Zhang Rong, Long Jia-Li, Ye Yi-Fan, Ye Hao-Yun, Zhao Xiao-Nan, Cai Xing, Lu Li
State Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution & Animal Models, and Key Laboratory of Animal Models & Human Disease Mechanisms of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650201, China.
National Resource Center for Non-Human Primates, Kunming Primate Research Center, and National Research Facility for Phenotypic & Genetic Analysis of Model Animals (Primate Facility), Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650107, China.
Zool Res. 2025 Jul 18;46(4):893-911. doi: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2025.095.
The Chinese tree shrew has gained prominence as a model organism due to its phylogenetic proximity to primates, offering distinct advantages over traditional rodent models in biomedical research. However, the neuroanatomy of this species remains insufficiently defined, limiting its utility in neurophysiological and neuropathological studies. In this study, immunofluorescence microscopy was employed to comprehensively map the distribution of three calcium-binding proteins, parvalbumin, calbindin D-28k, and calretinin, across the tree shrew cerebrum. Serial brain sections in sagittal, coronal, and horizontal planes from 12 individuals generated a dataset of 3 638 cellular-resolution images. This dataset, accessible via Science Data Bank (https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.23471), provides detailed region- and laminar-selective distributions of calcium-binding proteins valuable for the cyto- and chemoarchitectural characterization of the tree shrew cerebrum. This resource will not only advance our understanding of brain organization and facilitate basic and translational neuroscience research in tree shrews but also enhance comparative and evolutionary analyses across species.
中国树鼩作为一种模式生物已崭露头角，因其在系统发育上与灵长类动物接近，在生物医学研究中比传统啮齿动物模型具有明显优势。然而，该物种的神经解剖结构仍未得到充分界定，限制了其在神经生理学和神经病理学研究中的应用。在本研究中，采用免疫荧光显微镜对三种钙结合蛋白——小白蛋白、钙结合蛋白D - 28k和钙视网膜蛋白——在树鼩大脑中的分布进行了全面测绘。从12只个体获取的矢状面、冠状面和水平面的连续脑切片生成了一个包含3638张细胞分辨率图像的数据集。该数据集可通过科学数据银行（https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.23471）获取，提供了钙结合蛋白详细的区域和层状选择性分布情况，这对于树鼩大脑的细胞结构和化学结构特征描述具有重要价值。这一资源不仅将增进我们对大脑组织的理解，促进树鼩的基础和转化神经科学研究，还将加强跨物种的比较和进化分析。
