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Journal of Thoracic Oncology : Official... Jun 2022
Topics: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Saimiri; Sciuridae
PubMed: 35623672
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2022.04.002 -
British Medical Journal (Clinical... Nov 1984
Topics: 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine; Adult; Animals; Humans; Male; Mice; Parkinson Disease, Secondary; Pyridines; Saimiri; Selegiline; Substance-Related Disorders
PubMed: 6437573
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.289.6456.1401 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Sep 2021Clinical neuroscience research relying on animal models brought valuable translational insights into the function and pathologies of the human brain. The anatomical,... (Review)
Review
Clinical neuroscience research relying on animal models brought valuable translational insights into the function and pathologies of the human brain. The anatomical, physiological, and behavioural similarities between humans and mammals have prompted researchers to study cerebral mechanisms at different levels to develop and test new treatments. The vast majority of biomedical research uses rodent models, which are easily manipulable and have a broadly resembling organisation to the human nervous system but cannot satisfactorily mimic some disorders. For these disorders, macaque monkeys have been used as they have a more comparable central nervous system. Still, this research has been hampered by limitations, including high costs and reduced samples. This review argues that a squirrel monkey model might bridge the gap by complementing translational research from rodents, macaque, and humans. With the advent of promising new methods such as ultrasound imaging, tool miniaturisation, and a shift towards open science, the squirrel monkey model represents a window of opportunity that will potentially fuel new translational discoveries in the diagnosis and treatment of brain pathologies.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Neurosciences; Saimiri; Translational Research, Biomedical
PubMed: 34118293
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.06.006 -
Anatomical Record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) May 2020The claustrum (CLA) is a subcortical structure that is reciprocally and topographically connected with the cerebral cortex. The complexity of the cerebral cortex varies...
The claustrum (CLA) is a subcortical structure that is reciprocally and topographically connected with the cerebral cortex. The complexity of the cerebral cortex varies dramatically across mammals, raising the question of whether there might also be differences in CLA organization, circuitry, and function. Species variations in the shape of the CLA are well documented. Studies in multiple species have identified subsets of neurochemically distinct interneurons; some data suggest species variations in the nature, distribution, and numbers of different neurochemically identified neuronal types. We have studied the CLA in a smooth-brained primate, the squirrel monkey, using Nissl-stained sections and immunohistochemistry. We found that the shape of the CLA is different from that in other primates. We found several different neurochemically defined populations of neurons equally distributed throughout the CLA. Immunoreactivity to GAD and GABA receptors suggest that GABAergic interneurons provide widespread inhibitory input to CLA neurons. Immunoreactivity to glutamate transporters suggests widespread and overlapping excitatory input from cortical and possibly subcortical sources. Comparison of CLA organization in different species suggests that there may be major species differences both in the organization and in the functions of the CLA. Anat Rec, 303:1439-1454, 2020. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy.
Topics: Amino Acid Transport System X-AG; Animals; Calbindins; Claustrum; GABAergic Neurons; Immunohistochemistry; Interneurons; Neurons; Saimiri
PubMed: 31509339
DOI: 10.1002/ar.24253 -
ILAR Journal Dec 2017Substance use disorders (i.e., drug addiction) constitute a global and insidious public health issue. Preclinical biomedical research has been invaluable in elucidating... (Review)
Review
Substance use disorders (i.e., drug addiction) constitute a global and insidious public health issue. Preclinical biomedical research has been invaluable in elucidating the environmental, biological, and pharmacological determinants of drug abuse and in the process of developing innovative pharmacological and behavioral treatment strategies. For more than 70 years, nonhuman primates have been utilized as research subjects in biomedical research related to drug addiction. There are already several excellent published reviews highlighting species differences in both pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics between rodents and nonhuman primates in preclinical substance abuse research. Therefore, the aim of this review is to highlight three advantages of nonhuman primates as preclinical substance abuse research subjects. First, nonhuman primates offer technical advantages in experimental design compared to other laboratory animals that afford unique opportunities to promote preclinical-to-clinical translational research. Second, these technical advantages, coupled with the relatively long lifespan of nonhuman primates, allows for pairing longitudinal drug self-administration studies and noninvasive imaging technologies to elucidate the biological consequences of chronic drug exposure. Lastly, nonhuman primates offer advantages in the patterns of intravenous drug self-administration that have potential theoretical implications for both the neurobiological mechanisms of substance use disorder etiology and in the drug development process of pharmacotherapies for substance use disorders. We conclude with potential future research directions in which nonhuman primates would provide unique and valuable insights into the abuse of and addiction to novel psychoactive substances.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Disease Models, Animal; Humans; Macaca mulatta; Primates; Saimiri; Substance-Related Disorders; Translational Research, Biomedical
PubMed: 28531265
DOI: 10.1093/ilar/ilx014 -
Scientific Reports May 2020The genus Saimiri is a decades-long taxonomic and phylogenetic puzzle to which cytogenetics has contributed crucial data. All Saimiri species apparently have a diploid...
The genus Saimiri is a decades-long taxonomic and phylogenetic puzzle to which cytogenetics has contributed crucial data. All Saimiri species apparently have a diploid number of 2n = 44 but vary in the number of chromosome arms. Repetitive sequences such as satellite DNAs are potentially informative cytogenetic markers because they display high evolutionary rates. Our goal is to increase the pertinent karyological data by more fully characterizing satellite DNA sequences in the Saimiri genus. We were able to identify two abundant satellite DNAs, alpha (~340 bp) and CapA (~1,500 bp), from short-read clustering of sequencing datasets from S. boliviensis. The alpha sequences comprise about 1% and the CapA 2.2% of the S. boliviensis genome. We also mapped both satellite DNAs in S. boliviensis, S. sciureus, S. vanzolinii, and S. ustus. The alpha has high interspecific repeat homogeneity and was mapped to the centromeres of all analyzed species. CapA is associated with non-pericentromeric heterochromatin and its distribution varies among Saimiri species. We conclude that CapA genomic distribution and its pervasiveness across Platyrrhini makes it an attractive cytogenetic marker for Saimiri and other New World monkeys.
PubMed: 32385398
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64620-1 -
Theriogenology Aug 2016Differential phenotypic characteristics for taxonomic diagnosis purposes are well determined in the genus Saimiri (squirrel monkey). However, data on its reproductive...
Differential phenotypic characteristics for taxonomic diagnosis purposes are well determined in the genus Saimiri (squirrel monkey). However, data on its reproductive characteristics are lacking. Our aim was to determine testicular biometry and correlate with seminal analysis in captive (Saimiri collinsi) and free living (Saimiri vanzolinii, Saimiri cassiquiarensis, and Saimiri macrodon) squirrel monkeys. Testicular length, width, height, circumference, and volume were measured. Testicular biometry showed no differences between right and left testicles within the same species, as well as among species. Semen collected by electroejaculation was constituted of a liquid and coagulated fraction, or only one of them. No significant difference was observed between mean volumes of liquid (49.2 ± 68.9 μL: S. collinsi; 28.3 ± 59.8 μL: S. vanzolinii; 5 ± 7.1 μL: S. cassiquiarensis; and 0 μL: S. macrodon) and coagulated (65.4 ± 142.1 μL: S. collinsi; 125.8 ± 142.5 μL: S. vanzolinii; 175 ± 176.8 μL: S. cassiquiarensis; and 500 μL: S. macrodon) fractions within species or when each fraction was compared among the studied species. No correlation between testicular volume and seminal volume was observed when liquid (R = 0.31, S. collinsi; R = -0.69, S. vanzolinii) and coagulated (R = 0.32, S. collinsi; R = -0.37, S. vanzolinii) fractions were evaluated. No sufficient data were obtained for the other two species. Seminal quality was similar among species, and the most common defect was coiled tail. The method of electroejaculation yielded satisfactory results on these species, under field conditions.
Topics: Animals; Cell Membrane; Male; Saimiri; Semen; Species Specificity; Sperm Motility; Spermatozoa; Testis
PubMed: 27063055
DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.03.009 -
Cryobiology Jun 2016Germoplasm banking is an important tool for the preservation of genetic material from Neotropical primates in captivity, and from free living species, especially the...
Germoplasm banking is an important tool for the preservation of genetic material from Neotropical primates in captivity, and from free living species, especially the endangered ones like Saimiri vanzolinii (Black-headed squirrel monkey), a primate with a low incidence area (870 km(2) of floodplains) in the southern part of the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, Brazil. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to develop a sperm cryopreservation protocol comparing sperm cooling in presence (T1) and absence (T2) of egg yolk, and to test freezing protocols to preserve semen from captive (Saimiri collinsi), and free-living (Saimiri vanzolinii, Saimiri cassiquiarensis and Saimiri macrodon) New World primates. Cooling preserved sperm of S. collinsi in all evaluated microscopic parameters, except for sperm motility. No differences were observed among the treatments, indicating that semen of this species can be cooled without egg yolk. Freezing did not affect sperm quality of S. collinsi, except plasma membrane integrity that was negatively affected. Generally, a good maintenance rate was observed between cooling and thawing of semen for the four species, showing the positive translational application of protocols from S. collinsi to the free-living species. Developed freezing protocol proved to be useful for sperm cryopreservation of S. collinsi and in field conditions.
Topics: Animals; Cell Membrane; Cryopreservation; Egg Yolk; Endangered Species; Freezing; Male; Saimiri; Semen; Semen Preservation; Sperm Motility; Spermatozoa
PubMed: 26994833
DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2016.03.004 -
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution Jan 2015The squirrel monkey, Saimiri, is a pan-Amazonian Pleistocene radiation. We use statistical phylogeographic methods to create a mitochondrial DNA-based timetree for 118...
The squirrel monkey, Saimiri, is a pan-Amazonian Pleistocene radiation. We use statistical phylogeographic methods to create a mitochondrial DNA-based timetree for 118 squirrel monkey samples across 68 localities spanning all Amazonian centers of endemism, with the aim of better understanding (1) the effects of rivers as barriers to dispersal and distribution; (2) the area of origin for modern Saimiri; (3) whether ancestral Saimiri was a lowland lake-affiliated or an upland forest taxa; and (4) the effects of Pleistocene climate fluctuation on speciation. We also use our topology to help resolve current controversies in Saimiri taxonomy and species relationships. The Rondônia and Inambari centers in the southern Amazon were recovered as the most likely areas of origin for Saimiri. The Amazon River proved a strong barrier to dispersal, and squirrel monkey expansion and diversification was rapid, with all speciation events estimated to occur between 1.4 and 0.6Ma, predating the last three glacial maxima and eliminating climate extremes as the main driver of squirrel monkey speciation. Saimiri expansion was concentrated first in central and western Amazonia, which according to the "Young Amazon" hypothesis was just becoming available as floodplain habitat with the draining of the Amazon Lake. Squirrel monkeys also expanded and diversified east, both north and south of the Amazon, coincident with the formation of new rivers. This evolutionary history is most consistent with a Young Amazon Flooded Forest Taxa model, suggesting Saimiri has always maintained a lowland wetlands niche and was able to greatly expand its range with the transition from a lacustrine to a riverine system in Amazonia. Saimiri vanzolinii was recovered as the sister group to one clade of Saimiri ustus, discordant with the traditional Gothic vs. Roman morphological division of squirrel monkeys. We also found paraphyly within each of the currently recognized species: S. sciureus, S. ustus, and S. macrodon. We discuss evidence for taxonomic revision within the genus Saimiri, and the need for future work using nuclear markers.
Topics: Animals; Bayes Theorem; Biological Evolution; DNA, Mitochondrial; Ecosystem; Models, Genetic; Phylogeny; Phylogeography; Saimiri; Sequence Analysis, DNA; South America
PubMed: 25305518
DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.09.004 -
Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in... Aug 2014It has been possible to use viral-mediated gene therapy to transform dichromatic (red-green color-blind) primates to trichromatic. Even though the third cone type was... (Review)
Review
It has been possible to use viral-mediated gene therapy to transform dichromatic (red-green color-blind) primates to trichromatic. Even though the third cone type was added after the end of developmental critical periods, treated animals acquired red-green color vision. What happened in the treated animals may represent a recapitulation of the evolution of trichromacy, which seems to have evolved with the acquisition of a third cone type without the need for subsequent modification to the circuitry. Some transgenic mice in which a third cone type was added also acquired trichromacy. However, compared with treated primates, red-green color vision in mice is poor, indicating large differences between mice and monkeys in their ability to take advantage of the new input. These results have implications for understanding the limits and opportunities for using gene therapy to treat vision disorders caused by defects in cone function.
Topics: Animals; Color Vision Defects; Genetic Therapy; Mice; Nerve Net; Neuronal Plasticity; Opsins; Saimiri
PubMed: 25147187
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a017418