Main goal of Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity (LCRP) is biomedical research on miniature pig. Studies performed by using of miniature pig have been increasing interest of scientists from different research areas. Advantages of miniature pigs are relatively low costs, physiological similarities particular body tracts with humans and minimal ethical obstacles. Promising future of miniature pig belongs to modeling in area of neuroscience and cell therapy.

In 2009 due to thanks of huge financial and scientific support of CHDI Foundation (http://chdifoundation.org) and on the base of large international collaboration with top laboratories LCRP successfully created a transgenic model of minipig carrying N-terminal part of human mutated huntingtin (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25063429). At present LCRP dispose with several generations of these transgenes that are characterized by many Czech and foreign scientific teams.  Because of Huntington´s disease represents fatal neurodegenerative disease that is still incurable has the creation of this unique model important sense for basic research of pathological mechanisms as well as for successful preclinical testing new therapeutical approaches and drugs. In collaboration with CHDI Foundation and its partners and by using this TgHD model we plan to perform experiments for mutant huntingtin downregulation mediated by gene therapy.

Due to long-lasting collaboration of LCRP with prof. Martin Marsala´s laboratory from UCSD in San Diego (http://anesthesia.ucsd.edu/research/faculty-research/Pages/marsala.aspx), IEP SAS and INB SAS in Kosice (Slovakia) has been developed adjustable computer-controlled compression model of spinal cord injury in minipig (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Navarro%2C+SCI%2C+minipig), which clinically as well as histopathologically faithfully simulate spinal cord injury in men. This model is mainly used for preclinical experiments with newly established neural stem cell lines (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22889456; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20412634) and represents a critical point for next introduction of potential spinal cord injury therapy into the clinical practice.

LCRP also collaborate on research of gastrointestinal tract diseases with physicians from Military University Hospital Prague, Hořovice Hospital and Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine Prague. The aim of this collaboration is training of new and classical surgical techniques, the comparison their therapeutical effectiveness and introducing of new surgical approaches into clinical practice (NOTES – Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery, POEM – Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy, (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23073683, http://www.csgh.info/detail.php?stat=885, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22826620, http://www.csgh.info/detail.php?stat=883, http://www.csgh.info/detail.php?stat=884, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22509657, http://www.csgh.info/arch_detail.php?stat=524 http://www.csgh.info/arch_detail.php?stat=527, http://www.csgh.info/arch_detail.php?stat=543).

Members of LCRP have longstanding experiences with isolation, cultivation, differentiation and characterization of mesenchymal, epidermal and newly also retinal stem cells of minipig´s origin (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21401296, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19093745). In future retinal stem cells and newly synthesized synthetic membranes from IMC AS CR Prague tested in preclinical minipig´s experiments could represent one of the possible therapeutic approaches in AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration) therapy.

LCRP also take a share in organizing and conducting of practical courses for medics under patronage of private companies and hospitals, by which means graduates of medicine can improve their surgical skills, which consequently will apply in clinical practice.

Pigs and minipigs can serve our human beings by many different ways for example as source of food or as experimental animals in biomedical research. For all that belong to pigs as well as minipigs huge thanks from all us.

Grants and projects

• Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (2011-2014) TA01011466 (https://www.isvav.cz/projectDetail.do?rowId=TA01011466)
• Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovation (2012-2015) – project Experimental Animal Models (http://www.isvav.cz/projectDetail.do?rowId=ED2.1.00%2F03.0124)
• Project 7F - EEA/Norwegian Financial Mechanism (2008-2017) 7F14308 (http://www.isvav.cz/projectDetail.do;jsessionid=C13C66589C36AF01A69833BFDB41C7D?rowId=7F14308)
• Service Contract and Research Agreement (CHDI Foundation)