Genome-edited rabbit, a prospective alternative model for neurological diseases

Abstract

Animal models have great importance in the research of human neurodegenerative diseases due to their value in symptom mimicking, mechanism investigation, and preclinical tests. Although non-human primate and large animal models have good performance in disease modeling due to their high maintenance cost and critical ethical standards, rodent models are commonly used. Rodent models have been successfully applied in modeling many neurological diseases; however, their genetic background, neuroanatomical features, and nervous system development are different from those of humans. Moreover, the short lifespan and small body size of rodent models also limit the monitoring of disease progression and observation of clinical symptoms in studying neuronal disorders that are late-onset or have a long course of progression. In comparison with rodents, rabbits are phylogenetically closer to humans and have closer similarities to humans in brain development, thus are an alternate animal model for human neurological diseases.

Genome-edited rabbits: Unleashing the potential of a promising experimental animal model across diverse diseases

“…Given the above species-specific advantages, genome-edited rabbits are superior models for mimicking the pathogenic characteristics of diverse human genetic diseases. In recent years, researchers have successfully established genome-edited rabbit models for a growing number of human diseases, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD), immune system-related diseases, ocular diseases, and neurological disorders ( Table 3 ) ( Fan et al, 2021 ; Song et al, 2020a ; Xu et al, 2021b ; Zhang et al, 2022b ), leading to an improved understanding of disease pathophysiology and ability to develop therapeutic interventions ( Figure 2 ).…”