Abstract
Transgenic mice have contributed immensely to biomedical science. However, the genetic and physiological differences between primates and mice, including their physiological functions, hamper the extrapolation of results from mouse disease models to direct clinical applications in humans. Thus, development of non- human primate models that mimic various human physiological functions, including the neuronal system, would accelerate the advance of biomedical research. In particular, genetically modified non- human primates would be a powerful human disease model for preclinical study of newly developed therapies, drugs, and basic science.
The common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) is an useful experimental animal in biomedical research fields such as neuroscience, stem cell research and regenerative medicine. We have produced transgenic marmosets using a self- inactivating lenti- viral vector. With the success of the transgenic marmoset, research into human disease, physiology, and the development of drug therapies is expected to increase. However, targeted gene knockout animals have not been produced by the lent- viral vector method. Production of targeted gene knockout and transgenic marmosets to introduce long DNA are the next problems to be solved in marmoset transgenesis research.
