Variability of hematological parameters and establishment of their reference intervals in preclinical studies. Part 3: minipigs

The report continues a series of articles, the main purpose of which is to establish the reference intervals of the indicators of the general blood test most often used in preclinical studies of laboratory animals. This work is the third part of the cycle and focuses on minipigs. The age and weight of the animals corresponded to puberty — 2–2.5 years, 35–40 kg. The study included males and non-pregnant unborn females, without taking into account the phase of the menstrual cycle. The study was conducted using data obtained from intact animals in 2024 at research and manufacturing company “Home оf Pharmacy”. The analytical part of the study included two stages: at the first stage, blood parameters were evaluated using a hematological analyzer, at the second — the calculation of the leukocyte formula by microscopy. During the analysis of whole blood of animals on a hematological analyzer, the values of the parameters were determined: the total number of erythrocytes, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, average volume of erythrocytes, average hemoglobin content in erythrocytes, average hemoglobin concentration in erythrocytes, total platelets, total leukocytes, as well as the number of lymphocytes and granulocytes. During the microscopic analysis, the following indicators were determined: the content of rod-shaped and segmented neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, basophils, lymphocytes and reticulocytes. The obtained intervals were compared with literary sources and human-specific values. The calculated ranges of concentrations of the average volume of erythrocytes, the average hemoglobin content in erythrocytes, the number of platelets and reticulocytes turned out to be already literary values, and the ranges of concentrations of hemoglobin, the average concentration of hemoglobin in erythrocytes and the total number of leukocytes were wider than literary analogues. Minipigs, unlike humans, have a higher concentration of erythrocytes, an average concentration of hemoglobin in erythrocytes, the number of platelets, lymphocytes and the total number of leukocytes, and a lower mean of the average volume of erythrocytes, the average hemoglobin content in erythrocytes, the number of neutrophils and eosinophils is also observed. The new calculated reference ranges can be useful as in preclinical and veterinary routine practice for monitoring the health status of minipigs.