Research funded by NIH that uses nonhuman primates is critical to the nation’s ability to respond adequately to public health emergencies and carry out high-impact biomedical research, but gaps in the systems that support research using these animal models are undermining national health emergency readiness.

Federico Pardo, biólogo y documentalista invita a visitar la experiencia multimedia y adentrarse en las profundidades de los bosques. 

Clinical reports suggest that the most effective strategies for managing opioid use disorder comprise a comprehensive treatment program of both pharmacological and nonpharmacological approaches. However, the conditions under which these combinations are most effective are not well characterized. This study examined whether the presence of an alternative reinforcer could alter the efficacy of Food and Drug Administration–approved opioid antagonist or agonist medications, as well as the nonopioid flumazenil, in decreasing oxycodone choice self-administration in nonhuman primates. Adult squirrel monkeys (n = 7; four females) responded under concurrent second-order fixed-ratio (FR)-3(FR5:S);TO45s schedules of reinforcement for intravenous oxycodone (0.1 mg/kg) or saline on one lever and 30% sweetened condensed milk or water on the other. Doses of naltrexone (0.00032–1.0 mg/kg), nalbuphine (0.32–10 mg/kg), buprenorphine (0.0032–0.032 mg/kg), methadone (0.32–1.0 mg/kg), or flumazenil (1–3.2 mg/kg) were administered intramuscularly prior to oxycodone self-administration sessions that occurred with either milk or water as the alternative. Naltrexone, a μ-opioid receptor antagonist, was >30-fold more potent when milk was available compared with water and abolished oxycodone intake (injections/session) while concomitantly increasing milk deliveries at the highest dose tested. Pretreatment with the low-efficacy μ-agonist nalbuphine was most effective in the presence of milk compared with water, decreasing oxycodone preference to <50% of control values. The higher efficacy μ-agonists, methadone and buprenorphine, and the benzodiazepine antagonist flumazenil did not appreciably alter the reinforcing potency of oxycodone under either condition. These results suggest that antagonist medications used in combination with alternative reinforcers may be an effective strategy to curtail opioid abuse–related behaviors.

Mykhailo Pinchuk takes a short walk around his empty zoo, greeting some animals with a stroke and a morsel of food.

While studying the social dynamics of the bearded saki, a primate living in the rainforests of Suriname, primatologist Tremaine Gregory of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology […]

The post Study: Male bonding brings peace, lets primates live in big groups appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A startling find in Wyoming radically changes our theories about the distant origins of our taxonomic order.

This report highlights 25 apes, monkeys, lemurs, lorises and other primates on the brink of extinction.

Infants born to mothers with obesity have a greater risk for childhood obesity and metabolic diseases; however, the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We used a Japanese macaque model to investigate whether maternal obesity combined with a western-style diet (WSD) impairs offspring muscle insulin action. Adult females were fed a control or WSD prior to and during pregnancy through lactation, and offspring subsequently weaned to a control or WSD. Muscle glucose uptake and signaling were measured ex vivo in fetal (n=5-8/group) and juvenile offspring (n=8/group). In vivo signaling was evaluated after an insulin bolus just prior to weaning (n=4-5/group). Maternal WSD reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and impaired insulin signaling at the level of Akt phosphorylation in fetal muscle. In juvenile offspring, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was similarly reduced by both maternal and post-weaning WSD and corresponded to modest reductions in insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation relative to controls. We conclude that maternal WSD leads to a persistent decrease in offspring muscle insulin-stimulated glucose uptake even in the absence of increased offspring adiposity or markers of systemic insulin resistance. Switching offspring to a healthy diet did not reverse the effects of maternal WSD on muscle insulin action suggesting earlier interventions may be warranted.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis has emerged as a major cause of liver diseases with no effective therapies. Here, we evaluate the efficacies and pharmacokinetics of B1344, a long-acting PEGylated FGF21 analog, in a nongenetically modified nonhuman primate species that underwent liver biopsy, and demonstrate the potential for efficacies in humans. B1344 is sufficient to selectively activate signaling from the βKlotho/FGFR1c receptor complex. In cynomolgus monkeys with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, administration of B1344 via subcutaneous injection for eleven weeks caused a profound reduction of hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis, and amelioration of liver injury and hepatocyte death as evidenced by liver biopsy and biochemical analysis. Moreover, improvement of metabolic parameters was observed in the monkey, including reduction of body weight and improvement of lipid profiles and glycemic control. To determine the role of B1344 in the progression of murine NAFLD independent of obesity, administration of B1344 were performed in mice fed with methionine and choline deficiency diet. Consistently, B1344 administration prevented the mice from lipotoxicity damage and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis at a dose-dependent manner. These results provide preclinical validation for an innovative therapeutics to NAFLD, and support further clinical testing of B1344 for treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and other metabolic diseases in humans.

Mykhailo Pinchuk takes a short walk around his empty zoo, greeting some animals with a stroke and a morsel of food.

Mykhailo Pinchuk takes a short walk around his empty zoo, greeting some animals with a stroke and a morsel of food.

From bearded capuchins to yellow baboons, the furry creatures in BBC1's new nature series are a reminder we have a lot in common with our closest animal relatives

EXCLUSIVE: As BBC documentary The Primates hits our screens, experts warn there are only a few ways

Consumer demand for meat, soy, palm oil, and more has resulted in 60% of primate species facing extinction.

Meet the primate species that are among the most endangered on the planet, and the most in need of conservation measures.

Since both require the same habitat, scientists are worried how primates will survive the expansion of industrial oil palm plantations.

Chorus song of the indri (Indri indri: Primates, Lemuridae): Group differences and analysis of within-group vocal interactions Baker-Medard, Merrill S. A.; Baker, Myron C.; Logue, David M. The loud chorus songs of the group-living lemur Indri indri are a striking feature of rainforest areas of eastern Madagascar. Despite some research on the conspicuous vocal display of the indri, two hypotheses have not been addressed: do groups differ in the acoustic properties of their songs, and is there evidence of coordinated singing between individuals within groups. We recorded and analyzed the songs of three indri groups to examine these two questions. To answer the first question, we made quantitative spectral measures on songs of the three groups and performed multivariate analyses of the acoustic features of the notes constituting the songs. Our results showed songs of the three groups differed significantly, although there was overlap between groups. To answer the second question, we classified note types and quantified their occurrence as overlapping and abutting pairs. We found non-random associations between sequential note types in all three indri groups. These associations were consistent among groups, suggesting that individuals follow consistent answering rules when contributing to choruses. Whether indris use acoustic group identifiers in management of behavioral strategies and how within-group coordinated note production might function remain unknown. We compare our results to a number of taxonomically diverse species that live in groups and broadcast chorus and duet vocal signals. Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) applies.

Setchell, Joanna M., 1973- author