Detection and comparison of physiological indexes in the wild and laboratory tree shrew

To provide fundamental basis for the tree shrew models of human diseases, we examined and compared the physiological and biochemical indexes between wild and laboratory tree shrews. Blood samples were taken from 54 wild tree shrews that were housed in laboratory for 1 − 2 months, and from 54 first-generation of the laboratory tree shrews; each group had nearly equal male and female composition. Some of the first reported physiological and biochemical indexes were showed no significant differences between genders, and these indexes in laboratory tree shrews were as follows [medium (inter-quartile range) ]: CK 1449 (956) U/L, CTNI 5.94 (7.23) μg/L, TBA15.6 (19.7) μmol/L, FRUC 393.5 (80.8) μmol/L and LDL-C0.36 (0.32); and in the wild tree shrews, 986 (564) U/L, 4.01 (4.10) μg/L, 20.0 (20.6) μmol/L, 379.0 (104.0) μmol/L and 0.46 (0.23) mmol/L, respectively. In the laboratory tree shrews, the variations of physiological and biochemical indexes were smaller, but the mean values of some indicators related to liver and heart functions became higher. These data would be valuable for the development of tree shrew models of human diseases.

Keywords
Tree shrew; Wild tree shrew; Laboratory tree shrew; Blood samples; Physiological and biochemical indexes