In pig production, inefficient feed digestion causes excessive nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen to be released to the environment. To address the issue of environmental emissions, we established transgenic pigs harboring a single-copy quad-cistronic transgene and simultaneously expressing three microbial enzymes, β-glucanase, xylanase, and phytase in the salivary glands. All the transgenic enzymes were successfully expressed, and the digestion of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) and phytate in the feedstuff was enhanced. Fecal nitrogen and phosphorus outputs in the transgenic pigs were reduced by 23.2-45.8%, and growth rate improved by 23.0% (gilts) and 24.4% (boars) compared with that of age-matched wild-type littermates under the same dietary treatment. The transgenic pigs showed an 11.5-14.5% improvement in feed conversion rate compared with the wild-type pigs. These findings indicate that the transgenic pigs are promising resources for improving feed efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.34286 | DOI Listing |
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
January 2025
Oxford Eye Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate early-phase safety of subretinal application of AAVanc80.CAG.USH1Ca1 (OT_USH_101) in wild-type (WT) pigs, examining the effects of a vehicle control, low dose, and high dose.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFXenotransplantation
January 2025
Institute of Organ Transplantation, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Background: Gene-edited pigs for xenotransplantation usually contain one or more transgenes encoding human complement regulatory proteins (CRPs). Because of species differences, human CRP(s) expressed in gene-edited pigs may have difficulty inhibiting the activation of exogenous rabbit complement added to a complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) assay. The use of human complement instead of rabbit complement in CDC experiments may more accurately reflect the actual regulatory activity of human CRP(s).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Roslin Institute and Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Animal models that accurately reflect COVID-19 are vital for understanding mechanisms of disease and advancing development of improved vaccines and therapeutics. Pigs are increasingly recognized as valuable models for human disease due to their genetic, anatomical, physiological, and immunological similarities to humans, and they present a more ethically viable alternative to non-human primates. However, pigs are not susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection which limits their utility as a model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Neurodegener
January 2025
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-Human Primate Research, Key Laboratory of CNS Regeneration (Ministry of Education), School of Medicine, GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.
Background: HD is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of CAG repeats in the HTT. Silencing the expression of mutated proteins is a therapeutic direction to rescue HD patients, and recent advances in gene editing technology such as CRISPR/CasRx have opened up new avenues for therapeutic intervention.
Methods: The CRISPR/CasRx system was employed to target human HTT exon 1, resulting in an efficient knockdown of HTT mRNA.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Laboratory of Veterinary Embryology and Biotechnology (VETEMBIO), Veterinary Medical Center and College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea.
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