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Fricker BA, Kelly AM. From grouping and cooperation to menstruation: Spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) are an emerging mammalian model for sociality and beyond. Horm Behav 2024; 158:105462. [PMID: 38000170 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
While spiny mice are primarily used as a model for Type II diabetes and for studying complex tissue regeneration, they are also an emerging model for a variety of studies examining hormones, behavior, and the brain. We began studying the spiny mouse to take advantage of their highly gregarious phenotype to examine how the brain facilitates large group-living. However, this unique rodent can be readily bred and maintained in the lab and can be used to ask a wide variety of scientific questions. In this brief communication we provide an overview of studies that have used spiny mice for exploring physiology and behavior. Additionally, we describe how the spiny mouse can serve as a useful model for researchers interested in studying precocial development, menstruation, cooperation, and various grouping behaviors. With increasingly available technological advancements for non-traditional organisms, spiny mice are well-positioned to become a valuable organism in the behavioral neuroscience community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon A Fricker
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States of America.
| | - Aubrey M Kelly
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States of America.
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Gilmer G, Hettinger ZR, Tuakli-Wosornu Y, Skidmore E, Silver JK, Thurston RC, Lowe DA, Ambrosio F. Female aging: when translational models don't translate. NATURE AGING 2023; 3:1500-1508. [PMID: 38052933 PMCID: PMC11099540 DOI: 10.1038/s43587-023-00509-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
For many pathologies associated with aging, female patients present with higher morbidity and more frequent adverse events from treatments compared to male patients. While preclinical models are the foundation of our mechanistic understanding of age-related diseases, the most common models fail to recapitulate archetypical female aging trajectories. For example, while over 70% of the top age-related diseases are influenced by the systemic effects of reproductive senescence, we found that preclinical studies that include menopausal phenotypes modeling those seen in humans make up <1% of published aging biology research. The long-term impacts of pregnancy, birthing and breastfeeding are also typically omitted from preclinical work. In this Perspective, we summarize limitations in the most commonly used aging models, and we provide recommendations for better incorporating menopause, pregnancy and other considerations of sex in vivo and in vitro. Lastly, we outline action items for aging biology researchers, journals, funding agencies and animal providers to address this gap.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Gilmer
- Discovery Center for Musculoskeletal Recovery, Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding Rehabilitation, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Cellular and Molecular Pathology Graduate Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Zachary R Hettinger
- Discovery Center for Musculoskeletal Recovery, Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding Rehabilitation, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Yetsa Tuakli-Wosornu
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Skidmore
- Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Julie K Silver
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rebecca C Thurston
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dawn A Lowe
- Divisions of Rehabilitation Science and Physical Therapy, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Fabrisia Ambrosio
- Discovery Center for Musculoskeletal Recovery, Schoen Adams Research Institute at Spaulding Rehabilitation, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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Okamura DM, Nguyen ED, Collins SJ, Yoon K, Gere JB, Weiser-Evans MCM, Beier DR, Majesky MW. Mammalian organ regeneration in spiny mice. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 2023; 44:39-52. [PMID: 36131170 DOI: 10.1007/s10974-022-09631-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Fibrosis-driven solid organ failure is a major world-wide health burden with few therapeutic options. Spiny mice (genus: Acomys) are terrestrial mammals that regenerate severe skin wounds without fibrotic scars to evade predators. Recent studies have shown that spiny mice also regenerate acute ischemic and traumatic injuries to kidney, heart, spinal cord, and skeletal muscle. A common feature of this evolved wound healing response is a lack of formation of fibrotic scar tissue that degrades organ function, inhibits regeneration, and leads to organ failure. Complex tissue regeneration is an extremely rare property among mammalian species. In this article, we discuss the evidence that Acomys represents an emerging model organism that offers a unique opportunity for the biomedical community to investigate and clinically translate molecular mechanisms of scarless wound healing and regeneration of organ function in a mammalian species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daryl M Okamura
- Center for Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 Ninth Avenue, M/S C9S-5, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Elizabeth D Nguyen
- Center for Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 Ninth Avenue, M/S C9S-5, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Sarah J Collins
- Center for Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 Ninth Avenue, M/S C9S-5, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Kevin Yoon
- Center for Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 Ninth Avenue, M/S C9S-5, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Joshua B Gere
- Center for Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 Ninth Avenue, M/S C9S-5, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Mary C M Weiser-Evans
- Department of Medicine, Division of Renal Diseases & Hypertension, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - David R Beier
- Center for Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 Ninth Avenue, M/S C9S-5, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Mark W Majesky
- Center for Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 Ninth Avenue, M/S C9S-5, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA.
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
- Institute for Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
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McKenna J, Bellofiore N, Temple-Smith P. Good things come to those who mate: analysis of the mating behaviour in the menstruating rodent, Acomys cahirinus. BMC ZOOL 2022; 7:13. [PMID: 37170145 PMCID: PMC10127372 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-022-00112-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
The Egyptian spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) is the only known rodent to exhibit true, human-like menstruation and postpartum ovulation, and is an important new model for reproductive studies. Spiny mice do not produce a visible copulatory plug, and calculation of gestational age is therefore restricted by the need to use mated postpartum dams. The current inefficient method of monitoring until parturition to provide a subsequent estimate of gestational age increases study duration and costs. This study addressed this issue by comparing the mating behaviour of spiny mice across the menstrual cycle and proposes a more accurate method for staging and pairing animals that provides reliable estimates of gestational age. In experiment 1, mating behaviour was recorded overnight to collect data on mounting, intromission, and ejaculation (n = 5 pairs per stage) in spiny mice paired at menses and at early and late follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. In experiment 2, female spiny mice were paired at the follicular or luteal phases of the menstrual cycle to determine any effect on the pairing-birth interval (n = 10 pairs).
Results
We report a broad mating window of ~ 3 days during the follicular phase and early luteal phase of spiny mice. Males displayed a discrete ‘foot twitch’ behaviour during intromission and a brief copulatory lock during ejaculation. Litters were delivered after 40–43 days if pairing occurred during the mating window, compared with 46–48 days for spiny mice paired in the late luteal phase. When pairing occurred during the late luteal phase or menses no mating activity was observed during the recording period.
Conclusion
This study clearly demonstrates an effect of the menstrual cycle on mating behaviour and pregnancy in the spiny mouse and provides a reliable and more effective protocol for estimating gestational age without the need for postpartum dams.
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