Disease relevance of Spalax

• Adult Rattus kidney and liver, and adult Spalax liver express similar levels of Epo mRNA under normoxia and hypoxia [1].

High impact information on Spalax

• Adaptive evolution of heparanase in hypoxia-tolerant Spalax: gene cloning and identification of a unique splice variant [2].
• After 24 h of 10% O(2), Spalax Epo reaches its maximal expression, remarkably 6-fold higher than the maximum in Rattus; (ii) the HIF-1 alpha level in normoxia is 2-fold higher in Spalax than in Rattus [3].
• Evolution of p53 in hypoxia-stressed Spalax mimics human tumor mutation [4].
• Comparing Spalax with human and mouse p53 revealed an arginine (R) to lysine (K) substitution in Spalax (Arg-174 in human) in the DNA-binding domain, identical to known tumor associated mutations [4].
• Spalax VEGF muscular infiltration resulted in a faster and more complete restoration of blood flow [5].

Chemical compound and disease context of Spalax

• Furthermore, as opposed to Rattus, the mRNA levels of HIF-1alpha, HuR, VEGF, as well as that of LDH-A, the enzyme that catalyzes the production of lactate, an accepted marker of anaerobic metabolism, are not increased in Spalax after hypoxia [6].

Biological context of Spalax

• A genomic DNA library prepared from the kidney of the mole rat Spalax ehrenbergi was screened with mouse probes representing major histocompatibility complex genes that encode alpha and beta polypeptide chains of class II molecules (alpha and beta genes) [7].
• A DNA-free p53 structure model predicts that Arg-174 is important for dimerization, whereas Spalax Lys-174 prevents such interactions [4].
• Here we describe the cloning, sequence, and expression of the circadian Clock and MOP3 cDNAs of the Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies in Israel. Both genes are relatively conserved, although characterized by a significant number of amino acid substitutions [8].
• Molecular evolution of cytochrome b of subterranean mole rats, Spalax ehrenbergi superspecies, in Israel [9].
• They have found two isoforms of Cry2 in Spalax, which differ in their 5' end of the open reading frame and defined their expression in Spalax populations [10].

Anatomical context of Spalax

• Auditory pathway and auditory activation of primary visual targets in the blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi): I. 2-deoxyglucose study of subcortical centers [11].
• The melanopsin-component of retinal ganglion cells in the Spalax retina is well conserved resulting in a relatively higher density of melanopsin positive cells per area compared to the rat [12].

Associations of Spalax with chemical compounds

• We suggest that this reduction in transcriptional activity may be attributed to the Spalax Clock glutamine-rich domain, which is unique in its amino acid composition compared with other studied mammalian species [8].
• In this paper we explore whether Spalax is a dichromat and has the potential to use colour discrimination for photoentrainment [13].
• Only one difference with the previously determined sequence of the superspecies Spalax ehrenbergi was detected; the proline residue at position 42 has been replaced by alanine [14].
• Also in contrast to the rodent pigments, the Spalax pigment exhibits anion-dependent spectral properties, displaying a 12 nm blue-shift upon substitution of chloride ions by nitrate ions [15].

Gene context of Spalax

• The Spalax CRY1 protein is significantly closer to the human homolog than to the mice one, in contrast to the evolutionary expectations [10].
• The sequence of the cDNA of alpha-B-Crystallin in the eye and in the heart of Spalax is identical [16].
• In order to extend knowledge of rodent GHs we have cloned and characterised part of the GH gene of the Eurasian mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi) using genomic DNA and a PCR technique [17].
• These data support the hypothesis that the LWS opsin of Spalax acts as a functional photopigment and that it is not a 'residue' of the pre-subterranean visual system [18].
• As was already shown for other circadian genes, despite being blind and living in darkness, the Cry genes of Spalax behave in a similar, though not identical, pattern as in sighted animals [10].

References