PB
Primate Biology
PBPrimate Biol.
2363-4715
Copernicus Publications
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10.5194/pb-4-241-2017Preface: Stem cells in non-human primates
BehrRüdiger
rbehr@dpz.eu
German Primate Center, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Rüdiger Behr (rbehr@dpz.eu)19December2017
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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article is available from https://pb.copernicus.org/articles/4/241/2017/pb-4-241-2017.htmlThe full text article is available as a PDF file from https://pb.copernicus.org/articles/4/241/2017/pb-4-241-2017.pdf
Among the most relevant areas of biomedical research are novel insights into
human diseases associated with the degeneration of specific tissues and
organs and how to treat these. Stem cells may prove to be of extraordinary
value for the understanding and treatment of pathological processes. For the
investigation of pathological processes in humans, patient-specific-induced
pluripotent stem cells are a very useful and promising tool, often allowing
the modeling of the disease in a cell culture dish. In fact, numerous exciting
insights into pathomechanisms have been obtained in recent years by in
vitro studies of human cells. However, translational approaches to curing diseases
in the context of living organisms are very complex and can – for ethical
reasons – not be performed in humans without previous careful and serious
assessment of the risks and potential benefits of such therapies. Among
those diseases that may be treatable by stem-cell-based therapies are
Parkinson's disease, macular degeneration, myocardial degeneration, and
infertility. Many other diseases may also be treated in the future using
different types of stem cells. However, particularly pluripotent stem cells
and germ cells have the potential to form specific types of tumors called
teratomas. Tumor formation, however, would be an unacceptable side effect.
Moreover, stem cells may be attacked by the recipient's immune system.
Hence, it is important to identify minimal but efficient immunosuppression
protocols for stem-cell-based therapies. Finally, the functionality of cells
and tissues derived from transplanted stem cells (i.e., the efficacy of the
treatment) needs to be evaluated in the context of closely resembling the
clinical situation without putting humans at risk of experimental therapies.
Here, non-human primates (NHPs) come into play. They are very valuable animal
models in translational biomedical research due to their close
physiological, anatomical and genetic resemblance to humans. Consequently,
NHP stem cells need to be generated, investigated and subsequently tested in
regenerative therapies in vivo to promote translation into clinical
application.
This special issue of Primate Biology on NHP stem cells covers different
aspects of NHP stem cells. Wianny and Vezoli provide an excellent overview
of the current state of research using a NHP model of Parkinson's disease
and the stem-cell-based approaches to curing this medically and
socio-economically highly relevant neurodegenerative disease. Sharma and
colleagues discuss the characteristics of male germ-line stem cells in NHPs
and show the relevance of primate research by highlighting the discrepancies between primate and mouse
germ-line stem cells. This is particularly
true from the perspective of male germ-line stem cells, which may be used in
the future for the treatment of male infertility. Hemmi and colleagues
investigated the age effect of cell donors on the efficiency of the
generation of induced pluripotent stem cells and their neuronal
differentiation potential. This is of major importance since the primary
risk factor of most degenerative diseases in humans, including Parkinson's
disease, is age. Hence, efficient iPS cell generation from older persons is
important. Finally, Rodriguez-Polo and colleagues describe for the first
time the expression of a tyrosine kinase, c-CBL, in pluripotent stem cells.
They used the marmoset monkey as a NHP model. Since mutated c-CBL plays a role
in myeloid malignancies, it is reasonable to assume that this tyrosine
kinase also plays an important role in pluripotent stem cells.
We hope that this special issue of Primate Biology further promotes NHP stem
cell research and that it highlights the translational value of non-human
primates in this exciting and highly topical field of research.