Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
Review
Biomedical applications of sheep models: from asthma to vaccines
Results. The main difference between the two animal models was in aortic wall calcification (64.8 ± 39.8 μg/mg in the sheep model versus 4.1 ± 5.9 μg/mg in the primate model; p > 0.005). In both models, leaflet calcification was negligible (2.6 ± 2.4 μg/mg in the sheep versus 2.5 ± 1.9 μg/mg in the primate), and the overall extent of inflammation was comparable (1.2 ± 0.8 versus 0.98 ± 0.7; p = 0.18 in the sheep and the primate, respectively). Qualitatively, the sheep demonstrated a macrophage-dominated reaction whereas the inflammatory demarcation often resembled a granulocyte-dominated xenograft response in the primate. Pannus outgrowth was comparable in length (8.4 ± 2.3 mm versus 9.1 ± 4.3 mm proximally and 7.1 ± 3.4 mm versus 7.4 ± 5.1 mm distally, in the sheep and baboon, respectively; p > 0.05).
Conclusions. Our results confirm the sheep as a significantly stronger calcification model for stentless aortic heart valves than the primate. Remaining antigenicity of porcine tissue as a result of incomplete cross-linking, however, elicits a distinctly stronger xenograft-type reaction in the primate model.
View More Related Articles |
View Record in Scopus |
Biomedical applications of sheep models: from asthma to vaccines