Disease relevance of Sciuridae

• Cyclic nucleotides and glycoproteins during formation of cholesterol gallstones in prairie dogs [1].
• The effects of a standard rodent chow were compared with those of a semisynthetic diet of known composition (with and without added cholesterol) in the prairie dog model of cholesterol cholelithiasis [2].
• Monkeypox virus was demonstrated by using polymerase chain reaction in two prairie dogs in which pathologic studies showed necrotizing bronchopneumonia, conjunctivitis, and tongue ulceration [3].
• Six prairie dogs were given a single intramuscular dose of 100 mg of cefoxitin per kg of body weight, and six control animals received saline; both groups were sacrificed 1 week later [4].
• We examined changes in ventilation and metabolic rate during hypothermia (36-27 degrees C) induced with exposure to helium-oxygen and cold in halothane anesthetized ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis) and rats [5].

Psychiatry related information on Sciuridae

• The present study was designed to assess effects of aversive stimuli on learning and memory in wild-caught Arctic ground squirrels (AGS, Spermophilus parryii) using an active avoidance learning paradigm [6].
• Brain temperature (Tbr), vigilance state, and electroencephalograph slow-wave activity (EEG SWA, 1.0-4.0 Hz) were measured during hibernation and spontaneous arousals to euthermia in seven golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis) [7].

High impact information on Sciuridae

• Aspirin prevention of cholesterol gallstone formation in prairie dogs [8].
• Aspirin given to prairie dogs inhibited mucin hypersecretion and gel accumulation and prevented gallstone formation without influencing the cholesterol content of supersaturated bile [8].
• Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis fails to prevent gallbladder mucin hypersecretion in the cholesterol-fed prairie dog [9].
• 0. The prairie dogs fed aspirin plus cholesterol in the semipurified diet showed increased levels of biliary chenodeoxycholic acid amidates and concomitant decreased levels of cholic acid amidates compared with animals fed the same diet without aspirin [10].
• Long-term treatment with indomethacin, 1.2 mg.kg-1.day-1, failed to inhibit gallbladder mucin hypersecretion (129.2 +/- 10.7% of control after 1 week) or cholesterol monohydrate crystal formation (3/5) in cholesterol-fed prairie dogs [9].

Chemical compound and disease context of Sciuridae

• Replacement of cholesterol gallstones by murideoxycholyl taurine gallstones in prairie dogs fed murideoxycholic acid [11].
• The biles of the prairie dogs receiving hyodeoxycholic acid were abnormally colored, cloudy, and highly saturated with cholesterol but contained neither cholesterol crystals nor gallstones (with the exception of one male) [12].
• In this study we investigated the interaction of dietary cholesterol and chenodeoxycholic acid in the prevention of gallstones in the prairie dog gallstone model [13].
• Hyodeoxycholic acid and its isomer, 6 beta-hyodeoxycholic acid, when added to a lithogenic diet prevented the formation of cholesterol gallstones and crystals in prairie dogs [14].
• Melatonin synthesis in the pineal gland of the Richardson's ground squirrel (Spermophilus richardsonii): influence of age and insulin-induced hypoglycemia [15].

Biological context of Sciuridae

• Major changes in the brain histamine system of the ground squirrel Citellus lateralis during hibernation [16].
• One group of cholesterol-fed animals received saline via an orogastric tube; another group received amiloride, a drug known to inhibit in vitro ion transport in the prairie dog gallbladder [17].
• Seasonal variations in plasma luteinizing hormone levels of gonadectomized male ground squirrels (Spermophilus lateralis) [18].
• In 23 anesthetized prairie dogs, systemic blood pressure and sphincter of Oddi and duodenal motilities were monitored during systemic infusion of N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase [19].
• Viremia and antibody responses to La Crosse (LAC) virus were determined for juvenile, subadult and adult chipmunks (Tamias striatus) [20].

Anatomical context of Sciuridae

• When prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are fed a diet containing cholesterol, a marked increase in gallbladder mucin secretion parallels the evolution of cholesterol supersaturated bile [8].
• The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a lithogenic diet (0.34% cholesterol) on the relative abundance of individual molecular species of phospholipids in the biliary tract of the prairie dog [21].
• Gallstone formation in the cholesterol-fed prairie dog is preceded by an increase in mucin secretion by the gallbladder epithelium, and mucin hypersecretion is believed to promote cholesterol gallstone formation by accelerating the nucleation of cholesterol monohydrate crystals [9].
• Location of enzymes of androgen and estrogen biosynthesis in the testis of the ground squirrel (Citellus lateralis) [22].
• Pineal serotonin and melatonin levels and the activities of hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT) and N-acetyltransferase (NAT) were studied over a 24-hour period in the pineal gland of the diurnally active Richardson's ground squirrel (Spermophilus richardsonii) [23].

Associations of Sciuridae with chemical compounds

• An organ culture technique was used to measure mucin secretion in normal prairie dog gallbladder in response to exogenous prostaglandins and agents that increased or decreased endogenous prostaglandin production [9].
• Inhibition of gallstone formation by sphincterotomy in the prairie dog: reversal by atropine [24].
• Therefore the increased biliary glycoprotein level in cholesterol-fed, prostaglandin E1-treated prairie dogs, which reflects higher levels of mucin and nonmucin glycoproteins, appears to be an important factor in gallstone formation [25].
• METHODS: Adult female prairie dogs were randomly assigned to receive subcutaneous implants containing either progesterone or inactive pellet matrix only [26].
• Lovastatin inhibits gallstone formation in the cholesterol-fed prairie dog [27].

Gene context of Sciuridae

• The responses of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family members, including the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), the c-jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNKs) and p38MAPK, during mammalian hibernation were analyzed in five organs of Richardson's ground squirrels, Spermophilus richardsonii [28].
• Seasonal changes in the antioxidative defense in ground squirrels (Citellus citellus): possible role of GSH-Px [29].
• In this study we sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene of 23 Tamias species [30].
• Cloning and expression of PPAR-gamma and PGC-1alpha from the hibernating ground squirrel, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus [31].
• Neuropeptides such as neuropeptide Y (NPY) and galanin may play a role in regulating the pronounced seasonal changes in food intake shown by golden-mantled ground squirrels (Spermophilus saturatus) [32].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Sciuridae

• Development of an homologous radioimmunoassay for secreted prolactin from the California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) [33].
• Monkeypox virus infection was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction and virus culture at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This report highlights the difficulties of rapid diagnosis of exotic or emerging diseases and further substantiates the prairie dog as an animal model of monkeypox [34].
• Gallbladder absorption is increased prior to gallstone formation in prairie dogs and may promote cholesterol crystallization [35].
• Studies on pineal melatonin levels in a diurnal species, the eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus): effects of light at night, propranolol administration or superior cervical ganglionectomy [36].
• Hepatocellular carcinoma in black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludivicianus): tumor morphology and immunohistochemistry for hepadnavirus core and surface antigens [37].

References