Importance of the pig as a human biomedical model

Pigs have substantial potential as biomedical models for studying human developmental processes, congenital diseases, and pathogen response mechanisms in addition to utility as xenotransplant organ donors and tools for vaccine and drug design. The similarity of pigs to humans in anatomical size and...

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Published inScience translational medicine Vol. 13; no. 621; p. eabd5758
Main Authors Lunney, Joan K, Van Goor, Angelica, Walker, Kristen E, Hailstock, Taylor, Franklin, Jasmine, Dai, Chaohui
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 24.11.2021
Subjects
Animals
Biomedical Research
Disease Models, Animal
Genome
Humans
Models, Animal
Swine
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Summary:Pigs have substantial potential as biomedical models for studying human developmental processes, congenital diseases, and pathogen response mechanisms in addition to utility as xenotransplant organ donors and tools for vaccine and drug design. The similarity of pigs to humans in anatomical size and structure, physiology, immunology, and genome enhances their potential as models for humans. Hence, it is imperative that research is relevant and reproducible in animal models that more closely resemble humans, such as the pig. This review summarizes the current status of pigs as an investigative model for humans and highlights their future applications.
ISSN:1946-6242
DOI:10.1126/scitranslmed.abd5758