Companion animals: Translational scientist's new best friends

Amir Kol; Boaz Arzi; Kyriacos A Athanasiou; Diana L Farmer; Jan A Nolta; Robert B Rebhun; Xinbin Chen; Leigh G Griffiths; Frank J M Verstraete; Christopher J Murphy; Dori L Borjesson

doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa9116

Companion animals: Translational scientist's new best friends

Sci Transl Med. 2015 Oct 7;7(308):308ps21. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa9116.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
² Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
³ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁴ Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁵ Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁶ Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁷ Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁹ Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. dlborjesson@ucdavis.edu.

Abstract

Knowledge and resources derived from veterinary medicine represent an underused resource that could serve as a bridge between data obtained from diseases models in laboratory animals and human clinical trials. Naturally occurring disease in companion animals that display the defining attributes of similar, if not identical, diseases in humans hold promise for providing predictive proof of concept in the evaluation of new therapeutics and devices. Here we outline comparative aspects of naturally occurring diseases in companion animals and discuss their current uses in translational medicine, benefits, and shortcomings. Last, we envision how these natural models of disease might ultimately decrease the failure rate in human clinical trials and accelerate the delivery of effective treatments to the human clinical market.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Clinical Trials as Topic
Disease Models, Animal*
Humans
Translational Research, Biomedical*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding