Basalphysiologicalparametersindomesticatedtreeshrews(Tupaiabelangerichinensis)

Establishingnon-humanprimatemodelsofhumandiseasesisanefficientwaytonarrowthelargegapbetweenbasicstudiesandtranslationalmedicine.Multifoldadvantagessuchassimplicityofbreeding,lowcostoffeedingandfacilityofoperatingmakethetreeshrewanidealnon-humanprimatemodelproxy.Additionalfeatureslikevulnerabilitytostressandspontaneousdiabeticcharacteristicsalsoindicatethatthetreeshrewcouldbeapotentialnewanimalmodelofhumandiseases.However,basalphysiologicalindexesoftreeshrew,especiallythoserelatedtohumandisease,havenotbeensystematicallyreported.Accordingly,weestablishedimportantbasalphysiologicalindexesofdomesticatedtreeshrewsincludingseveralfactors:(1)bodyweight,(2)corebodytemperatureandrhythm,(3)dietmetabolism,(4)locomotorrhythm,(5)electroencephalogram,(6)glycometabolismand(7)serumandurinaryhormonelevelandurinarycortisolrhythm.Wecomparedthephysiologicalparametersofdomesticatedtreeshrewwiththatofratsandmacaques.Resultsshowedthat(a)thecorebodytemperatureofthetreeshrewwas39.59±0.05℃,whichwashigherthanthatofratsandmacaques;(b)Comparedwithwildtreeshrews,withtwoactivitypeaks,domesticatedtreeshrewshadonlyoneactivitypeakfrom17:30to19:30;(c)Comparedwithrats,treeshrewshadpoorcarbohydratemetabolismability;and(d)Urinarycortisolrhythmindicatedthereweretwopeaksat8:00and17:00indomesticatedtreeshrews,whichmatchedactivitypeaksinwildtreeshrews.Theseresultsprovidedbasalphysiologicalindexesfordomesticatedtreeshrewsandlaidanimportantfoundationfordiabetesandstress-relateddiseasemodelsestablishedontreeshrews.