Q&A: UK stem cell first... BBC News Online looks at the scientific, legal and ethical implications.

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

BBC News Online
Wednesday, 13 August, 2003, 12:34 GMT 13:34 UK

Q&A: UK stem cell first

Scientists at King's College London have announced the creation of the first 
line of human embryonic stem cells in the
UK.

BBC News Online looks at the scientific, legal and ethical implications.


Human stem cell lines were first created from embryos longer than four years 
ago. Why has it taken so long to happen in
the UK?

Research work on human embryos is regulated by the Human Fertilisation and 
Embryology Authority. It did not grant
licences for the work to go ahead until 2002. The move followed a House of 
Lords recommendation that the work be
allowed to proceed.


Why do scientists want to create these cell lines?

Stem cells are undifferentiated, that is to say that they have the potential to 
become any kind of cell in the body.
The researchers' aim is to learn how to control this differentiation process so 
that large quantities of cells can be
grown for transplant. Sufferers of Parkinson's disease could benefit from 
transplants of dopamine-producing cells and
diabetics could benefit from transplants of insulin-producing cells, the 
scientists believe.


Which other conditions could be tackled?

Some cancer researchers are enthusiastic about stem cell research because they 
hope to replace cancer-damaged tissues.
Alzheimer's disease is another condition where diseased cells might be replaced 
by transplanted ones. And heart disease
is something which might be dealt with by some form of cell transplantation.


Is there no alternative to taking cells from human embryos?

Stem cells can also be derived from cells taken from an adult. Scientists using 
this method seek to persuade the cell
to "forget" its current status and go back to the original stem cell state it 
was in during its time in the embryo.
Groups opposed to stem cell work on embryos say the use of embryos is immoral 
and unnecessary, because the procedure
destroys the embryo and because an alternative is available. Scientists working 
on embryos say that stem cell research
is in its infancy and not enough is known about the potential of either adult 
or embryonic stem cells to abandon one
approach in favour of the other. They say the embryos they use are left over at 
the end of IVF treatment and would have
had to have been destroyed in any case. UK legislation requires that 
unimplanted frozen embryos created for IVF be
destroyed after five years. At the point at which the embryos are destroyed, a 
few days' development has taken place
since fertilisation and they are a microscopic clump of cells.


What will the scientists do next?

Successful treatments are still a long way off. Scientists do not yet fully 
understand how to guide the process of
differentiation to produce useful amounts of particular types of cell. The 
research they are carrying out now is aimed
at developing techniques to control cell differentiation. They will also 
deposit some of the cells they have cultivated
into a cell bank so that other researchers may use them. Cells from one single 
embryo will end up used by several
different teams of researchers working on different applications.

Published: 2003/08/13 12:34:29 GMT

SOURCE: BBC News Online


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