Genetically modified embryos
Mass media: scientists in the USA for the first time modified the DNA of a human embryo
A group of scientists from The Oregon University of Science and Health conducted the first successful experiment in the United States to modify a human embryo, the MIT Technology Review portal (First Human Embryos Edited in U.S.) reported.
A group of researchers led by Kazakh-born scientist Shukhrat Mitalipov working in the United States applied CRISPR gene editing technology, sources familiar with the results of the study told the portal.
As the portal notes, Mitalipov was the first to conduct an experiment on such a large number of human embryos and was able to prove the possibility of safely and effectively correcting defective genes that are the cause of hereditary diseases.
The embryos were allowed to develop for only a few days, after which they were destroyed. According to the source, scientists have managed to create several dozen genetically modified embryos from donor materials.
Previously, only researchers in China managed to conduct successful experiments on the genetic modification of a human embryo. But in the publications of Chinese researchers who also used CRISPR technology, errors in gene modification were mentioned – not all embryonic cells perceived the changes. This effect is called mosaicism in genetics. Mitalipov, on the contrary, managed to avoid mosaicism in his experiments.
The scientist himself refused to comment on the results of the study, which are still awaiting publication.
In 2013, Mitalipov announced a successful experiment to obtain stem cells from a cloned human embryo. A research team led by Mitalipov, a professor at the Oregon University of Science and Health, extracted DNA from a donor egg obtained from a young woman, placed genetic information from a skin cell in it and forced the cell to divide, but not by stimulating electrical discharges, as in the case of Dolly sheep cells, but with the help of caffeine. The resulting embryo developed for 5-6 days and reached a size of 120 cells, after which Mitalipov managed to extract living stem cells from it.
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28.07.2017