Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2024, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (29): 4697-4702.doi: 10.12307/2024.568

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Minipigs used in hydrogel wound repair research

Mei Rigeng1, Geng Shaohui2, Lin Zhimin3, Wu Jiapeng1, Liu Xin4, Lan Xinyi2, Gao Yuruo2, Huang Guangrui2   

  1. 1School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2School of Life Sciences, 4School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102446, China; 3Third Affiliated Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102446, China
  • Received:2023-10-25 Accepted:2023-12-06 Online:2024-10-18 Published:2024-03-23
  • Contact: Huang Guangrui, Professor, School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102446, China
  • About author:Mei Rigeng, School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102446, China Geng Shaohui, MD, School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 102446, China
  • Supported by:
    National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Special Zone H863 Project, No. 20-163-02-ZT-008-003-01 (to HGR); Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. s202310026032 (to LZM); Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. X202310026070 (to LZM); Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. X202310026158 (to LX)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Minipigs are often used in research fields such as skin injury, vascular trauma and cosmetic medicine because they are highly similar to human beings in terms of skin tissue structure and cardiovascular system. Hydrogel as a wound repair drug possesses a variety of excellent physicochemical properties such as strong water retention and adhesion, which can provide isolation moisturization and drug release for wounds. 
OBJECTIVE: To summarize and conclude the progress of the application of trauma models for different experimental purposes of hydrogel therapy for minipigs, to reveal the development status of various types of minipig trauma models, to analyze the deficiencies of minipig trauma models at the present stage.
METHODS: The relevant articles published in Web of Science database and CNKI database from the establishment of each database to 2023 were checked, using “piglet, miniature pig, minipig, miniature pig; gel, hydrogel; trauma, injury, wound, lesion, incision” as Chinese search terms and “Miniature Swine, Miniature pig, minipig; gel, hydrogel; injury, wound, lesion, incision” as English search terms. A total of 438 Chinese and English documents were retrieved, and 59 documents were included in the study through the inclusion and exclusion criteria. 
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) At present, the main models used clinically for trauma repair are large animal species (dogs and pigs), rabbits, and rodents (rats and mice). Because the skin structure of the minipig is more like that of humans, the minipig is the most ideal animal model for trauma repair. (2) In the in-vitro skin injury model, skin defect model is the basic wound model, which can be divided into full skin defect model and medium-thickness skin defect model according to the depth of the wound defect. Burn wound model and infected wound model are multidimensional models with hot metal scald and bacterial culture imposed on the basis of the skin defect model, which have the advantages of high safety coefficient and low operation difficulty. (3) In the in-vivo trauma repair model, mini-pigs are used as esophageal cricothyrotomy model which is more in line with the pathological state of clinical diseases. Mini-pigs are used in the gastric perforation and vascular hemostasis model, which can visually demonstrate the stronger organ adhesion, hemostatic properties and tissue regeneration-promoting effects of the hydrogel. (4) The specific parts of the pig also has the corresponding mode of use: pig ear is usually used to evaluate the hydrogel drug delayed-release effect. Porcine cellular proteins and pig skin collagen are mostly used to prepare composite hydrogels of tissue origin.

Key words: minipig, hydrogel, dressings, trauma model, skin, review

CLC Number: