43 Large animal models of renal warm ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Comparison of dog versus pig

Introduction:  With the advent of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy interest has focused on renal tolerance of, and treatments for, warm I/R injury. Most in vivo work is done in rodent models, but findings are often not replicated in humans. Thus experiments often need to be replicated in a higher mammalian model, prior to human trials. Here I present the pros and cons of two of the most commonly used higher models. Materials and Methods:  Eleven dogs underwent nephrectomy and clamping of the contralateral renal artery for one hour. They were followed up with daily blood tests for 5 days. Seven pigs underwent a 2‐stage procedure. First a right nephrectomy, followed a week later by clamping of the left renal artery for one hour. They were then followed up with 24 h urine collections and daily blood tests. Results:  Serum creatinine concentration expressed as mean ± SEM in micromoles / litre.Pre‐op Day 1 Day 2 Day 5Dog 82 ± 3 239 ± 38 279 ± 61 266 ± 71 Pig 92 ± 9 132 ± 14 123 ± 13 89 ± 7Conclusion:  The choice of animal model can make or break a project. The researcher should consider availability, homogeneity, cooperativeness and cost of the animal, together with correlation of the histological pattern of injury with humans, when choosing. On balance, pigs are more effort, but reward the researcher with better results, using fewer animals.