After more than two years of intensive ethical and scientific review, Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers at Harvard and Children's Hospital Boston are to begin the first effort in the United States to use human embryonic stem cells in a series of experiments whose principle has already been proven in animals. The work is being entirely supported with private funds because of the federal restrictions on human embryonic stem cell work. The goal is to develop treatments for a wide range of now-incurable conditions afflicting tens of millions of people.
The work will be conducted by two groups headed by HSCI senior investigators: Douglas Melton will focus on diabetes; Kevin Eggan will initially work with Melton on diabetes, and then plans to focus on neurodegenerative diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Thomas Dudley Cabot's group will focus on blood disorders. Daley was one of the principal scientists who in 2002 demonstrated in a mouse model the feasibility of using Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) to treat immune deficiency.
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer involves removing nuclei, which contain the cellular DNA (genes) from egg cells, and replacing them with the nuclei of donor cells. The resulting cell is subject to a chemical, or electrical, charge that triggers cell division and the creation of an embryo genetically identical to the donor of the nuclei. In the HSCI experiments, aimed at understanding diseases, the nuclei will be taken from skin cells donated by patients suffering from diabetes, blood diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Embryonic stem cells are the master cells of the body, capable of developing into any tissue type. The researchers will seek to learn how to control that differentiation, with a goal of eventually creating lines of cells that can, for instance, produce insulin-making islet cells in the pancreas, which are depleted or absent in diabetics.
Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers called the approvals "a seminal event in the University's effort to advance this tremendously promising area of science and fulfill that promise as quickly as possible for the countless patients suffering from diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, cancers, and a host of other illnesses."
"While we understand and respect the sincerely held beliefs of those who oppose this research, we are equally sincere in our belief that the life-and-death medical needs of countless suffering children and adults justifies moving forward with this research," Summers said, referring to the controversy over embryonic stem cell work.
The controversyResearch involving human embryonic stem cells is controversial because extracting the cells - which can differentiate into any cell or tissue type in the body - requires the destruction of a human embryo, albeit a blastocyst of only a few hundred cells, literally half the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Opponents of the work contend that no potential medical benefit can justify the destruction of what they view as a human life, or even as a person.
But Melton responds that "all human cells, even individual sperm and eggs, are 'living'."
"The relevant question is 'when does personhood begin?' That's a valid theological or philosophical question, but from the scientific perspective, this work holds enormous potential to save lives, cure diseases, and improve the health of millions of people. The reality of the suffering of those individuals far outweighs the potential of blastocysts that would never be implanted and allowed to come to term even if we did not do this research," he said.
"I think Harvard University has done the right thing by giving this research very careful review by multiple boards, and allowing plenty of time for reconsideration and reflection," he added. "If this new technology is to realize its promise, scientists should have the support of the community and proceed deliberately and carefully."
Find us on Google+
