{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:29:29Z","timestamp":1760059769824,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]],"date-time":"2025-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1751932800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","award":["2572022DQ03","LH2024C039"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2572022DQ03","LH2024C039"]}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province","award":["2572022DQ03","LH2024C039"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2572022DQ03","LH2024C039"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study aimed to determine whether the fetuses experienced hypoxic distress or intra-partum death due to compromised oxygen supply by quantitatively analyzing the lung structures of deceased captive South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis, SCT) cubs. Furthermore, it investigated the etiology and mechanisms of asphyxia in the deceased cubs and explored potential factors contributing to the high mortality rate of SCT cubs. The research focused on three deceased SCT cubs, using three deceased neonatal Amur Tigers (P. t. altaica, AT) with no inbreeding background as controls. Histological analysis of the cubs\u2019 lungs was conducted using hematoxylin\u2013eosin (H&amp;E) and special staining techniques. The possible causes of death in SCT cubs were evaluated by comparing pulmonary pathological changes and morphological parameters, including alveolar space (P(ASP)) values, mean alveolar linear intercept (Lm), and mean thickness of alveolar septa (Tas). Our research reveals that hypoxia is one of the most significant factors contributing to the mortality of tiger cubs. Additionally, we hypothesize that inbreeding depression may lead to abnormal lung development (e.g., thickening of lung tissue) in SCT cubs. This study lays the foundation for comprehensive investigations into the mortality of highly inbred SCT cubs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology14070833","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]],"date-time":"2025-07-08T11:58:07Z","timestamp":1751975887000},"page":"833","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparative Histopathological and Morphometric Analysis of Lung Tissues in Stillborn Cubs of South China Tiger and Amur Tiger"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Le","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jincheng","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fengping","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yaohua","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Zoological Park, Shanghai 200335, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zhaoyang","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Luoyang Zoo in Wangcheng Park, Luoyang 471000, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guangyao","family":"Geng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Zoological Park, Shanghai 200335, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kaixiong","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fujian Meihuashan Institute of South China Tiger Breeding, Longyan 364201, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Qunxiu","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health & Social Care, Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, Shanghai 201415, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dan","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tianlong","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100089, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0397-4292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yanchun","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China"},{"name":"National Forestry and Grassland Administration Research Center of Engineering Technology for Wildlife Conservation and Utilization, Harbin 150040, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1613","DOI":"10.1016\/j.proenv.2011.09.255","article-title":"Prediction of Potential Habitat for South China Tiger (Panthera tigris) Based on GIS and Web Datasets","volume":"10","author":"Li","year":"2011","journal-title":"Procedia Environ. 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