Gay couples may soon be able to have their own biological kids
Human egg cells can now be created from donor blood — a brave new world is upon us.
26 September, 2018
A false color image of the results of the study. Immature human eggs are shown in pink. (Courtesy of Saitou Lab)
- Japanese scientists have successfully created immature human egg cells using stem cells.
- The discovery builds on years of research into the uses of stem cells.
- While the prospects for new fertility treatments are promising, the ethical questions raised by the procedure will have to be answered.
<p>Japanese scientists have changed blood cells into stem cells which were then used to create immature human egg cells. While the new eggs are too immature to be of any use, <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2018/09/19/science.aat1674" target="_blank">the study</a>, published on September 20 in <em><a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/" target="_blank">Science</a></em>, points the way to new fertility treatments as well as ethical concerns that are unlike anything we've encountered before. </p>
How did they do it?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="71aae8a9494f6d3b362ec33e10a90089"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DshNfhAwPec?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The scientists took human blood cells and used a <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/johns_hopkins_researchers_return_blood_cells_to_stem_cell_state" target="_blank">previously known method</a> to transform them into human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). These cells can be changed into <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/stem_cell" target="_blank">any other cell,</a> making them extremely useful in medical research and giving them endless potential for <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/stem-cells-used-to-repair-teeth" target="_blank">future treatments</a>.</p><p>While previous studies have attempted to create lab-grown human eggs from stem cells before, those attempts were all unsuccessful. The trick, it seems, was to put the new egg cells into a miniature ovary built for this task out of cells taken from mice. This allowed the scientists to succeed where others had failed. </p>What can we do with this?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="485e259c7c25c0b4ac0ccb6afcd9986c"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VjY0vqgDMnE?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>While the eggs produced in this study are immature and incapable of doing anything, there is reason to hope that over the long run fully functioning eggs will be <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/09/20/649552734/scientists-create-immature-human-eggs-from-stem-cells" target="_blank">created</a>. This has already been done for <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2012/10/04/162263750/scientists-create-fertile-eggs-from-mouse-stem-cells" target="_blank">mice</a>, although making that work for human cells will be a little more difficult.</p><p>Artificially created mature human egg cells could be used in a variety of fertility treatments. They could be produced for those born infertile, people who have lost their fertility due to illness, or even for gay couples who want to have a child with their own genetic makeup and not that of a donor. On a more mundane level, mature eggs could be created on demand for research purposes.</p><p>The study's authors stated that the next step for them will be to try and produce mature egg and sperm cells that could actually be used for reproduction. It may only be a matter of time before fully functioning lab grown human gametes are a reality. </p>What are the ethical concerns?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="732941e921e5e20999f80d60e1396aa3"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L558WtD1tU8?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>This process currently allows immature eggs to be created that have the DNA of the blood cell donor. If the procedure is perfected and mature sperm and eggs can be produced, a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5129.Brave_New_World" target="_blank">brave new world</a> of genetic selection may be upon us. One in which desirable DNA can be bought and sold to create gametes with desirable genetic qualities. <a href="https://religion.dartmouth.edu/people/ronald-michael-green" target="_blank">Ronald Green</a>, a Dartmouth bioethicist who often works on issues related to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/11/AR2008111102258.html" target="_blank">stem cells</a>, explains one of the many strange possibilities that we may soon face:</p><blockquote>A woman might want to have George Clooney's baby, and his hairdresser could start selling his hair follicles online. So we suddenly could see many, many progeny of George Clooney without his consent.</blockquote><p>In addition to the possibility of genetic theft, the ability for any person to have their cells turned into eggs which could lead to a successful birth allows for the creation of children from the cells of the recently deceased. A creepy situation that we will undoubtedly have to reckon with. </p><p>People in need of new organs might see fit to have a child created with their DNA to provide a spare kidney a few years down the road. This is already happening in the form of ethically ambiguous <a href="http://www.amc.edu/bioethicsblog/post.cfm/is-it-ethical-for-parents-to-create-a-savior-sibling" target="_blank">savior siblings</a> and was explored in the book and film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1078588/" target="_blank"><em>My Sister's Keeper</em></a><em>. </em>Will the morality of the child's creation be any different if the child is tailor made for the person in need of a donor rather than the old fashioned way? </p><p>We must begin asking ourselves now how we will react to these ethical questions since the science won't slow down for us.</p>
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Stem cells help restore damaged teeth, new study finds
Stem cells have endless uses. This study suggests they can even bring half dead teeth back to life.
19 September, 2018
Photo credit: Isaac Castillejos on Unsplash
</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.uptodate.com/contents/mouth-and-dental-injuries-in-children-beyond-the-basics" target="_blank">Half of all children</a> suffer some kind of dental injury while young. Sometimes the damage isn't to the baby teeth they will lose anyway, but to the permanent adult teeth lying below the gums that they will need for the rest of their lives. In some cases, trauma can cut off the blood supply to a tooth and rot out the living pulp inside it; a condition called "<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/pulp-necrosis" target="_blank">pulp necrosis</a>." This condition often leads to the loss of the tooth. While treatment exists, it is often unsatisfactory.</p>
But stem cells might do the trick.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODYzODIwOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTkzNDc2NH0.QDXC3AP_KwvqKOPoprk5ngoDWpsQXPuusoQl7xtK52Y/img.jpg?width=980" id="d79df" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fe85d6bef694d6bb350d9499e295504d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Few people really like going to the dentist. This new treatment might reduce the need for the less pleasant treatments.
(Getty images)
<p>A new clinical trial by <a href="https://en.fmmu.edu.cn/Faculties.htm" target="_blank">Yan Jin</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Kun+Xuan+forth+millityary+medicine&oq=Kun+Xuan+forth+millityary+medicine&aqs=chrome..69i57.4748j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">Kun Xuan</a>, and Bei Li of the <a href="https://en.fmmu.edu.cn/" target="_blank">Fourth Military Medicine University</a> in Xi'an, China and <a href="https://www.dental.upenn.edu/departments_faculty/faculty_directory/songtao_shi/" target="_blank">Songtao Shi</a> of the University of Pennsylvania's <a href="https://www.dental.upenn.edu/" target="_blank">School of Dental Medicine</a> demonstrates how to repair teeth suffering from pulp necrosis by taking stem cells from the patient's baby teeth.<br></p><p><a href="http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/455/eaaf3227" target="_blank">The study,</a> carried out in China on 40 children who had both damaged adult teeth and baby teeth that had yet to fall out, was published in the journal <a href="http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/455/eaaf3227" target="_blank"><em>Science Translational Medicine</em>.</a><em> </em>The test subjects were selected to either receive the new treatment or an older treatment called <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10409837" target="_blank">apexification</a>, which attempts to address the issue by encouraging root development. This was considered the control group. </p><p>The patients who received the stem cell treatment, called human deciduous pulp stem cell (hDPSC) treatment, had pulp tissue taken out of one of their healthy baby teeth. This pulp is rich in stem cells. The cells were grown in a lab and then placed into the injured adult tooth. The hope was that the stem cells would encourage the growth of new pulp inside the tooth. </p><p>Follow-ups were carried out for up to three years. The patients who had received the hDPSC treatment showed better blood flow in their teeth, better root systems, and thicker dentin than the patents who underwent the traditional procedure. They also had recovered sensation in their teeth, while the control group had not. The use of a patient's own cells in the treatment also reduced the risk of their body rejecting the therapy, <a href="https://bigthink.com/scotty-hendricks/world-first-scientists-successfully-transplant-lab-grown-lungs-into-pigs" target="_blank">making the concept even more attractive</a>. </p><p>"This treatment gives patients sensation back in their teeth. If you give them a warm or cold stimulation, they can feel it; they have living teeth again," <a href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/regrowing-dental-tissue-stem-cells-baby-teeth" target="_blank">Dr. Shi told<em> Penn Today</em></a>. "For me, the results are very exciting. To see something we discovered take a step forward to potentially become a routine therapy in the clinic is gratifying."</p>What applications will this have?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="186f0f9fbb5cc2b0ccbe0b47497f1d6e"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ke79so3vvdo?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Before you get too excited, the research is still in the early stages. The problem of how to treat adults with dental problems after they have no more baby teeth to take stem cells from still remains unsolved. It will also be some time before the dental treatment gets approval for use in the United States, so don't hold your breath for getting a stem cell boost to your smile just yet.<br></p><p>Many children suffer dental injuries that can have a lasting impact later in life, often leading to the loss of permanent teeth. This can lead to a loss of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17064234" target="_blank">self-esteem</a>, <a href="http://www.mahoneydds.com/2018/04/10/missing-sound-tooth-loss-affects-speech/" target="_blank">speech issues</a>, and <a href="https://www.pittsburghdentalimplants.com/dental-implants/effects-of-tooth-loss/" target="_blank">jaw problems</a>. This new treatment option, while currently limited to very young children, could provide a breakthrough in dental care. The potential applications for treating systemic diseases such as lupus are also promising.</p><p>"We're really eager to see what we can do in the dental field, and then building on that to open up channels for systemic disease therapy," <a href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/regrowing-dental-tissue-stem-cells-baby-teeth" target="_blank">Dr. Shi said</a>.<em></em></p>
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