A porcine model of acute necrotizing pancreatitis.

Background/objectives: Acute necrotizing pancreatitis is a common disease in humans and leads to significant and world-wide morbidity and mortality. Exploration of new pharmaceutical agents for the treatment of this disease frequently rests on rodent models that may not be relevant for spontaneous human disease and also preclude collecting multiple blood samples. Goal of this project was to establish an experimental model for acute necrotizing pancreatitis in pigs that mirrors the development of systemic complications of acute pancreatitis in humans as a prelude to clinical trials in humans.

Evaluation of different intramuscular injectable anesthetic combinations in rabbits: Impact on anesthetic depth, physiological parameters, and EEG recordings.

Rabbits have a high anesthesia-related mortality rate because of their small size, high metabolic rate and challenging airway management. This study aimed to investigate different combinations of intramuscularly administered anesthetics in New Zealand White rabbits, focusing on their effects on anesthetic depth, physiological parameters, and electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. Defined doses ketamine (K), esketamine (SK), medetomidine (M), dexmedetomidine (D), midazolam (Mi), and butorphanol (B) were investigated and compared in five different combinations: KM (25/0.

Hypoxia Preconditioned Serum Hydrogel (HPS-H) Accelerates Dermal Regeneration in a Porcine Wound Model.

Harnessing the body's intrinsic resources for wound healing is becoming a rapidly advancing field in regenerative medicine research. This study investigates the effects of the topical application of a novel porcine Hypoxia Preconditioned Serum Hydrogel (HPS-H) on wound healing using a minipig model over a 21-day period. Porcine HPS exhibited up to 2.

Influence of Heart Rate and Change in Wavefront Direction through Pacing on Conduction Velocity and Voltage Amplitude in a Porcine Model: A High-Density Mapping Study.

Background: Understanding the dynamics of conduction velocity (CV) and voltage amplitude (VA) is crucial in cardiac electrophysiology, particularly for substrate-based catheter ablations targeting slow conduction zones and low voltage areas. This study utilizes ultra-high-density mapping to investigate the impact of heart rate and pacing location on changes in the wavefront direction, CV, and VA of healthy pig hearts.

Methods: We conducted in vivo electrophysiological studies on four healthy juvenile pigs, involving various pacing locations and heart rates.

Validating a minipig model of reversible cerebral demyelination using human diagnostic modalities and electron microscopy.

Background: Inflammatory demyelinating diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis, are significant sources of morbidity in young adults despite therapeutic advances. Current murine models of remyelination have limited applicability due to the low white matter content of their brains, which restricts the spatial resolution of diagnostic imaging. Large animal models might be more suitable but pose significant technological, ethical and logistical challenges.

Nociception in Chicken Embryos, Part III: Analysis of Movements before and after Application of a Noxious Stimulus.

Many potentially noxious interventions are performed on chicken embryos in research and in the poultry industry. It is therefore essential and in the interest of animal welfare to be able to precisely define the point at which a chicken embryo is capable of nociception in ovo. The present part III of a comprehensive study examined the movements of developing chicken embryos with the aim of identifying behavioral responses to a noxious stimulus.

Nociception in Chicken Embryos, Part II: Embryonal Development of Electroencephalic Neuronal Activity as a Prerequisite for Nociception.

Chicken culling has been forbidden in Germany since 2022; male/female selection and male elimination must be brought to an embryonic status prior to the onset of nociception. The present study evaluated the ontogenetic point at which noxious stimuli could potentially be perceived/processed in the brain . EEG recordings from randomized hyperpallial brain sites were recorded and noxious stimuli were applied.

Electroanatomical Conduction Characteristics of Pig Myocardial Tissue Derived from High-Density Mapping.

Background: Ultra-high-density mapping systems allow more precise measurement of the heart chambers at corresponding conduction velocities (CVs) and voltage amplitudes (VAs). Our aim for this study was to define and compare a basic value set for unipolar CV and VA in all four heart chambers and their separate walls in healthy, juvenile porcine hearts using ultra-high-density mapping.

Methods: We used the Rhythmia Mapping System to create electroanatomical maps of four pig hearts in sinus rhythm.

Nociception in Chicken Embryos, Part I: Analysis of Cardiovascular Responses to a Mechanical Noxious Stimulus.

Although it is assumed that chicken embryos acquire the capacity for nociception while developing in the egg, an exact time point has not yet been specified. The present research was an exploratory study aiming to determine when the capacity of nociception emerges during embryonic development in chickens. Changes in blood pressure and heart rate (HR) in response to a noxious mechanical stimulus at the base of the beak versus a light touch on the beak were examined in chicken embryos between embryonic days (EDs) 7 and 18.

Application of a topical anesthetic reduces pain-associated parameters during spermatic cord transection in piglet castration using a minimal anesthesia model.

Objective: This study assessed the use of a topical anesthetic as a feasible approach to reduce pain during piglet castration using a minimal anesthesia protocol.

Animals: 18 male piglets, aged 3-6 days, were included in this study.

Methods: A minimal anesthetic state was induced with isoflurane administered by facemask, with anesthetic depth individually adjusted based on responses to interdigital pinch.

Behavior of Piglets in an Observation Arena before and after Surgical Castration with Local Anesthesia.

Surgical castration of piglets is generally recognized as a painful procedure, but there is currently no gold standard for the assessment of pain behavior in piglets. However, pain assessment is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of local anesthetics. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of four local anesthetics in terms of pain relief during and after surgical castration in three sequential study parts.

Nociception-Induced Changes in Electroencephalographic Activity and FOS Protein Expression in Piglets Undergoing Castration under Isoflurane Anaesthesia.

The objective of this study was to investigate the electroencephalographic reaction pattern and FOS protein expression in male piglets undergoing surgical castration under light isoflurane anaesthesia with or without local anaesthesia. The experiment was conducted under isoflurane anaesthesia to exclude the effect of the affective components of pain on the measurements. Changes in the oscillatory activity of the cerebral cortex over a 90 s period after noxious stimulation or simulated interventions were analysed.

Evaluation of Two Injection Techniques in Combination with the Local Anesthetics Lidocaine and Mepivacaine for Piglets Undergoing Surgical Castration.

The present study evaluated the effects of two injection techniques in combination with lidocaine or mepivacaine for piglets undergoing castration. To improve ease of use, a cannula with side holes (one-step fenestrated (F)) was invented to simultaneously deliver a local anesthetic into the testis and scrotum and was compared to a two-step injection technique. The distribution of a lidocaine/contrast agent mixture using the two methods was examined using computed tomography.

A novel intrapericardial pulsatile device for individualized, biventricular circulatory support without direct blood contact.

Objective: Due to severely limited donor heart availability, durable mechanical circulatory support remains the only treatment option for many patients with end-stage heart failure. However, treatment complexity persists due to its univentricular support modality and continuous contact with blood. We investigated the function and safety of reBEAT (AdjuCor GmbH), a novel, minimal invasive mechanical circulatory support device that completely avoids blood contact and provides pulsatile, biventricular support.

Lenvatinib halts aortic aneurysm growth by restoring smooth muscle cell contractility.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a disease with high morbidity and mortality, especially when ruptured. The rationale of this study was to evaluate the repurposing of lenvatinib, a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in limiting experimental AAA growth targeting vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and angiogenesis. We applied systemic and local lenvatinib treatment to elastase-induced murine aortic aneurysms, and RNA profiling identified myosin heavy chain 11 (Myh11) as the most deregulated transcript.

Local Anesthesia in Piglets Undergoing Castration-A Comparative Study to Investigate the Analgesic Effects of Four Local Anesthetics Based on Defensive Behavior and Side Effects.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of four local anesthetics on pain relief during surgical castration under standardized conditions in conscious piglets. Therefore, 71 male piglets (three to seven days) were distributed into control groups (handling, castration without anesthesia or analgesia) and local anesthetic trial groups (procaine, lidocaine, bupivacaine, mepivacaine). Then, 20 min prior to castration, animals of the treatment groups, except piglets in the handling group, received an injection of a local anesthetic or sodium chloride of 0.

Local anesthesia in piglets undergoing castration-A comparative study to investigate the analgesic effects of four local anesthetics on the basis of acute physiological responses and limb movements.

Surgical castration of male piglets without analgesia is a painful procedure. This prospective, randomized and double-blinded study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effects of four different local anesthetics for piglet castration during the first week of life. In total, 54 piglets aged 3 to 7 days were distributed into 6 treatment groups: handling (H); castration without pain relief (sodium chloride, NaCl); and castration with a local anesthetic: 4% procaine (P), 2% lidocaine (L), 0.

Identification of Rabbit Oviductal Fluid Proteins Involved in Pre-Fertilization Processes by Quantitative Proteomics.

Oviductal fluid (ODF) proteins modulate and support reproductive processes in the oviduct. In the present study, proteins involved in the biological events that precede fertilization have been identified in the rabbit ODF proteome, isolated from the ampulla and isthmus of the oviduct at different time points within 8 h after intrauterine insemination. A workflow is used that integrates lectin affinity capture with stable-isotope dimethyl labeling prior to nanoLC-MS/MS analysis.

Exploring the oviductal fluid proteome by a lectin-based affinity approach.

The analysis of glycoproteins in body fluids represents a central task in the study of vital processes. Herein, we assessed the combined use of Concanavalin A and Wheat Germ Agglutinin as ligands to fractionate and enrich glycoproteins from oviductal fluid (OF), which is a source of molecules involved in fertilization. First, the selectivity was corroborated by a gel-based approach using glycoprotein staining and enzymatic deglycosylation.

Large-Scale Purification of r28M: A Bispecific scFv Antibody Targeting Human Melanoma Produced in Transgenic Cattle.

Background: 30 years ago, the potential of bispecific antibodies to engage cytotoxic T cells for the lysis of cancer cells was discovered. Today a variety of bispecific antibodies against diverse cell surface structures have been developed, the majority of them produced in mammalian cell culture systems. Beside the r28M, described here, no such bispecific antibody is known to be expressed by transgenic livestock, although various biologicals for medical needs are already harvested-mostly from the milk-of these transgenics.

C-terminus of heat shock protein 70-interacting protein-dependent GTP cyclohydrolase I degradation in lambs with increased pulmonary blood flow.

We showed that nitric oxide (NO) signaling is decreased in the pulmonary vasculature before the development of endothelial dysfunction in a lamb model of congenital heart disease and increased pulmonary blood flow (Shunt). The elucidation of the molecular mechanism by which this occurs was the purpose of this study. Here, we demonstrate that concentrations of the endogenous NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), are elevated, whereas the NOS cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH(4)) is decreased in Shunt lambs.