Ossabaw Island miniature swine: Cardiometabolic syndrome assessment

Michael Sturek, Mouhamad Alloosh, James Wenzel, James P. Byrd, Jason M. Edwards, Pamela G. Lloyd, Johnathan D. Tune, Keith L. March, Michael A. Miller, Eric A. Mokelke, I. Lehr Brisbin

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

52 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ossabaw swine were deposited on Ossabaw Island, GA, in the 1500s by Spanish explorers (Mayer and Brisbin, Jr., 1991) and, since then, the ocean has remained an impenetrable barrier to emigration of Ossabaw pigs to the mainland. Natural models of disease that arise from adaptation of animals to unique selection pressures can give insights into similar complex, multifactorial diseases in humans. Ossabaw miniature swine may recapitulate the natural pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes because of their “thrifty genotype” that enabled survival in the feast and famine ecology of Ossabaw Island. The thrifty genotype hypothesis is that in the hunter-gatherer stages of human development the ability to store excess fat enabled survival during periods of famine (Neel, 1962).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSwine in the Laboratory
Subtitle of host publicationSurgery, Anesthesia, Imaging, and Experimental Techniques, Second Edition
PublisherCRC Press
Pages397-402
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781420009156
ISBN (Print)9780849392788
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2007

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