Plasma homocysteine concentrations in novel microminipigs.

A novel microminipig has been recently developed for use in biomedical research. In the present study, age- and sex-related differences, as well as 24-h fluctuations in plasma total homocysteine concentrations (tHcy), were investigated in these microminipigs. tHcy (mean±SD) was 10.2±3.4 μM and significantly correlated with age. By contrast, neither the differences in tHcy between sexes nor the 24-h fluctuations in tHcy after feeding were significant. The kinetics of plasma tHcy after intravenous injection of reduced Hcy showed that its levels peaked within 5 min post-injection, as did the levels of tHcy. These results suggested that reduced Hcy is rapidly oxidized or metabolized. The half-lives of reduced Hcy, tHcy, and reduced cysteine in the blood were 47, 71, and 141 min, respectively. In conclusion, there was a significantly positive correlation between age and plasma tHcy in microminipigs. After intravenous injection of reduced Hcy, plasma tHcy quickly returned to pre-injection levels.