Chemokines are small secreted proteins functionally involved in the immune system's regulation of lymphocyte migration across numerous mammalian species. Given its growing popularity in immunological models, we investigated the structure and function of chemokine CXCL12 protein in tree shrews. We found that CXCL12 and its receptor CXCR4 in tree shrew had structural similarities to their homolog...

The bicolored shrew Crocidura leucodon so far has not been reported in Hamburg with certainty. Some plausible historical records before 1920 are present; turn, two more recent doubtful for different reasons. Hence, the Red List status of species to be considered uncertain (either present, or extinct). A citizen scientist provided a specimen an unknown shrew, accidental catch by snap trap, Centr...

The tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) is a small mammal with a close relationship to primates and it has been proposed as an alternative experimental animal to primates in biomedical research. The recent release of a high-quality Chinese tree shrew genome enables more researchers to use this species as the model animal in their studies. With the aim to making the access to an extensively annotated ...

The discovery of new drugs requires the development of improved animal models for drug testing. The Chinese tree shrew is considered to be a realistic candidate model. To assess the potential of the Chinese tree shrew for pharmacological testing, we performed drug target prediction and analysis on genomic and transcriptomic scales. Using our pipeline, 3,482 proteins were predicted to be drug ta...

Tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) is currently placed in Order Scandentia and has a wide distribution in Southeast Asia and Southwest China. Due to its unique characteristics, such as small body size, high brain-to-body mass ratio, short reproductive cycle and life span, and low-cost of maintenance, tree shrew has been proposed to be an alternative experimental animal to primates in biomedical rese...

To investigate the distribution, shape and stainability of the ACTH cells from human, baboon, monkey, cat, dog, rat, mouse, hamster, guinea pig, white-toothed shrew, house musk shrew and mole pituitaries, adjacent tissue sections were immunostained with anti-porcine ACTH1-39 serum and with PAS-ironhematoxylin respectively. Mammalian ACTH cells display two separate morphological appearances :1) ...

PURPOSE To investigate the role of scleral creep in the axial elongation of chick and tree shrew eyes with induced myopia. METHODS Form-deprivation myopia was induced with a diffusing occluder worn over one eye. Scleral samples from the posterior pole and equatorial regions of myopic, contralateral (control), and age-matched normal chick and tree shrew eyes were loaded in vitro with a force o...

Interleukin-7 (IL7) is a pleiotropic cytokine that is actively involved in the immune system. The Chinese tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) has been proposed as an alternative experimental animal to primates in biomedical research. However, there is a lack of biological knowledge about the immune system of the tree shrew. In this study, we cloned the IL7 gene (tIL7) in the Chinese tree sh...

The northern short-tailed shrew is rare among mammals for its ultrasonic clicks.

A Rich variety of anatomical and physiological specializations has enabled members of the family Talpidae (moles, shrew moles, and desmans) to exploit a diverse range of habitats: terrestrial, semi-aquatic, aquatic/fossorial, semi-fossorial, and fossorial. While numerous morphological and biochemical studies pertaining to the origin and radiation of the Talpidae have been completed, phylogeneti...