The Baboon in Biomedical Research

Abstract

Clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remain the leading killer of men and women alike in the United States. The pedigreed baboon colony at the Southwest National Primate Research Center affords many advantages for the study of biological risk factors that influence the onset and progression of CVD. Not only is the baboon model amenable to experimentally induced atherosclerosis (McGill et al., 1976), but close phylogenetic and physiological similarities help to ensure that the results are pertinent to understanding human disease. This article focuses on established predictors of CVD risk, such as dyslipidemia and endothelial dysfunction, and the insights that have been gained from research with pedigreed baboons on the effects of diet and genotype, and their interactions, on these important predictive variables.