Distributions of parvalbumin, calbindin-D28k and calretinin in the cerebrum of Chinese tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) - a high-resolution neuroanatomical resource

The Chinese tree shrew has emerged as a promising model organism, bridging the gap between rodents and primates in biomedical research. However, the neuroanatomy of this species remains incompletely described, limiting its application in neurophysiological and neuropathological studies. Here, we employed immunofluorescence microscopy to comprehensively map the distribution of parvalbumin, calbindin D-28k, and calretinin across tree shrew cerebrum. We examined their expression pattern in consecutive brain sections in sagittal, coronal and horizontal planes, generating a dataset of cellular-resolution images from 3,638 brain sections. This dataset, accessible via Science Data Bank (link to be determined), provides detailed regional and laminar-selective distribution of calcium-binding proteins valuable for the cyto- and chemoarchitectural characterization of the tree shrew cerebrum. This resource will not only advance our understanding of brain organization and facilitate basic and translational neuroscience research in tree shrews but also enhance comparative and evolutionary analyses across species.

中国树鼩（Chinese tree shrew）已成为生物医学研究领域极具潜力的模式生物，有效填补了啮齿类与灵长类之间的研究鸿沟。然而，该物种的神经解剖学特征仍未得到完整阐释，限制了其在神经生理学与神经病理学研究中的应用。本研究采用免疫荧光显微镜技术，对树鼩端脑中小白蛋白（parvalbumin）、钙结合蛋白D-28k（calbindin D-28k）及钙视网膜蛋白（calretinin）的分布进行了全面绘制。我们对矢状面、冠状面及水平面的连续脑切片开展了表达模式分析，从3638份脑切片中获取了细胞分辨率级别的图像数据集。该数据集可通过科学数据银行（Science Data Bank，链接待公布）获取，提供了钙结合蛋白的精细区域分布与层状选择性分布特征，可为树鼩端脑的细胞构筑与化学构筑表征提供关键参考依据。该资源不仅将深化我们对脑组织结构的认知，助力树鼩相关的基础与转化神经科学研究，还可推动跨物种的比较与进化神经科学分析。