hematoxylin staining), and epithelial mitosis and/or apoptosis. The other reproductive organs were not suitable to discriminate between the different phases of the cycle due to a high morphologic variability (mammary gland, and vagina) or absence of clear morphologic differences between the phases (cervix). The increased use of young minipigs (frequently immature/peripubertal) in preclinical testing requires more knowledge on the histologic cyclic changes. With the present morphologic description of the morphologic characteristics of the reproductive tract in recently ovulating minipigs, a guidance for staging the estrous cycle and determination of sexual immaturity is provided.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estrous Cycle-dependent Morphology in the Reproductive Organs of the Female Göttingen Minipig

Rijk¹,

Brink²,

Lensen³

et al. 2014

Toxicol Pathol

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“…Stein‐Stefani and Holtz (1987) recorded that the site of the uterine transfer is irrelevant provided that embryos are transferred into the proximal half of the horn. By making the incision between the second and third caudal pair of teats, and grasping the uterine horn as far cranially as possible, it may be assumed that the embryos were transferred to the proximal half of the uterine horn.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They were treated with 1000 iu of eCG, followed 72 hours later with 500 iu of hCG, at the same times as the donors. They were anaesthetised with azaperone (Stresnil; Neuss) and metomidate (Hypnodil; Neuss) as described by Holtz (1987). Within four hours of collection, the blastocysts classified as good or fair from several donors were pooled and allocated at random to two treatment groups.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Endoscopy, being a less invasive alternative to surgery, could help to alleviate these problems. However, in most cases endoscopic embryo transfer has yielded unsatisfactory results (Stein‐Stefani and Holtz 1987, Kashiwazaki and others 1988). Reasonable results were reported by Rátky and others (1997), who made only six transfers, and by Müller and others (1997).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Embryo collection in prepubertal gilts and attempts to develop an improved embryo transfer technique

Wallenhorst

Holtz²

2002

Veterinary Record

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Prepubertal gilts were treated with 1,500 iu equine chorionic gonadotrophin, followed 72 hours later by 500 iu human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), and inseminated 36 and 48 hours later. Embryos were collected at slaughter 168 hours after the hCG treatment. Blastocysts classified as 'good' or 'fair' were transferred to synchronised recipients, either by conventional surgical means or by a 'semi-endoscopic' approach, and the recipients were slaughtered four weeks later. Of 238 donor gilts, 98.4 per cent had responded with a mean (se) 23.5 (1.0) ovulations and 19.1 (1.0) ova or embryos, of which 47 per cent were considered morphologically intact and transferable. The large proportion of non-transferable embryos was not associated with the age or weight of the gilts, the season or with their housing conditions. Conventional surgical transfer of 15 to 20 (mean 17.4) blastocysts to synchronised recipients yielded 88 percent (14 of 16) pregnancies with between seven and 14 (mean 8.2) viable fetuses, and an embryo survival rate of 47 per cent in the pregnant recipients and 41 per cent in all the recipients. The corresponding data for the semi-endoscopic transfers were 16 to 20 (mean 17.7) blastocysts transferred, 47 per cent (eight of 17) pregnancies, four to 12 (mean 7.3) viable fetuses per pregnant recipient and an embryo survival rate of 41 per cent in the pregnant recipients and 19 per cent in all the recipients. Significantly fewer of these recipients became pregnant and a significantly smaller proportion of the embryos survived (P<0.05).

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“…As a non‐rodent species, pigs have many advantages compared with dogs, which are at the moment still the most widely used non‐rodent species in medical research. Pigs show high similarities to humans concerning the cardiovascular system, the gastro‐intestinal tract, the lung, kidney, liver, the immune system, and the skin and skeleton (Holtz & Bollen 1999). A main point which makes the pig more advantageous than the dog is that the pigs are usually not used as pets and therefore the emotional barrier to use pigs in medical experiments is much lower than in dogs (Gad 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding for low body weight in Goettingen minipigs

Köhn

Sharifi

Täubert

et al. 2008

J Animal Breeding Genetics

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The Goettingen minipig is a laboratory animal with increasing popularity in medical research. To get a genetically smaller minipig, a new breeding scheme with a focus on weight reduction has to be developed. Therefore, 19 505 body weight measurements of 3461 Goettingen minipigs were analysed with multiple trait models and random regression models (RRM) for the estimation of genetic parameters. Heritabilities were moderate with slightly higher values estimated with the RRM. Genetic correlations between body weight measurements at different ages were decreasing with increasing time lag between the measurements. An operational breeding goal for relative weight reduction RWR is suggested in which the weight reduction in each age class is expressed as per cent of the actual body weight and is weighted according to the proportion of animals sold in this age class. Expected genetic progress was calculated for two different selection ages (80 and 150 days). Selection at age 150 days leads to an expected genetic progress of 3.9 % RWR per year. And it is shown how the selection for RWR will modify the shape of the growth curve. On the basis of these results, a new breeding scheme with a focus on weight reduction can be implemented, which also has to account for correlated undesirable effects, like decline of fertility and increased rate of inbreeding.

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Pigs and Minipigs

Cited by 8 publications

References 31 publications

Estrous Cycle-dependent Morphology in the Reproductive Organs of the Female Göttingen Minipig

Estrous Cycle-dependent Morphology in the Reproductive Organs of the Female Göttingen Minipig

Embryo collection in prepubertal gilts and attempts to develop an improved embryo transfer technique

Breeding for low body weight in Goettingen minipigs

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