Scientists from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have found that the human disease AFib-amyloidosis is common in Japanese squirrels (sciurus lis). Previously, the disease has not been found in other animals, making it difficult to study. Research published Journal of Pathology.
Scientists have performed the first histopathological analysis of all body organs of 38 captive Japanese squirrels who died at five zoos in Japan between 2018 and 2022. They found that 29 animals (76.3%) suffered from systemic AFib amyloidosis.
Further analysis showed that protein amyloid accumulates only in the renal glomeruli, just as it does in humans.
Some of the animals studied were close descendants of wild individuals. This means that the disease is most likely not associated with reduced genetic diversity in captive squirrels.
In general, amyloid deposition in the kidneys of Japanese squirrels was the same as in human diseases. In the future, the study of these animals could lead to the development of drugs for this serious disease.
Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which protein-polysaccharide complexes occur due to protein misfolding. They accumulate in various organs, disrupting their work. AFib-amyloidosis is an inherited disease in which one of the fibrinogen protein chains involved in blood clotting becomes amyloid and accumulates in the kidneys, leading to kidney failure. It was first diagnosed in 1993, but due to the small number of patients and the lack of animal studies, no cure has been found.
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