Proposing a Model for Studying Primate Development Using Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

摘要

New genomic tools provide us with high-resolution information about the alterations that may have resulted in the evolution of our own species. However, all information available to date for comparative studies between humans and our closest relatives, the non-human primates (NHP), comes from DNA/RNA samples extracted from preserved (post-mortem) tissues. These samples do not always fairly represent the distinctive traits of live cell development; nor do they represent cell behavior. Ideally, the identification of differences in genetic makeup between related species should be translated into phenotypical divergence. In this chapter, we will discuss the idea of developing and characterizing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from our closest relatives apes, such as bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas. We then will discuss experimental protocols that will allow us to compare developing live neurons from humans to those from NHP and will suggest how to interpret possible outcomes in light of differences that have been previously involved in human speciation, such as brain size and differential gene expression. Such a culture model could provide new insights into human adaptation, with potential consequences for biomedical research and the basic biology of the species.