Distribution and morphology of Clara cells in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Abstract

Clara cells of common marmosets have species-specific morphological characteristics, which suggest grouping the common marmoset phenotypically between primates and rodents.

Distribution of ciliated epithelial cells in the trachea of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

“…As the key function of ciliated cells is the upward transport of mucus, it seems probable that mucociliary clearance is confined to tracheal areas with high density of ciliated cells . Interestingly, the present investigation and previous studies in common marmosets indicated that goblet cells are scarce in the respiratory epithelium , and thus, mucus production may be limited in this species. The widespread areas of serous secretory cells in the tracheal epithelium supported by cartilage might therefore be required for the production of adequate amounts of seromucous secretions to sustain effective mucociliary clearance.…”

Respiratory Animal Models in the Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

“…Material costs (esp. drug compound) for pharmacology and toxicology studies high low [3] Hematopoietic chimerism of dizygotic twins no yes [2] Inter-individual variation of MHC class I and II loci high low [1] Identical aa residues in average for immunity-related genes compared to human 95 ± 3.4 87 ± 5.4 [7] Susceptible for viral and bacterial infection with human-relevant pathogens yes yes [23] Alveolar size equal [9] Highly alveolarized respiratory bronchioles yes yes [9] Bronchial branching pattern dichotomous [10,11] Presence of Clara cells in the lung not in trachea and major bronchi in all airway segments [13] Respiratory rate (under anesthesia) ~34 breaths/min ~27 breaths/min [19] Latent Herpes Virus B infection yes no [2] Wasting syndrome in captive colonies absent evident [6] Methods Handling laborious easy [3] Complete clinical examination feasible feasible [3] Blood sample volume (in vivo every two weeks) 48 mL 2.5 mL…”

“…A comparable distribution of goblet cells, Clara cells and mixed type secretory cells in the tracheobronchial tree of humans and marmosets is described, whereas there are more Clara cells and less goblet cells in the proximal and distal conducting airway epithelium of marmosets [13]. Another difference from the human situation is the distribution pattern of ciliated cells in the marmoset trachea with ciliated cells almost restricted to cartilage-free regions [14].…”

Use of nonhuman primates in obstructive lung disease research – is it required?

“…Internal controls, technical replicates, references, and a variety of different concentrations of drugs and other substances can be included and tested in one donor. Moreover, PCLS offer the potential of sampling at different time points up to 2 weeks and were established in many different species, including NHPs (reviewed in Sewald and Braun, 2013;Seehase et al, 2011). They are widely used in toxicology and pharmacology.…”