Project description:Japanese macaques learn to use rakes to acquire food, and this learning is associated with rapid electrophysiological and morphological changes in the brain. To examine the molecular mechanisms of these plastic changes, we performed comprehensive gene expression analysis with a cDNA microarray and identified many candidate genes.
Project description:Japanese macaques learn to use rakes to acquire food, and this learning is associated with rapid electrophysiological and morphological changes in the brain. To examine the molecular mechanisms of these plastic changes, we performed comprehensive gene expression analysis with a cDNA microarray and identified many candidate genes. We compared gene expressions between experimental (Rhesus_E) and control (Rhesus_C) animals from Surrounding areas of the lateral sulcus. We also compared gene expressions between experimental (IPS_E) and control (IPS_C) animals from Surrounding areas of the Intraparietal sulcus.
Project description:Macaque species share over 93% genome homology with humans and develop many disease phenotypes similar to those of humans, making them valuable animal models for the study of human diseases (e.g.,HIV and neurodegenerative diseases). However, the quality of genome assembly and annotation for several macaque species lags behind the human genome effort. To close this gap and enhance functional genomics approaches, we employed a combination of de novo linked-read assembly and scaffolding using proximity ligation assay (HiC) to assemble the pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) genome. This combinatorial method yielded large scaffolds at chromosome-level with a scaffold N50 of 127.5 Mb; the 23 largest scaffolds covered 90% of the entire genome. This assembly revealed large-scale rearrangements between pig-tailed macaque chromosomes 7, 12, and 13 and human chromosomes 2, 14, and 15. We subsequently annotated the genome using transcriptome and proteomics data from personalized induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from the same animal. Reconstruction of the evolutionary tree using whole genome annotation and orthologous comparisons among three macaque species, human and mouse genomes revealed extensive homology between human and pig-tailed macaques with regards to both pluripotent stem cell genes and innate immune gene pathways. Our results confirm that rhesus and cynomolgus macaques exhibit a closer evolutionary distance to each other than either species exhibits to humans or pig-tailed macaques. These findings demonstrate that pig-tailed macaques can serve as an excellent animal model for the study of many human diseases particularly with regards to pluripotency and innate immune pathways.
Project description:Infinium 450K is a hybridization array designed for the human genome, but the relative conservation between the macaque and human genomes makes its use in macaques feasible. We used the Infinium450K array to assay twelve Cynomolgus macaque muscle biopsies and compared it to Reduced Representation Bisulphite Sequencing (RRBS) data generated on the same samples. Muscle biopsies were performed on eleven adult male cynomologus macaques
Project description:Prion-like spreading of abnormal proteins is proposed to occur in neurodegenerative diseases, and the progression of α-synuclein (α-syn) deposits has been reported in the brains of animal models injected with synthetic α-syn fibrils or pathological α-syn prepared from patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). However, α-syn transmission in nonhuman primates, which are more similar to humans, has not been fully clarified. Here, we injected synthetic human α-syn fibrils into the left striatum of a macaque monkey (Macaca fuscata). At 3 months after the injection, we examined neurodegeneration and α-syn pathology in the brain using α-syn epitope-specific antibodies, antiphosphorylated α-syn antibodies (pSyn#64 and pSer129), anti-ubiquitin antibodies, and anti-p62 antibodies. Immunohistochemical examination with pSyn#64, pSer129, and α-syn epitope-specific antibodies revealed Lewy bodies, massive α-syn-positive neuronal intracytoplasmic inclusions (NCIs), and neurites in the left putamen. These inclusions were also positive for ubiquitin and p62. LB509, a human-specific α-syn antibody targeting amino acid residues 115-122, showed limited immunoreactivity around the injection site. The left substantia nigra (SN) and the bilateral frontal cortex also contained some NCIs and neurites. The left hemisphere, including parietal/temporal cortex presented sparse α-syn pathology, and no immunoreactivity was seen in olfactory nerves, amygdala, hippocampus, or right parietal/temporal cortex. Neuronal loss and gliosis in regions with α-syn pathology were mild, except for the left striatum and SN. Our results indicate that abnormal α-syn fibrils propagate throughout the brain of M. fuscata via projection, association, and commissural fibers, though the progression of α-syn pathology is limited.