Gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome in Göttingen minipigs (Sus scrofa domestica).

In the absence of supportive care, exposing Gottingen minipigs to γ-radiation doses of less than 2 Gy achieves lethality due to hematopoietic acute radiation syndrome. Doses of 2 to 5 Gy are associated with an accelerated hematopoietic syndrome, characterized by villus blunting and fusion, the beginning of sepsis, and a mild transient reduction in plasma citrulline concentration. We exposed male Gottingen minipigs (age, 5 mo; weight, 9 to 11 kg) to γ-radiation doses of 5 to 12 Gy (total body; 60Co, 0.6 Gy/min) to test whether these animals exhibit classic gastrointestinal acute radiation syndrome (GI-ARS). After exposure, the minipigs were monitored for 10 d by using clinical signs, CBC counts, and parameters associated with the development of the gastrointestinal syndrome. Gottingen minipigs exposed to γ radiation of 5 to 12 Gy demonstrate a dose-dependent occurrence of all parameters classically associated with acute GI-ARS. These results suggest that Gottingen minipigs may be a suitable model for studying GI-ARS after total body irradiation, but the use of supportive care to extend survival beyond 10 d is recommended. This study is the first step toward determining the feasibility of using Gottingen minipigs in testing the efficacy of candidate drugs for the treatment of GI-ARS after total body irradiation.