Adaptive evolution of a duplicated pancreatic ribonuclease gene in a leaf-eating monkey

Although the complete genome sequences of over 50 representative species have revealed the many duplicated genes in all three domains of life(1-4), the roles of gene duplication in organismal adaptation and biodiversity are poorly understood. In addition,

Pseudogenization of the tumor-growth promoter angiogenin in a leaf-eating monkey

Physiological functions of human genes may be studied by gene-knockout experiments in model organisms such as the mouse. This strategy relies on the existence of one-to-one gene orthology between the human and mouse. When lineage-specific gene duplication occurs and paralogous genes share a certain degree of functional redundancy, knockout mice may not provide accurate functional information on human genes. Angiogenin is a small protein that stimulates blood-vessel growth and promotes tumor development. Humans and related primates only have one angiogenin gene, while mice have three paralogous genes. This makes it difficult to generate angiogenin-knockout mice and even more difficult to interpret the genotype-phenotype relation from such animals should they be generated. We here show that in the douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus), an Asian leaf-eating colobine monkey, the single-copy angiogenin gene has a one-nucleotide deletion in the sixth codon of the mature peptide, generating a premature stop codon. This nucleotide deletion is found in five unrelated individuals sequenced, and therefore is likely to have been fixed in the species. Five colobine species that are closely related to the douc langur have intact angiogenin genes, suggesting that the pseudogenization event was recent and unique to the douc langur lineage. This natural knockout experiment suggests that primate angiogenin is dispensable even in the wild. Further physiological studies of douc largurs may offer additional information on the role of this cancer-related gene in normal physiology of primates, including humans. Our findings also provide a strong case for the importance of evolutionary analysis in biomedical studies of gene functions. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Identification of major histocompatibility complex class I alleles in Chinese rhesus macaques

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I information is vital for understanding variance of immune responses in HIV vaccination and biomedical models. In this study, 9 Mamu-A and 13 Mamu-B alleles were identified from the cDNA products of 10 Chinese

Effects of rhFSH regimen and time interval on ovarian responses to repeated stimulation cycles in rhesus monkeys during a physiologic breeding season

We studied the effects of repeated stimulation by recombinant human FSH (rhFSH) at various time intervals during a physiologic breeding season in rhesus monkeys. Ovarian recovery and responses were assessed by ultrasonography, serum steroid concentrations

The Influence of Age and Sex on the Cell Counts of Peripheral Blood Leukocyte Subpopulations in Chinese Rhesus Macaques

Non-human primates such as Chinese rhesus macaques are the favorable models for preclinical study of potential therapeutic drugs, vaccines and mechanisms of human diseases. Little is known about the normal levels of leukocyte subpopulations of Chinese rhe

Phenotype and Function of Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells from Chinese Rhesus Macaques

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a pivotal role in linking the innate immunity and acquired immunity in responses to pathogen. Non-human primates such as Chinese Rhesus Macaque (CRM) are the favorable models for preclinical study of potential therapeutic drugs,

Age-related effects of bilateral frontal eye fields lesions on rapid eye movements during REM sleep in rhesus monkeys

Rapid eye movement (REM) is one of the most characteristic features of REM sleep, but the mechanisms underlying its regulation remain unclear. The present study aims to investigate whether the frontal eye field (FEF) is involved in the regulation of the r

Spatially directed movement and neuronal activity in freely moving monkey

The abilities to plan a series of movements and to navigate within the environment require the functions of the frontal and ventromedial temporal lobes, respectively. Neuropsychological studies posit the existence of egocentric (prefrontal) and allocentri

EEG activities in the orbitofrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during the development of morphine dependence, tolerance and withdrawal in rhesus monkeys

Investigating the activities of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the process of addiction is valuable for understanding the neural mechanism underlying the impairments of the PFC after drug abuse. However, limited data are obtained from primate animals and few studies analyze Electroencephalogram (EEG) in the gamma band, which plays an important role in cognitive functions. In addition, it is yet unclear whether drug abuse affects the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) - the two most important subregions of the PFC - in similar ways or not. The aim of this study is to address these issues. We recorded EEG in the OFC and DLPFC in three rhesus monkeys. All animals received a course of saline (NaCl 0.9%, 2 ml) injection (5 days) followed by 10 days of morphine injection (every 12 h), and then a further series of saline injection (7 days). A main finding in the present study was that morphine decreased EEG power in all frequency bands in a short period after injection in both the OFC and DLPFC in monkeys. And gamma power decreased not just in short period after morphine injection but lasted to 12 h after injection. Moreover, we found that although the changes in EEG activities in the OFC and DLPFC at 30-35 min after injection were similar, the DLPFC was more sensitive to the effect of morphine than the OFC. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial and temporal sensitivity degradation of primary visual cortical cells in senescent rhesus monkeys

Human visual function declines with age. Much of this decline is mediated by changes in the central visual pathways. In this study we compared the spatial and temporal sensitivities of striate cortical cells in young and old paralysed macaque monkeys. Ext