Table 2.

Advantages and drawbacks on utility of pigs as biomedical models for intestinal IEL research.

Advantages
- Human intestinal physiology, nutrition, and microbiota more similar to pigs than mice (188–194) - Proportions of γδTCR T-IELs, CD8αβ+ αβTCR T-IELs, and CD8αα+ αβTCR T-IELs in human intestine more similar to pigs than mice (1, 7, 25, 29, 66, 67, 195–197) - Transcriptional similarities between human and porcine intestinal immune and epithelial cells identified via high-resolution transcriptomics (57, 198–200) - Biomedical applications using pig models have cross-utility to improve pig health and global food security
Drawbacks
- Lack of placental transfer in pigs but not humans or mice may alter intestinal development/IEL maturation trajectories (42) - CD4 αβTCR T-IELs present in humans and mice but are absent/rare in pigs (7, 25, 76–80, 195–197, 201) - Immunoreagent toolbox more limited in pigs than mice and humans

IEL, intraepithelial lymphocyte; T-IEL, intraepithelial T lymphocyte; TCR, T cell receptor.