Selected Grantee Publications
- Clear All
- 2 results found
- Nonhuman Primate Models
- nigms
- 2023
The Landscape of Tolerated Genetic Variation in Humans and Primates
Gao et al., Science. 2023.
Investigators created a whole-genome sequence database from 809 nonhuman primates (NHPs) of 233 species to test the hypothesis that gene variants that do not cause disease in NHPs would likely be benign also in humans. They found that 99% of the genetic variants that were benign in NHPs also were classified as benign in the human ClinVar database. In contrast, only 71% to 87% of genomic variants classified as benign in non-primate animals were benign in humans. Building on this approach, the authors reclassified more than 4 million human genetic variants of unknown health impact as likely being benign based on effects in NHPs. This work illustrates the power of comparative medicine approaches between NHPs and humans. Supported by ORIP (P40OD024628, P51OD011106) and NIGMS.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Protein Markers Indicate Neuro-Damage in SARS-CoV-2-Infected Nonhuman Primates
Maity et al., Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. 2023.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9981268/
In this study, researchers examined the proteins expressed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in nonhuman primates (NHPs) to better understand how COVID-19 infection can result in brain pathology, a common outcome. The study found that even in NHPs with minimal or mild COVID‑19, CSF proteins were significantly dysregulated compared with uninfected NHPs. Furthermore, the most affected proteins were enriched in the same brain regions that show lesions after COVID-19 infection, including the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and brain stem. Collectively, these regions have wide-ranging control over such crucial functions as cognition, motor control, and breathing, showing how even mild COVID-19 infection can result in significant neurological impairment. Supported by ORIP (P51OD011104, S10OD032453), NIGMS, NCI, and NICHD.