Stem-cell-based regenerative therapies in patients, e.g., for a failing heart or Parkinson's disease, are within reach. However, studies in appropriate animal models are required to make the final step to the clinic. In this context, the baboon may represent a valuable animal model for specific purposes. Here, we generated five so-called induced pluripotent stem cell lines from the baboon, which may be useful for preclinical testing of the respective therapeutic approaches.

We propose for this special issue an exhaustive review of past and most recent advances on the topic of cell replacement in Parkinson’s disease, describing the different procedures using transplantation of various cell sources as a therapeutic approach and linked therapeutic behavioral and/or functional outcomes. We conclude by opening perspectives on future promising developments for the use of cell-replacement therapy in research and its translation to the clinic.

This review provides an introduction to the in vivo and in vitro germline stem cell terminology and physiology in non-human male primates. Primordial germ cell specification, migration and expansion are compared among species, and the usefulness of pluripotency markers is discussed taking immunohistochemical and molecular evidence during postnatal developmental stages into consideration. The concept of germline plasticity is critically reviewed and might present a primate-specific feature.

In these studies induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) were generated from donors across the life span of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and were subjected to a directed neural differentiation protocol. Additionally chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) iPS cells were generated. Both aged marmoset iPS cells and chimpanzee iPS cells showed defects in their ability to differentiate. However, most of these defects were able to be overcome by a brief treatment with dimethyl sulfoxide.