Using guinea pigs for biomedical research

Abstract

Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) belongs to the detachment of rodents, the family of guinea pigs (Cawiidae). For the first time guinea pigs were domesticated in South America, then were distributed around the world as pets. Since the 18th century, pigs have become widely used for scientific research in various fields. Today, guinea pig is used as a model for many human infectious diseases, including pulmonary, genital, ocular, auditory, gastrointestinal and other infections that can threaten the lives of people and animals. The advantage of using guinea pigs as a test system among a number of other laboratory animals is their similarity with humans to external signs of manifestation of one or another pathology and the development of an immune response. Guinea pigs are often used in studies evaluating reproductive toxicity, contact hypersensitivity or dermatitis. The peculiarities of the structure of the respiratory tract of guinea pig make these animals a good model for studying respiratory diseases. Functionally, the respiratory tract of guinea pig is sufficiently reactive for some inhaled compounds. Guinea pigs can be an alternative to ferrets in the modeling of infectious diseases. Choosing the right biological test system for research is the key to obtaining quality and reliable results already at the initial stages. In turn, species diversity in preclinical studies enables the researcher to select an adequate model for studying a particular pathology.