Biological implications and limitations of a cynomolgus monkey with naturally occurring Parkinson’s disease
Hao Li, 中国科学院昆明动物研究所中国科学院和云南省动物模型与人类疾病机理重点实验室，中国科学院昆明动物研究所-香港中文大学生物资源与疾病分子机理联合实验室，云南 昆明650223，中国, Yong‐Gang Yao, Xintian Hu, 中国科学院昆明灵长类研究中心，国家非人灵长类实验动物资源库和模式动物表型与遗传研究国家重大科技基础设施，云南 昆明 650107，中国, 中国科学院脑科学与智能技术卓越创新中心，上海 200031，中国
Abstract
We recently identified a cynomolgus monkey with naturally occurring Parkinson's disease (PD), indicating that PD may not be a uniquely human disease (Li et al, 2020). In our previous study, four lines of evidence, including typical PD clinical symptoms, pharmacological responses, pathological hallmarks, and genetic mutations, strongly supported the identification of a monkey with spontaneous PD (Figure 1). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of naturally developed PD in animals. This suggests that PD is not a disease restricted to humans, with its existence in a non-human primate providing a novel evolutionary angle for understanding PD. As a close relative to humans (Buffalo et al, 2019; Phillips et al, 2014; Yan et al, 2011), this rare case of PD in another primate species provides solid evidence that monkeys are ideal candidates for the development of a genuine "animal version of PD", with conserved etiology and pathogenesis (Li et al, 2020). Furthermore, it allows us to compare similarities and differences in PD development between species and to understand PD pathogenesis from an evolutionary point of view.