The Chinese Tree Shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) may be a Potential Animal Model for the Posterior Lingual Glands-Related Diseases

The objective of the study was to compare the anatomical and histological features of posterior lingual glands among Chinese tree shrews, mice, and humans, providing morphological evidence for evaluating the tree shrew as a biomedical model.Paraffin sections of lingual tissues from Chinese tree shrews (n=5), mice (n=5), and humans (n=3) were analyzed using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and alcian blue staining.Morphological structures, including vallate papillae, Von Ebner's glands (deep portion of the posterior lingual glands/gustatory glands), and Weber's glands (superficial portion of the posterior lingual glands/glands of root of tongue), were systematically examined.Chinese tree shrews exhibited V-shaped vallate papillae arrangement, resembling humans but differing from mice.The deep portion of the posterior lingual glands in all three species were pure serous glands (alcian blue-negative), though mice lacked striated ducts.The deep portion of the posterior lingual glands in tree shrews and humans were pure mucous glands (alcian blue-positive), draining via short ducts into mucosal surfaces, while murine the superficial portion of the posterior glands were mixed type and opened into tongue crypts.The anatomical and histological similarities between Chinese tree shrews and humans in posterior lingual gland structures, combined with its utility in studying human-specific diseases, support the tree shrew as a valuable model for investigating pathogenesis of lingual gland-related disorders.