Yes. The University of Washington does utilize the dog as an animal model of human disease. Recent projects have included looking for gene therapy cures for muscular dystrophy and therapeutic options for prostate cancer.
Dogs are also used for conservation research associated with our Conservation Canines program. The Dog Aging Project was first started by a research team at the UW.
Dogs are used in biomedical research for several reasons, particularly because of their physiological and anatomical similarities to humans, which make them valuable for studying various diseases and testing treatments.
Some of the key reasons include:
1. Anatomical and Physiological Similarities: Dogs share a number of physiological traits with humans, particularly in their cardiovascular, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems. In studies of diseases like cancer (especially prostate cancer), diabetes, and heart conditions, the anatomical structure of dogs often closely mirrors that of humans. For example, the structure of the canine prostate is very similar to the human prostate, making dogs valuable for prostate cancer research.
2. Spontaneous Disease Development: Unlike many rodent models, dogs naturally develop some diseases that are very similar to those in humans. This includes certain types of cancer, arthritis, and heart disease. These spontaneous disease models provide more realistic conditions for studying disease progression and treatment outcomes.
3. Behavioral and Cognitive Research: Dogs are highly intelligent and social animals, making them ideal subjects for studies in neuroscience, cognition, and behavior. Their complex social behaviors allow researchers to study learning, memory, and behavioral interventions, which can also be relevant for human applications, such as treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.
4. Drug Testing and Safety: Dogs may be used in preclinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new drugs. Their size and metabolic processes make them suitable for testing doses and understanding how drugs are metabolized, which helps researchers predict how similar drugs might affect humans.
The use of dogs in research is controversial due to ethical concerns, regulatory bodies require strict adherence to animal welfare guidelines. These models are used only when there is no alternative, and they provide critical insights into disease mechanisms and treatments that benefit both humans and animals.
Dogs at the UW that support biomedical research are housed indoors in pens that are designed to support their physical, mental, and social needs. Please see the corresponding website for a description of our Environmental Enrichment for Dogs and Puppies. Dogs are provided daily care by the Department of Comparative Medicine and consists of a team of veterinarians, veterinary assistants, behaviorists, and daily animal care givers.
Regulatory oversight is provided for the dogs in our animal care program and supported by our Office of Animal Welfare. It consists of our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, our Attending Veterinarian, and the Institutional Official. These groups are responsible for ensuring that we are in compliance with all of the relevant laws and regulations regarding the care and well-being of the dogs at the UW.
Researchers are required to evaluate the necessity and need for the particular animal model that they are proposing in their study and validating that it is the scientifically sound method to support their research question. This involves assessing the 3Rs to confirm that they cannot replace the animal model with a non-animal model, they are reducing the number of animals used to the appropriate number to answer their scientific question, and they are refining their processes and procedures to minimize pain or distress and maximizing welfare for the lifetime of the animal.
The UW has contributed significantly to prostate cancer research, focusing on models that better mimic human disease. One notable approach does involve using a canine model instead of the more traditional rodent models, like rats. The key reason for this choice is the anatomical and physiological similarities between the canine and human prostate. Dogs naturally develop spontaneous prostate cancer, which resembles the progression and characteristics of human prostate cancer far more closely than the rat model. A novel canine model for prostate cancer.
The rat prostate consists of four lobes, making it anatomically distinct from the human and the dog prostate, which is a compact gland. IIAR Journals Additionally, while rat models have been useful in studying cancer development, they do not fully capture the metastatic behavior observed in humans. The dog model, by contrast, exhibits spontaneous prostate cancer that more accurately mirrors human clinical scenarios, including metastasis to organs like the lungs and lymph nodes. This makes the dog model more suitable for studying the disease’s progression and for testing therapeutic interventions that might be more translatable to humans.
The UW work with the canine model, represents a crucial step toward more effective preclinical studies of prostate cancer treatments.
Prostate cancer remains the most common cancer among men in the United States, other than skin cancer. In 2024, it is estimated that around 299,010 new cases will be diagnosed, and approximately 35,250 men are expected to die from the disease. The lifetime risk of a man being diagnosed with prostate cancer is about 1 in 8. While the overall rate of prostate cancer has seen fluctuations, there has been a concerning rise in advanced-stage cases, increasing at an annual rate of about 5%, which is likely contributing to a slowdown in the decline of the overall death rate from this cancer. Cancer Info Resources, JNCCN, American Cancer Society MediaRoom
One of the significant challenges with prostate cancer is that while many cases are indolent and may not require immediate treatment, others are aggressive and can lead to severe outcomes if not managed properly. Early detection through regular screening, such as PSA testing, plays a crucial role in identifying the disease at a more treatable stage. The five-year survival rate for all stages of prostate cancer combined is around 97%, underscoring the importance of early diagnosis. JNCCN, ZERO Cancer (PDF).