The Swine it Podcast Show Canada - Swine Research and Human Health

Understanding the intricate connections between various species and how these relationships can be used to advance health studies is a fascinating field of study. One prominent subject in this discourse is how swine or pig models are utilized in biomedical research. This article presents an in-depth exploration of the topic, focusing principally on the contributions of Dr. Dylan Olver, an Assistant Professor in Vet Biomedical Sciences at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon.

The Journey to Swine Research 

Dr. Olver has a diverse academic background, having pursued his doctoral studies at the University of Western Ontario, with his initial focus on humans and rodents. Trained as a physiologist, he chiefly investigates the relationship between heart and brain health across human, companion animals, and occasionally livestock. After his doctoral studies, he moved to the University of Missouri as a fellow, marking his introduction to working with swine models. The University of Missouri has a substantial biomedicine research facility focusing intensively on swine research at their veterinary school. The university stands out for using pigs as human health models.

Discovering Health Insights through Pigs

At the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Olver established a research program that touches both pre-clinical and clinical aspects. The pre-clinical side uses swine models housed at the vet school, while the clinical part is operated out of the university hospital. Interestingly, although Dr. Olver is not a producer and has little knowledge about pigs from a livestock perspective, he utilizes them as models to investigate human diseases. The primary focus of his research is to understand cardiovascular health in pigs and what findings could be extrapolated for human health. 

Capacities of Pigs as Human Models

The use of pigs in research can be seen as advantageous due to their physiological similarities to humans. This is evident in studying conditions like heart failure. For over 50 years, pieces of pig hearts or valves have been used to replace faulty valves in human hearts. The heart of a pig is closest to that of a human in a research model. This nearness aids understanding and providing substantial insights into heart failure in humans. Some of these studies include examining various drug treatments and the effects on heart failure.

Cognitive Studies Using Pigs

In addition to the physiological similarities, the cognitive capacity of pigs has also proven to be an instrumental resource in health studies. The brain structuring in pigs is somewhat similar to humans, hence providing a rich model for studying brain health issues. By training pigs to complete specific cognitive tasks, Dr. Olver was able to assess their cognitive capabilities and study how diseases like diabetes impact cognition, especially in juvenile pigs. 

Pigs and Cardiovascular Health

Another aspect of Dr. Olver's research involves the cardiovascular health of pigs. Exercise plays a pivotal role in maintaining cardiovascular health and helping manage conditions like diabetes. His study found that exercise improved blood flow control in the brain among the pigs, which is critical for cognitive function. Reduced blood flow to the brain is a leading cause of cognitive dysfunction and onset dementia among humans. Therefore these pig models offer considerable insight into mitigating these issues.

Going Forward

By understanding the remarkable complexities of pig models in the context of human health, we can unlock deeper insights into various health conditions and possible interventions. Despite being seemingly unrelated, the biological connections between different species can often provide unique pathways for breakthroughs in medical science.

The Implications of Low Birth Weight in Pigs

In research conducted by Dr. Dylan Olver, it was observed that piglets with low birth weight experienced persistent abnormalities even after their weight normalized. Alterations were observed in the pump mechanics of the hearts of these pigs and dysfunctions in the blood vessels in their brains. These observations remained consistent 26 and 56 days after birth. In certain cases, the pigs had undergone significant catch-up growth by their 56th day of life.

Interestingly, impaired dilation of blood vessels due to reduction in nitric oxide was another aspect observed in these low birth weight pigs. Nitric oxide is a molecule that facilitates the relaxation of blood vessels. When the functionality of nitric oxide is impaired, it significantly impacts numerous bodily functions and could result in conditions like heart attacks, erectile dysfunction, and pulmonary hypertension. 

Low Birth Weight and its Relation to Human Conditions

These findings are significant for human health as well. Evidently, human children who have had low birth weights are reported to be at a greater risk for dementia when they grow older. This is possibly due to how the blood vessels in their brains may not dilate as effectively due to similar impairments in nitric oxide. 

It's also important to note that from a producer's perspective, it's crucial to ascertain the existence of cardiovascular issues in low birth weight pigs. Cardiac complications may persist even after substantial catch-up growth, potentially showing up when the pigs get to market weight and are transported.

Understanding Vascular Insulin Resistance

Another compelling aspect that Dr. Olver’s research sheds light on is the link between insulin and the dilation of blood vessels. Insulin not only triggers the absorption of sugar into the muscle tissue but also causes dilation of these vessels through nitric oxide. This dilation aids the influx of more nutrients and insulin into the muscle, further augmenting the glucose uptake. This mechanism might account for about 30% of glucose uptake into the muscle. 

When impairments in nitric oxide occur, thus disrupting insulin-induced dilation, it leads to constriction instead. This has led Dr. Olver to speculate that low birth weight pigs with impaired nitric oxide signaling could have vascular insulin resistance. As a result, they would be less efficient at storing nutrients in their muscles, which could delay their catch-up growth. 

The Osaba Swine Model

Dr. Olver has also conducted some work with the Osaba swine, a breed that traces their origins back to when Spanish explorers introduced them to North America. Due to the periods of alternating food availability, these pigs evolved to develop excessive fat reserves during times of abundant food, which would help them survive the periods of scarcity. This characteristic has rendered the Osaba Swine a valuable research model for understanding obesity and diabetes caused by diet. 

In conclusion, exploring the health implications in pigs, especially issues like low birth weight or their ability to model human metabolic diseases, can provide significant insights for advancing both swine and human health. Dr. Olver’s research carries profound potential for future studies on these subjects in a bid to develop more effective treatment strategies. Though these animals may not have been viewed as traditional models for health studies initially, their value is increasingly being recognized in the scientific community.