體細胞核移植（SCNT）技術產生的克隆豬新生兒死亡率很高。造成克隆豬幼年大量死亡的原因尚不清楚。

在本研究發現克隆豬的新生兒死亡與肝臟中關鍵嘌呤代謝調控基因Hprt1的下調，造成肝臟Hprt1表達降低，血清中嘌呤代謝物尿酸升高，造成腎臟形態及功能異常及形態和功能受損，導致新生克隆豬死亡

The pathophysiological changes associated with neonatal death of cloned pig

https://rep.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/rep/160/2/REP-20-0143.xml

Cloned pigs generated by the somatic cell transfer nuclear (SCNT) technique are highly valuable for agriculture, biomedicine, and life sciences. However, the neonatal mortality rate of cloned pigs is very high. The reasons causing the massive loss of cloned pigs during their neonatal ages are unclear. In the present study, we found that the neonatal death of cloned pigs was associated with aberrant purine metabolism, impaired renal morphology and function, and decreased hepatic Hprt1 expression. The downregulation of Hprt1, a key purine metabolism regulation gene, in the liver was responsible for the elevation of an important purine metabolite, uric acid, in the serum, causing abnormalities in kidney morphology and function and leading to death of neonatal cloned pigs. This study provided insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the neonatal death of clone pigs, and results will help improve their survival rate.