Advanced Cell Technology reports stem cell breakthrough

The research, which appears in the journal Nature, describes a method of deriving stem cells in mice using a technique of single-cell embryo biopsy similar to that used in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to test for genetic defects.

In the Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) technique, scientists were able to remove a single cell from a newly fertilized mouse embryo without killing it. The scientists were then able to grow a batch of embryonic stem cells from the single removed cell. The mouse embryos went on to develop normally after the single cell was removed.

Although the research represents a breakthrough in stem cell technology additional work is required to extend the technique to humans. However, in order for research to be extended to humans, a change in US law is still required.

“The most basic objection to embryonic stem cell research is the fact that embryos are deprived of any further potential to develop into a complete human being,” said Robert Lanza, medical director at ACT, and senior author of the study. “We have shown in a mouse model that you can generate embryonic stem cells using a method that does not interfere with the developmental potential of the embryo.”

Meanwhile, scientists at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have found a way to disable a gene in mice that is needed for an embryo to instill itself in the uterus, and were then able to derive stem cells from this embryo. Because the embryo was no longer able to implant into the uterus, it was no longer a potential human life, thus circumventing some ethical objections.