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The ethics of using transgenic non-human primates to study what makes us human

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 11, pages 658–662 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

A flood of comparative genomic data is resulting in the identification of human lineage-specific (HLS) sequences. As apes are our closest evolutionary relatives, transgenic introduction of HLS sequences into these species has the greatest potential to produce 'humanized' phenotypes and also to illuminate the functions of these sequences. We argue that such transgenic apes would also be more likely than other species to experience harm from such research, which renders such studies ethically unacceptable in apes and justifies regulatory barriers between these species and other non-human primates for HLS transgenic research.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the assistance of C.J. McCormick, M. O'Bleness, L. Dumas, J. Dang, J. Keeney and M. Douse for critical reading and preparation of the manuscript. J.M.S. is supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants R01-MH081203 and RO1-AA11853. M.E.C. is supported by NIH grants 5P60DA011015 and RO1-DA029258. E.T.J. is supported by NIH grant P50-HG03390.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marilyn E. Coors is at the Department of Psychiatry and Center for Bioethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop B137, 13120 East 19th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.,

    Marilyn E. Coors

  2. Jacqueline J. Glover is at the Department of Pediatrics and Center for Bioethics and Humanities, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop B137, 13120 East 19th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.,

    Jacqueline J. Glover

  3. Eric T. Juengst is at the Center for Bioethics, School of Medicine, 314 A McNider Hall, University of North Carolina, School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.,

    Eric T. Juengst

  4. James M. Sikela is at the Department of Pharmacology and Human Medical Genetics and Neuroscience Programs, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, Mail Stop 8303, RC1 North Tower P18-6117, 12800 East 19th Avenue, PO Box 6511, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.,

    James M. Sikela

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  1. Marilyn E. Coors
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Correspondence to Marilyn E. Coors.

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Coors, M., Glover, J., Juengst, E. et al. The ethics of using transgenic non-human primates to study what makes us human. Nat Rev Genet 11, 658–662 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2864

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