PURPOSE We demonstrated that eyes of young animals of various species (chick, tree shrew, marmoset, and rhesus macaque) can shorten in the axial dimension in response to myopic defocus. METHODS Chicks wore positive or negative lenses over one eye for 3 days. Tree shrews were measured during recovery from induced myopia after 5 days of monocular deprivation for 1 to 9 days. Marmosets were meas...

The function of the RIG-I-like receptors (RLRs; including RIG-I, MDA5, and LGP2) as key cytoplasmic sensors of viral pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) has been subjected to numerous pathogenic challenges and has undergone a dynamic evolution. We found evolutionary evidence that RIG-I was lost in the Chinese tree shrew lineage. Along with the loss of RIG-I, both MDA5 (tMDA5) and LGP...

The Isthmus of Kra in Southern Thailand consists of a lowland of about 70 km in length. It has been suggested that the Isthmus may sink beneath the sea surface according to the change of level of the sea, and may function as a zoogeographical barrier in land mammals in this region. So, the geographical variation was osteometrically examined in skull of the common tree shrew (Tupaia glis) from t...

1 2 Neural response dynamics of spiking and local field potential activity depend on CRT 3 monitor refresh-rate in the tree shrew primary visual cortex 4 5 Julia Veit, Anwesha Bhattacharyya, Robert Kretz, Gregor Rainer* 6 7 1 Visual Cognition Laboratory, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 5, 1700 8 Fribourg, Switzerland 9 2 Division of Anatomy, University of Fribour...

Neuropeptides are critical signaling molecules, involved in the regulation of diverse physiological processes including energy metabolism, pain perception and brain cognitive state. Prolonged general anesthesia has an impact on many of these processes, but the regulation of peptides by general anesthetics is poorly understood. In this study, we present an in-depth characterization of the hypoth...

The retina of the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) is heavily cone dominated, rods comprising less than 4% of the total photoreceptors. Spectral mechanisms and color vision were investigated in this species in both behavioral and electrophysiological experiments. In confirmation of an earlier investigation, the tree shrew was found to have a clear spectral neutral point (at ca 505 nm) and is thus ...

In the tree shrew retina individual rod and cone photoreceptors can be readily identified and quantified because their perikarya are arranged in a single layer. This retina is therefore an ideal system for testing the specificity of photoreceptor-directed antibodies. Here we describe the staining properties of polyclonal antibodies against (rhod)opsin and retinal S-antigen in the tree shrew ret...

Pathogenic viruses can harm acutely the life and health of laboratory tree shrews acutely; however, few papers exist regarding natural pathogenic virus infection in this species. Six fecal samples obtained from dead tree shrews were collected. The fecal supernatant infected Vero cell line resulted in cytopathic effects (CPE) after 72 h. The CPE included granulating, shrinking, rounding, seining...

The striatum is a major component of the basal ganglia and is associated with motor and cognitive functions. Striatal pathologies have been linked to several disorders, including Huntington's, Tourette's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and schizophrenia. For the study of these striatal pathologies different animal models have been used, including rodents and non-human primates. Rodent...