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Human-Monkey Chimeras for Modeling Human Disease: Opportunities and Challenges

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Book cover Chimera Research

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2005))

Abstract

The search for a better animal model to simulate human disease has been a “holy grail” of biomedical research for decades. Recent identification of different types of pluripotent stem cells (PS cells) and advances in chimera research might soon permit the generation of interspecies chimeras from closely related species, such as those between humans and other primates. Here, we suggest that the creation of human-primate chimeras—specifically, the transfer of human stem cells into (non-ape) primate hosts—could surpass the limitations of current monkey models of neurological and psychiatric disease, but would also raise important ethical considerations concerning the use of monkeys in invasive research. Questions regarding the scientific value and ethical concerns raised by the prospect of human-monkey chimeras are more urgent in light of recent advances in PS cell research and attempts to generate interspecies chimeras between humans and animals. While some jurisdictions prohibit the introduction of human PS cells into monkey preimplantation embryos, other jurisdictions may permit and even encourage such experiments. Therefore, it is useful to consider blastocyst complementation experiments more closely in light of advances that could make these chimeras possible and to consider the ethical and political issues that are raised.

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Acknowledgements

Reprinted from Stem Cells and Development with permission from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., New Rochelle, NY.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Alejandro De Los Angeles & John D. Elsworth

  2. Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Insoo Hyun

  3. Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Stephen R. Latham

  4. Axion Research Foundation, Hamden, CT, USA

    D. Eugene Redmond Jr.

Authors
  1. Alejandro De Los Angeles
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  2. Insoo Hyun
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  3. Stephen R. Latham
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  4. John D. Elsworth
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  5. D. Eugene Redmond Jr.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Eugene Redmond Jr. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Insoo Hyun

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Alejandro De Los Angeles

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De Los Angeles, A., Hyun, I., Latham, S.R., Elsworth, J.D., Redmond, D.E. (2019). Human-Monkey Chimeras for Modeling Human Disease: Opportunities and Challenges. In: Hyun, I., De Los Angeles, A. (eds) Chimera Research . Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2005. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9524-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9524-0_15

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-9523-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-9524-0

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