SCNT in Stem Cell Research
Some researchers use SCNT in stem cell research. The aim of carrying out this procedure is to obtain stem cells that are genetically matched to the donor organism. Presently, no human stem cell lines have been derived from SCNT research.
Embryonic stem cells are new, unspecialized cells that are able to be produced into a specialized cell that can replace another cell that has been lost in the body.
A potential use of genetically-customized stem cells would be to create cell lines that have genes linked to the particular disease. For example, if a person with Parkinson's disease donated his or her somatic cells, then the stem cells resulting from SCNT would have genes that contribute to Parkinson's disease. In this scenario, the disease specific stem cell lines would be studied in order to better understand the disease.
In another scenario, genetically-customized stem cell lines would be generated for cell-based therapies to transplant to the patient. The resulting cells would be genetically identical to the somatic-cell donor, thus avoiding any complications from immune system rejection.
Only a handful of the labs in the world are currently using SCNT techniques in human stem cell research. In the United States, scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, the University of California San Francisco, Stemagen (La Jolla, CA) and possibly Advanced Cell Technology are currently researching a technique to use somatic-cell nuclear transfer to produce embryonic stem cells. In the United Kingdom, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has granted permission to research groups at the Roslin Institute and the Newcastle Centre for Life. SCNT may also be occurring in China.
In 2005, a South Korean research team led by Professor Hwang Woo-suk, published claims to have derived stem cell lines via SCNT, but supported those claims with fabricated data. Recent evidence has proved that he in fact created a stem cell line from a parthenote.
The impetus for SCNT-based stem cell research has been decreased by the development and improvement of alternative methods of generating stem cells. Methods to reprogram normal body cells into pluripotent stem cells were developed in humans in 2007. The following year, this method achieved a key goal of SCNT-based stem cell research: the derivation of pluripotent stem cell lines that have all genes linked to various diseases. Some scientists working on SCNT-based stem cell research have recently moved to the new methods of induced pluripotent stem cells.
Read more about this topic: Somatic-cell Nuclear Transfer
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