Blood metabolic and physiological profiles of Bama miniature pigs at different growth stages

BACKGROUND: Bama miniature pigs aged between six (6 M) and twelve months (12 M) are usually used in human medical research as laboratory pigs. However, the difference in serum metabolic profiles from 6 to 12 M-old pigs remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the metabolic and physiological profiles present in the blood to further explain changes in Bama miniature pig growth. We collected blood samples from 6 M-, eight-month- (8 M-), ten-month- (10 M-), and 12 M-old healthy Guangxi Bama miniature pigs. A total of 20 blood physiological indices (BPIs) were measured: seven for white blood cells, eight for red blood cells, and five for platelet indices. Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry-based non-targeted metabolomic approaches were used to analyze the difference in metabolites. The associations between the differences were calculated using Spearman correlations with Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment. The 100 most abundant differential metabolites were selected for analysis of their metabolic profiles. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in BPIs at different ages, but the mid cell ratio and red blood cell number increased with age. Seven BPIs in Bama miniature pigs were closer to human BPIs than to mouse BPIs. A total of 14 and 25 significant differential metabolites were identified in 6 M vs. 12 M and 8 M vs. 12 M, respectively. In total, 9 and 18 amino acids and their derivatives showed significantly lower concentrations in 6 M- and 8 M-old pigs than in 12 M-old pigs. They were identified as the core significantly different metabolites between the age groups 6 M vs. 12 M and 8 M vs. 12 M. Half of the enriched pathways were the amino acids metabolism pathways. The concentration of six amino acids (dl-tryptophan, phenylacetylglycine, muramic acid, N-acetylornithine, l(−)-pipecolinic acid, and creatine) and their derivatives increased with age. A total of 61 of the top 100 most abundant metabolites were annotated. The metabolic profiles contained 14 amino acids and derivatives, six bile acids and derivatives, 19 fatty acids and derivatives, and 22 others. The concentrations of fatty acids and derivatives were found to be inversely proportional to those of amino acids and derivatives. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest high levels of MID cell ratio, red blood count, and amino acids in 12 M-old pigs as indicators for improved body function over time in Bama miniature pigs, similar to those in human development. This makes the pig a more suitable medical model organism than the mouse. The results of this study are limited to the characteristics of blood metabolism in the inbred Bama miniature pigs, and the effects of impacting factors such as breed, age, sex, health status and nutritional level should be considered when studying other pig populations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40813-022-00278-7.