title: A 90-day subchronic study of rats fed lean pork from genetically modified pigs with muscle-specific expression of recombinant follistatin.
abstract: Because cardiovascular disease incidence has rapidly increased in recent years, people are choosing relatively healthier diets with low animal fat. A transgenic pig with low fat and a high percentage of lean meat was created in 2011; this pig overexpresses the follistatin (FST) gene. To evaluate the safety of lean pork derived from genetically modified (GM) pigs, a subchronic oral toxicity study was conducted using Sprague-Dawley rats. GM pork and non-GM pork were incorporated into the diet at levels of 3.75%, 7.5%, and 15% (w/w), and the main nutrients of the various diets were subsequently balanced. The safety of GM pork was assessed by comparison of the toxicology response variables in Sprague-Dawley rats consuming diets containing GM pork with those consuming non-GM pork. No treatment-related adverse or toxic effects were observed based on an examination of the daily clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, hematology, serum biochemistry, and organ weight or based on gross and histopathological examination. The results demonstrate that GM pork is as safe for consumption as conventional pork.
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Shiying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China; The Supervision, Inspection and Testing Center of Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: College of Biological Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China; The Supervision, Inspection and Testing Center of Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Wentao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: The Supervision, Inspection and Testing Center of Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100083, China.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China; The Supervision, Inspection and Testing Center of Genetically Modified Organisms, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, 100083, China. Electronic address: hkl009@163.com.
authors.forename: Kunlun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D038681:Follistatin / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D000069466:Red Meat; D013552:Swine / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D059550:Toxicity Tests, Subchronic / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D038681:Follistatin; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: 90-Day feeding study; Genetically modified pig; Pork; Safety assessment