A human genetics clinic said on Thursday it had developed 18 new lines of disease-carrying embryonic stem cells and was offering them to researchers eager to study their potential for treating inherited diseases.
The action could be a small boost for scientists who have been stymied by strict federal limitations on stem-cell research, including a ban on federal funding for development of new lines of embryonic stem cells or for research using new lines.
Although lines of normal stem cells have been previously made available, the new batches are the first of diseased cells to be publicly released, said Dr. Yury Verlinsky, chief executive officer of the Reproductive Genetics Institute.
They could be used to study a range of serious inherited human diseases including a form of anemia called thalassemia, Fanconi anemia, and the brain-destroying Huntington disease, he said.
The clinic developed the lines in its work screening embryos for couples who are at risk of passing on genetic diseases and wish to have children.
Verlinsky’s report on the new lines is published in the January issue of Reproductive BioMedicine Online. On Thursday he was due to announce the availability of the stem-cell lines and the New York opening of a branch of his multinational clinic, which is headquartered in Chicago.
Scientists wishing to use the cells from Verlinsky’s clinic will be charged a nominal fee.
Despite the federal limitations on funding for stem-cell research, which would apply in this case, many scientists are clamoring for embryonic stem cells. They say the cells offer an opportunity to study diseases in ways never done before — practically from the moment of conception.
Experimental treatments
The diseased lines could be used to test experimental treatments such as gene therapy or new drugs, Verlinsky told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“Because this line can differentiate into different tissues and organs, you can look at how drugs act on the cells --heart, kidney, lung, liver and so on. I foresee this could be a substitute for the study of drugs on animals.”
Embryonic stem cells come from days-old embryos before they have begun to differentiate, or form the beginnings of the different tissues and organs in the body. They have the potential to become any kind of cell or tissue, if nourished properly.
Scientists want to study them to understand the basic biology of disease and perhaps to use them to grow new organs or tissues for transplants. The hope is to treat or even cure many diseases, from cancer to broken spinal cords.
Stem cells from genetically diseased embryos could be used to grow heart tissue, for example, that could then be studied to see how the faulty genes affect the heart.
But opponents, including President George W. Bush, say destroying any human embryo is wrong.
The stem-cell lines come from both healthy and genetically affected embryos donated by the couples, Verlinsky said. The embryos would otherwise be destroyed.
Verlinksy said his clinic has also made available healthy stem cell lines for researchers who want to study them. Scientists have complained that stem cells available under U.S federal government funding are not sufficient for research.