Description

About the Göttingen Minipig

Göttingen Minipigs have been widely used in toxicological testing and pharmacological research for over 40 years with their use growing significantly over the past 10-15 years. The term Göttingen derives its origin from the University of Göttingen where in the 1960s three different breeds namely Minnesota Minipig, Vietnamese Potbelly Pig, and the German Landrace were crossbred to obtain the Göttingen Minipig breed for the pigs’ small size and gentle temper, reproduction (fertility and low body weight), and light skin. They are much smaller than common pigs and therefore require less space to house and feed. In addition, they are easier to handle due to their docile nature and require less compound for in vivo experiments.

In addition, because Göttingen Minipigs were specifically bred for research purposes, well-characterized health records have been carefully maintained and curated. Göttingen Minipigs are becoming increasingly popular for pharmaceutical research because of their small size, availability of comprehensive background data, stable genetic background, similarity to humans, better capability to interpret the model, increased practical experience in handling the animal, and its availability in large uniform groups. Göttingen Minipigs are serving humanity by ensuring the development of medicines to treat arthritis, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, eye diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, skin conditions and Parkinson’s disease.

Application Summary for Göttingen Minipig Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs)

Göttingen Minipig PBMCs have been used for a wide variety of studies for drug discovery/development, assay validation/development, and immunology-based applications. In vitro immunoassays, such as proliferation, cytotoxicity, and cytokine release in response to compounds are increasingly being performed with Göttingen Minipig PBMCs. These experiments lend insight into the translatability of the compound into humans and offer an alternative to other animal species.

Because of the increased utilization in immunology research, characterization studies of Göttingen Minipig PBMCs are increasing. These studies include immunophenotyping of the various myeloid and lymphocyte subsets by flow cytometry and genomic analysis.

Additionally, Göttingen Minipig PBMCs are commonly used for toxicity studies to determine the tolerability and dosing of compounds in an in vitro manner.

Isolation of PBMCs

Peripheral blood is obtained from responsible facilities that have many years of experience collecting samples.

Once at our lab, PBMCs are isolated by performing density centrifugation with Ficoll, a high molecular weight sucrose solution, to remove red blood cells under sterile conditions. Depending on the species (human or non-human) of blood, either 1.077 or 1.084 g/ml Ficoll is used, resulting in a perfect layer of mononuclear cells that are separated from plasma, platelets, granulocytes, and erythrocytes. Additional quality control measures are taken to isolate and prepare PBMCs that ensure the highest viability for cryopreservation and downstream experimental applications.

Cryopreservation and Storage

Our minipig PBMCs are cryopreserved carefully using iQ Biosciences’ cryopreservation protocol that ensures high viability (> 80%) after thawing.

Cells should be stored at < -120°C once they are received, such as within a liquid nitrogen tank (vapor phase and not submerging the vials in liquid nitrogen).