Establishment of retinal disease models using non-human primates and its strategy for drug discovery

Abstract

Retinal diseases such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa are the major causes of blindness. However, these pathological mechanisms remain to be elucidated, and development of new therapeutic agents has been desired. A large number of experimental animal models using rodents (rats and mice) have been used for the evaluations of the pathogenesis and novel therapeutic candidates in retinal diseases. However, the anatomy of the retina in rodents is different from that in humans, as rodents have no macular. Conversely, non-human primates have macular similar to humans, and therefore rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys are widely used as experimental animal models of retinal diseases. Here, we will introduce non-human primate models of retinal diseases and their pharmacological approaches, with a focus on our research findings.