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Ruiz TFR, Vilamaior PSL, Grigio V, Colleta SJ, Zucão MI, de Campos SGP, Dos Santos FCA, Biancardi MF, Perez APS, Taboga SR, Leonel ECR. The Mongolian Gerbil as a Useful Experimental Model in Reproductive Biology. Reprod Sci 2023; 30:2092-2106. [PMID: 36696041 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-023-01171-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Ultimately, the Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) have acquired a relevant role in biological and biomedical experiments alongside other rodents. The use of gerbils in research has been mainly oriented to physiological and pharmacological studies, with special attention to nervous, digestive, and auditory systems as well as microbiology and parasitology. Ultimately, gerbils have also been applied for studying carcinogenesis in different organs and systems, since these animals show a natural propensity to develop spontaneous proliferative lesions, especially in steroid-responsive organs. This characteristic shed light on the reproductive aspects of this rodent model regarding morphological features in male and female individuals. This review of literature summarizes the significance of this model as an alternative to the use of inbred mice and rats in reproductive experimental research, highlighting recent findings. Gerbils have contributed to the expansion of knowledge in prostate biology in male and female individuals, providing studies related to prostatic morphogenesis and neoplasia. In the testes, spermiogenesis occurs in 15 steps, differently from other experimental models. Also, the complete maturation of the testis-epididymal complex occurs between the second and third months. Mammary gland alterations related to the estrous cycle and pregnancy were described, as well as its modulation under endogenous and exogenous estrogenic compounds. The ovaries frequently present ovarian cysts. Furthermore, this organ shows predominantly interstitial steroidogenic glands in the stroma, especially at aging. Adrenal gland shows a large size compared to other animals, presenting three distinct zones with a remarkable role in steroidogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thalles Fernando Rocha Ruiz
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 Jardim Nazareth, São José Do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
- Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - Patricia Simone Leite Vilamaior
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 Jardim Nazareth, São José Do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Vitor Grigio
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 Jardim Nazareth, São José Do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Simone Jacovaci Colleta
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 Jardim Nazareth, São José Do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Mariele Ilario Zucão
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 Jardim Nazareth, São José Do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Silvana Gisele Pegorin de Campos
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 Jardim Nazareth, São José Do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Cristina Alcântara Dos Santos
- Department of Histology, Embryology and Cell Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Goiás, Avenida Esperança, S/N, Câmpus Samambaia, Goiânia, Goiás, 74690-900, Brazil
| | - Manoel Francisco Biancardi
- Department of Histology, Embryology and Cell Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Goiás, Avenida Esperança, S/N, Câmpus Samambaia, Goiânia, Goiás, 74690-900, Brazil
| | - Ana Paula Silva Perez
- Academic Unit of Health Sciences, Medicine Course, Federal University of Jataí, BR 36, Km 195, Jataí, Goiás, 75801-615, Brazil
| | - Sebastião Roberto Taboga
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biosciences, Humanities and Exact Sciences, São Paulo State University, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265 Jardim Nazareth, São José Do Rio Preto, SP, 15054-000, Brazil
| | - Ellen Cristina Rivas Leonel
- Department of Histology, Embryology and Cell Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Goiás, Avenida Esperança, S/N, Câmpus Samambaia, Goiânia, Goiás, 74690-900, Brazil.
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Eipert L, Klump GM. Uncertainty-based informational masking in a vowel discrimination task for young and old Mongolian gerbils. Hear Res 2020; 392:107959. [PMID: 32330738 DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2020.107959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Informational masking emerges with processing of complex sounds in the central auditory system and can be affected by uncertainty emerging from trial-to-trial variation of stimulus features. Uncertainty can be non-informative but confusing and thus mask otherwise salient stimulus changes resulting in increased discrimination thresholds. With increasing age, the ability for processing of such complex sound scenes degrades. Here, 6 young and 4 old gerbils were tested behaviorally in a vowel discrimination task. Animals were trained to discriminate between sequentially presented target and reference vowels of the vowel pair/I/-/i/. Reference and target vowels were generated shifting the three formants of the reference vowel in steps towards the formants of the target vowels. Non-informative but distracting uncertainty was introduced by random changes in location, level, fundamental frequency or all three features combined. Young gerbils tested with uncertainty for the target or target and reference vowels showed similar informational masking effects for both conditions. Young and old gerbils were tested with uncertainty for the target vowels only. Old gerbils showed no threshold increase discriminating vowels without uncertainty in comparison with young gerbils. Introducing uncertainty, vowel discrimination thresholds increased for young and old gerbils and vowel discrimination thresholds increased most when presenting all three uncertainty features combined. Old gerbils were more susceptible to non-informative uncertainty and their thresholds increased more than thresholds of young gerbils. Gerbils' vowel discrimination thresholds are compared to human performance in the same task (Eipert et al., 2019).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Eipert
- Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all, Division Animal Physiology and Behavior, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Georg M Klump
- Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all, Division Animal Physiology and Behavior, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Oldenburg, D-26111, Oldenburg, Germany.
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