Multi-Tissue RNA-Seq Analysis in Mini Pigs: Body Size and Tissue-Specific Comparisons

This study utilized RNA-seq data to comprehensively analyze the transcriptome across five tissues (heart, liver, kidney, back fat, and loin) of minipigs. As the demand for organ transplantation continues to rise, xenotransplantation has gained significant attention as a promising solution to address the critical shortage of organ donors. Minipigs are considered a highly promising animal model for xenotransplantation research due to their remarkable physiological and anatomical similarities to humans. To evaluate the potential of minipigs, this study identified tissue-specific genes and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to body size, offering an in-depth exploration of their transcriptomic characteristics. The findings revealed that tissue-specific genes such as MYH7B in the heart and ITIH4 in the liver play pivotal roles in physiological and pathological processes. Additionally, DEGs associated with body size, such as DES in the heart and NRAP in the loin, provided valuable insights into the relationship between organ size and functionality. Notably, the expression patterns of immune-related genes such as IFI30, NCK2, NFKB1, and SOS2 demonstrated that minipigs exhibit a greater similarity to humans than to conventional pigs, highlighting their potential as an indispensable model for xenotransplantation and biomedical research.