Animal models are highly valuable systems that have been extensively used to elucidate human disease pathogenesis and to find therapeutic ways to treat human diseases .Since non-human primates are close to humans,monkeys are important model species in exploring the mechanisms and treatment of human neurodegenerative diseases , neuropsychiatric disorders, cognitive function, and neural circuits.However, due to the lack of embryonic stem cell lines in large animals, the traditional gene targeting technology is difficult to establish primate animal models of human diseases . CRISPR/Cas9, as a recently developed tool for genome modifications , has been successfully used to target genomic loci in mouse, rat, monkey, and other species.Here, we discuss the utilization of CRISPR /Cas9 technology in establishing monkey models for studying human neurodegenerative diseases .

In vitro studies have established the prevalent theory that the mitochondrial kinase PINK1 protects neurodegeneration by removing damaged mitochondria in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, difficulty in detecting endogenous PINK1 protein in rodent brains and cell lines has prevented the rigorous investigation of the in vivo role of PINK1. Here we report that PINK1 kinase form is selectively expressed in the human and monkey brains. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deficiency of PINK1 causes similar neurodegeneration in the brains of fetal and adult monkeys as well as cultured monkey neurons without affecting mitochondrial protein expression and morphology. Importantly, PINK1 mutations in the primate brain and human cells reduce protein phosphorylation that is important for neuronal function and survival. Our findings suggest that PINK1 kinase activity rather than its mitochondrial function is essential for the neuronal survival in the primate brains and that its kinase dysfunction could be involved in the pathogenesis of PD.