Transcriptomics Analysis of Porcine Caudal Dorsal Root Ganglia in Tail Amputated Pigs Shows Long-Term Effects on Many Pain-Associated Genes

Scientific and technical assistance on welfare aspects related to housing and health of cats and dogs in commercial breeding establishments

This Scientific Report addresses a mandate from the European Commission according to Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 on the welfare of cats and dogs in commercial breeding establishments kept for sport, hunting and companion purposes. The aim was to scrutinise recent recommendations made by the EU Platform on Animal Welfare Voluntary Initiative on measures to assist the preparation of policy options for the legal framework of commercial breeding of cats and dogs. Specifically, the main question addressed was if there is scientific evidence to support the measures for protection of cats and dogs in commercial breeding related to housing, health considerations and painful procedures. Three judgements were carried out based on scientific literature reviews and, where possible a review of national regulations. The first judgement addressed housing and included: type of accommodation, outdoor access, exercise, social behaviour, housing temperature and light requirements. The second judgement addressed health and included: age at first and last breeding, and breeding frequency. Judgement 3 addressed painful procedures (mutilations or convenience surgeries) and included: ear cropping, tail docking and vocal cord resections in dogs and declawing in cats. For each of these judgements, considerations were provided indicating where scientific literature is available to support recommendations on providing or avoiding specific housing, health or painful surgical interventions. Areas where evidence is lacking are indicated.

Novel saliva biomarkers for stress and infection in pigs: Changes in oxytocin and procalcitonin in pigs with tail-biting lesions

There is a need for feasible and reliable measures to improve and evaluate production animal health and welfare. Oxytocin is a promising novel stress-related biomarker and procalcitonin may be a measure of sepsis. Both have potential for use in pigs and can be measured from saliva, which allows on-farm sampling with minimal impact on the animals. The current study sought to further validate these measures using a spontaneous situation that causes both stress and an increased risk for infections in pigs, namely a tail-biting outbreak. Grower pigs on a commercial farm belonging to three different phenotype groups were selected: control pigs from control pens (CC, N = 30), control pigs (CTB, N = 10), and pigs with tail lesions from pens with a tail-biting outbreak (LTB, N = 27). A single sample of saliva was collected from each pig and analysed for a range of biomarkers related to stress, infection, inflammation, and immune activation. Oxytocin tended to be higher in CC pigs than in LTB pigs, while cortisol was higher in CTB than CC pigs. Procalcitonin tended to be higher, and haptoglobin was higher in LTB than in CC pigs. Adenosine-deaminase levels were similar between phenotypes. These results provide further evidence for the link between stress and tail biting, and indicate that tail-biting lesions are potential routes for systemic spread of bacteria. Further research into saliva oxytocin as a stress biomarker and saliva procalcitonin as a sepsis biomarker in pigs is warranted.

Morphological and phenotypical characteristics of porcine satellite glial cells of the dorsal root ganglia

Satellite glial cells (SGCs) of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) ensure homeostasis and proportional excitability of sensory neurons and gained interest in the field of development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. Pigs represent a suitable species for translational medicine with a more similar anatomy and physiology to humans compared to rodents, and are used in research regarding treatment of neuropathic pain. Knowledge of anatomical and physiological features of porcine SGCs is prerequisite for interpreting potential alterations. However, state of knowledge is still limited. In the present study, light microscopy, ultrastructural analysis and immunofluorescence staining was performed. SGCs tightly surround DRG neurons with little vascularized connective tissue between SGC-neuron units, containing, among others, axons and Schwann cells. DRG were mainly composed of large sized neurons (∼59%), accompanied by fewer medium sized (∼36%) and small sized sensory neurons (∼6%). An increase of neuronal body size was concomitant with an increased number of surrounding SGCs. The majority of porcine SGCs expressed glutamine synthetase and inwardly rectifying potassium channel Kir 4.1, known as SGC-specific markers in other species. Similar to canine SGCs, marked numbers of porcine SGCs were immunopositive for glial fibrillary acidic protein, 2',3'-cyclic-nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase and the transcription factor Sox2. Low to moderate numbers of SGCs showed aquaporin 4-immunoreactivity (AQP4) as described for murine SGCs. AQP4-immunoreactivity was primarily found in SGCs ensheathing small and medium sized neuronal somata. Low numbers of SGCs were immunopositive for ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1, indicating a potential immune cell character. No immunoreactivity for common leukocyte antigen CD45 nor neural/glial antigen 2 was detected. The present study provides essential insights into the characteristic features of non-activated porcine SGCs, contributing to a better understanding of this cell population and its functional aspects. This will help to interpret possible changes that might occur under activating conditions such as pain.

The Neuroimmune Interface and Chronic Pain Through the Lens of Production Animals

Communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the immune system has gained much attention for its fundamental role in the development of chronic and pathological pain in humans and rodent models. Following peripheral nerve injury, neuroimmune signaling within the CNS plays an important role in the pathophysiological changes in pain sensitivity that lead to chronic pain. In production animals, routine husbandry procedures such as tail docking and castration, often involve some degree of inflammation and peripheral nerve injury and consequently may lead to chronic pain. Our understanding of chronic pain in animals is limited by the difficulty in measuring this pathological pain state. In light of this, we have reviewed the current understanding of chronic pain in production animals. We discuss our ability to measure pain and the implications this has on animal welfare and production outcomes. Further research into the neuroimmune interface in production animals will improve our fundamental understanding of chronic pain and better inform human clinical pain management and animal husbandry practices and interventions.

Impact of Routine Management Procedures on the Welfare of Suckling Piglets

Piglets often undergo several painful treatments during the initial days of their lives. In this review, we investigate the acute (i.e., immediate), short-, and long-term implications of piglet processing on behavioral, physiological, clinical, and performance parameters, and how welfare impairments depend on performance instead of sham procedure, alternative techniques, or the age of the piglets. Welfare indicators that have been used to determine the least distressing procedures and knowledge gaps with regard to the procedures are identified and discussed. Tail docking and especially piglet castration have been the most researched topics, whereas marking for identification has been rarely addressed. Few or no studies have investigated the effects of teeth resection and tail docking on piglets of different age groups. Additionally, results are often found to be inconsistent, highlighting the need for additional research to determine the optimal age for processing. Studies comparing different processing techniques have produced contradictory results, but ear notching, teeth clipping, hot cautery tail docking, and tearing during castration have been determined to result in increased pain. Generally, a shorter procedure duration can reduce stress, with operator training having a distinct impact on piglet welfare during processing. As such, these topics should be further investigated.

Early Life Painful Procedures: Long-Term Consequences and Implications for Farm Animal Welfare

Farm animals routinely undergo painful husbandry procedures early in life, including disbudding and castration in calves and goat kids, tail docking and castration in piglets and lambs, and beak trimming in chicks. In rodents, inflammatory events soon after birth, when physiological systems are developing and sensitive to perturbation, can profoundly alter phenotypic outcomes later in life. This review summarizes the current state of research on long-term phenotypic consequences of neonatal painful procedures in rodents and farm animals, and discusses the implications for farm animal welfare. Rodents exposed to early life inflammation show a hypo-/hyper-responsive profile to pain-, fear-, and anxiety-inducing stimuli, manifesting as an initial attenuation in responses that transitions into hyperresponsivity with increasing age or cumulative stress. Neonatal inflammation also predisposes rodents to cognitive, social, and reproductive deficits, and there is some evidence that adverse effects may be passed to offspring. The outcomes of neonatal inflammation are modulated by injury etiology, age at the time of injury and time of testing, sex, pain management, and rearing environment. Equivalent research examining long-term phenotypic consequences of early life painful procedures in farm animals is greatly lacking, despite obvious implications for welfare and performance. Improved understanding of how these procedures shape phenotypes will inform efforts to mitigate negative outcomes through reduction, replacement, and refinement of current practices.

Comparative effects of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at castration and tail-docking in neonatal piglets

This study assessed the efficacy of meloxicam, flunixin, and ketoprofen in piglets undergoing routine castration and tail-docking. Six-day-old male piglets (8/group) received one of five randomized treatments: intramuscular saline (SAL PROC), meloxicam (MEL; 0.4 mg/kg), flunixin (FLU; 2.2 mg/kg), ketoprofen (KETO; 3.0 mg/kg) or sham (SAL SHAM; saline injection, no processing). Two hours post-dose, piglets were castrated and tail-docked. Plasma cortisol, interstitial fluid (ISF) prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and activity levels via Actical® monitoring were used to estimate pain. SAL SHAM and FLU exhibited lower cortisol concentrations than SAL PROC at the time of processing (p = 0.003 and p = 0.049, respectively), and all NSAIDs exhibited lower PGE2 than SAL PROC at 3.69 hours (MEL p = 0.050; FLU p = 0.043 and KETO p = 0.031). While not statistically significant, PGE2 was higher in SAL PROC piglets vs. other treatment groups at most time points. There was also a high degree of variability between piglets, especially for SAL PROC. Activity levels were significantly decreased at multiple time points in SAL PROC and MEL piglets following processing. However, FLU and KETO piglets had increased activity levels closer to that of the SAL SHAM group, suggesting that these NSAIDs are more effective than MEL in providing analgesia. These results demonstrate that management strategies including administration of intramuscular flunixin or ketoprofen to reduce pain associated with processing will likely improve piglet health and welfare in the United States.

A systematic review of porcine models in translational pain research

Translating basic pain research from rodents to humans has proven to be a challenging task. Efforts have been made to develop preclinical large animal models of pain, such as the pig. However, no consistent overview and comparison of pig models of pain are currently available. Therefore, in this review, our primary aim was to identify the available pig models in pain research and compare these models in terms of intensity and duration. First, we systematically searched Proquest, Scopus and Web of Science and compared the duration for which the pigs were significantly sensitized as well as the intensity of mechanical sensitization. We searched models within the specific field of pain and adjacent fields in which pain induction or assessment is relevant, such as pig production. Second, we compared assessment methodologies in surrogate pain models in humans and pigs to identify areas of overlap and possible improvement. Based on the literature search, 23 types of porcine pain models were identified; 13 of which could be compared quantitatively. The induced sensitization lasted from hours to months and intensities ranged from insignificant to the maximum attainable. We also found a near to complete overlap of assessment methodologies between human and pig models within the area of peripheral neurophysiology, which allows for direct comparison of results obtained in the two species. In spite of this overlap, further development of pain assessment methodologies is still needed. We suggest that central nervous system electrophysiology, such as electroencephalography, electrocorticography or intracortical recordings, may pave the way for future objective pain assessment.

Analgesia for Sheep in Commercial Production: Where to Next?

Simple Summary

Increasing societal and customer pressure to provide animals with ‘a life worth living’ continues to apply pressure on industry to alleviate pain associated with husbandry practices, injury and illness. Although a number of analgesic solutions are now available for sheep, providing some amelioration of the acute pain responses, this review has highlighted a number of potential areas for further research.

Abstract

Increasing societal and customer pressure to provide animals with ‘a life worth living’ continues to apply pressure on livestock production industries to alleviate pain associated with husbandry practices, injury and illness. Over the past 15–20 years, there has been considerable research effort to understand and develop mitigation strategies for painful husbandry procedures in sheep, leading to the successful launch of analgesic approaches specific to sheep in a number of countries. However, even with multi-modal approaches to analgesia, using both local anaesthetic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), pain is not obliterated, and the challenge of pain mitigation and phasing out of painful husbandry practices remains. It is timely to review and reflect on progress to date in order to strategically focus on the most important challenges, and the avenues which offer the greatest potential to be incorporated into industry practice in a process of continuous improvement. A structured, systematic literature search was carried out, incorporating peer-reviewed scientific literature in the period 2000–2019. An enormous volume of research is underway, testament to the fact that we have not solved the pain and analgesia challenge for any species, including our own. This review has highlighted a number of potential areas for further research.

Omics Application in Animal Science-A Special Emphasis on Stress Response and Damaging Behaviour in Pigs

Increasing stress resilience of livestock is important for ethical and profitable meat and dairy production. Susceptibility to stress can entail damaging behaviours, a common problem in pig production. Breeding animals with increased stress resilience is difficult for various reasons. First, studies on neuroendocrine and behavioural stress responses in farm animals are scarce, as it is difficult to record adequate phenotypes under field conditions. Second, damaging behaviours and stress susceptibility are complex traits, and their biology is not yet well understood. Dissecting complex traits into biologically better defined, heritable and easily measurable proxy traits and developing biomarkers will facilitate recording these traits in large numbers. High-throughput molecular technologies (“omics”) study the entirety of molecules and their interactions in a single analysis step. They can help to decipher the contributions of different physiological systems and identify candidate molecules that are representative of different physiological pathways. Here, we provide a general overview of different omics approaches and we give examples of how these techniques could be applied to discover biomarkers. We discuss the genetic dissection of the stress response by different omics techniques and we provide examples and outline potential applications of omics tools to understand and prevent outbreaks of damaging behaviours.

Peripheral mechanisms of arthritic pain: A proposal to leverage large animals for in vitro studies

Pain arising from musculoskeletal disorders such as arthritis is one of the leading causes of disability. Whereas the past 20-years has seen an increase in targeted therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), other arthritis conditions, especially osteoarthritis, remain poorly treated. Although modulation of central pain pathways occurs in chronic arthritis, multiple lines of evidence indicate that peripherally driven pain is important in arthritic pain. To understand the peripheral mechanisms of arthritic pain, various in vitro and in vivo models have been developed, largely in rodents. Although rodent models provide numerous advantages for studying arthritis pathogenesis and treatment, the anatomy and biomechanics of rodent joints differ considerably to those of humans. By contrast, the anatomy and biomechanics of joints in larger animals, such as dogs, show greater similarity to human joints and thus studying them can provide novel insight for arthritis research. The purpose of this article is firstly to review models of arthritis and behavioral outcomes commonly used in large animals. Secondly, we review the existing in vitro models and assays used to study arthritic pain, primarily in rodents, and discuss the potential for adopting these strategies, as well as likely limitations, in large animals. We believe that exploring peripheral mechanisms of arthritic pain in vitro in large animals has the potential to reduce the veterinary burden of arthritis in commonly afflicted species like dogs, as well as to improve translatability of pain research into the clinic.

A video protocol for rapid dissection of mouse dorsal root ganglia from defined spinal levels

OBJECTIVE

Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) are heterogeneous assemblies of assorted sensory neuron cell bodies found in bilateral pairs at every level of the spinal column. Pseudounipolar afferent neurons convert external stimuli from the environment into electrical signals that are retrogradely transmitted to the spinal cord dorsal horn. To do this, they extend single axons from their DRG-resident somas that then bifurcate and project both centrally and distally. DRG can be dissected from mice at embryonic stages and any age post-natally, and have been extensively used to study sensory neuron development and function, response to injury, and pathological processes in acquired and genetic diseases. We have previously published a step-by-step dissection method for the rapid isolation of post-natal mouse DRG. Here, the objective is to extend the protocol by providing training videos that showcase the dissection in fine detail and permit the extraction of ganglia from defined spinal levels.

RESULTS

By following this method, the reader will be able to swiftly and accurately isolate specific lumbar, thoracic, and cervical DRG from mice. Dissected ganglia can then be used for RNA/protein analyses, subjected to immunohistochemical examination, and cultured as explants or dissociated primary neurons, for in-depth investigations of sensory neuron biology.

Early Neonatal Pain-A Review of Clinical and Experimental Implications on Painful Conditions Later in Life

Modern health care has brought our society innumerable benefits but has also introduced the experience of pain very early in life. For example, it is now routine care for newborns to receive various injections or have blood drawn within 24 h of life. For infants who are sick or premature, the pain experiences inherent in the required medical care are frequent and often severe, with neonates requiring intensive care admission encountering approximately fourteen painful procedures daily in the hospital. Given that much of the world has seen a steady increase in preterm births for the last several decades, an ever-growing number of babies experience multiple painful events before even leaving the hospital. These noxious events occur during a critical period of neurodevelopment when the nervous system is very vulnerable due to immaturity and neuroplasticity. Here, we provide a narrative review of the literature pertaining to the idea that early life pain has significant long-term effects on neurosensory, cognition, behavior, pain processing, and health outcomes that persist into childhood and even adulthood. We refer to clinical and pre-clinical studies investigating how early life pain impacts acute pain later in life, focusing on animal model correlates that have been used to better understand this relationship. Current knowledge around the proposed underlying mechanisms responsible for the long-lasting consequences of neonatal pain, its neurobiological and behavioral effects, and its influence on later pain states are discussed. We conclude by highlighting that another important consequence of early life pain may be the impact it has on later chronic pain states-an area of research that has received little attention.