February 12, 2004

scientists comment on human stem cell story

Responses to the news that South Korean Scientists have successfully cloned 30 human embryos to obtain cloned embryonic stem cells which they hope could one day be used to treat disease.

Roger Pederson, Professor of Regenerative Medicine, University of Cambridge, said:

“The present work has substantially advanced the cause of generating transplantable tissues that exactly match the patient’s own immune system. These researchers’ findings also make it possible to learn how to reprogramme the human genome to an embryonic state. This will likely accelerate the development of alternative ways of reprogramming human cells, which could in the future diminish the need to use human eggs for this purpose.”

Linda Kelly, Chief Executive, Parkinson’s Disease Society, said:

“This announcement is clearly a milestone in medical research. The PDS supports the use of embryonic stem cells in research, alongside research using adult stem cells, within the existing regulatory and ethical framework, as it offers great promise for new treatments for a wide range of conditions, including Parkinson’s. Although we are still many years from the beginning of clinical trials with patients, we believe this is a significant first step forward.”

Alastair Kent, Director of the Genetic Interest Group (a national alliance of organisations which support children, families and individuals affected by genetically influenced conditions), said:

“This is an important breakthrough. It’s good news for patients as it brings us one step closer to the development of cures for some of the terrible diseases that can afflict us all.”

Tom Baldwin, Professor of Philosophy, York University, said:

“Today’s news is exciting. From an ethical point of view, cell nuclear replacement |(CNR) is the least problematic way of generating embryonic stem cells. If the research further enables scientists to understand the way in which the ‘reprogramming’ of adult cells takes place during CNR, it might even make it possible to stimulate this process without CNR at all – thereby removing all ethical problems. The way to tackle anxieties about the misuse of these new techniques for the purpose of risky reproductive cloning is by tight regulation, not prohibiting potentially valuable new therapeutic strategies.”

John Sindon, Chief Scientific Officer at Reneuron, said:

“Ever since Dolly the sheep was created in 1996, scientists have been pursuing the holy grail of determining if embryo cloning is possible in humans. This is not to raise the spectre of reproducing cloned babies, but rather to generate what would be a remarkable therapeutic solution to a wide range of intractible diseases: pluripotent cells genetically identical to the patient which could be used to generate tissue that would be readily accepted by transplant and without immune rejection. While reports from different sources have suggested human embryonic stem cells have been cloned, this report is the first to be published in a respected scientific journal following peer review. Of over 240 eggs, about 30 blastocysts were formed which could enable ES cell lines to be established. This efficiency is high, and suggests the Korean team ere working with material of the highest quality.

“In terms of a therapeutic future there is no therapeutic application on the early horizon. The sheer inefficiency of the process is a major handicap, but one that seems surmountable with further research. The stability of the cell lines, both in terms of chromosomal arrangements and gene expression needs to be determined, since animal cloning experiments over the last 7 years have revealed that abnormal offspring are the rule rather than the exception. Cells and tissues derived from them need to be safe before they can be applied clinically.”