What is Embryonic Stem Cell Research?

Embryonic Stem cells, what are they?

Lets first go over what stems are. Stem cells, in general, are undifferentiated cells that have the potential to transform into specialized cell types such as red blood cells, muscle cells, etc. Embryonic stem cells are stem cells derived from the early fetal stage of embryos. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, they have the ability to turn into over 200 other tissue types (7).Human embryonic stem cell research or hESC research, focuses on the research of embryos derived from humans. However, its direct relation to human life, brings up major issues.

 The Truth About Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

To make it clear, the cells used in the research aren't the cells that were directly extracted from the embryo, rather they are cells grown from the original cells in laboratories to make what are known as stem cell lines. Also, embryonic stem cells used in research come from embryos that have been fertilized by in vitro fertilization, NOT from cells that have been naturally fertilized in the body of a women (5).The cells were left over from in vitro procedures. Also, those cells were donated for research with consent of the donor.

Major Challenges

One major problem they must overcome is the tumors stem cells tend to cause when they split out of control. Scientists are still trying to find a way to stop the cell's splitting once its purpose of replacing damaged tissue has been accomplished. In order to truly advance in research, scientists must find a way to correct and overcome this major problem.

http://www.ahealthblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/induced-pluripotent-stem-cells.jpg

Pluripotent Stem Cells Picture (15). 

The process of extracting stem cells from a blastocyst, destroys and kills the embryo. This is what causes the major ethical issues to arise.

One Stem Cell Line, One Growing Embryo Picture (16). 

In recent years, researchers have found a new way to create stem cell lines. Instead of extracting stem cells from a  blastocyst as they had in previous years, scientists now extract only one stem cell called a blastomere from an 8-cell embryo. The embryo is not destroyed in this process and can continue to grow after the extraction. The blastomere is then grown in a culture to create a new stem cell line.

Using the Technology

Human embryonic stem cell research, or hESC research, is a field in regenerative medicine. The goal researchers aim for would be to research for possible treatments or therapies for human degenerative diseases such as tissue replacement in the body. Researchers face many problems when working with embryonic stem cells. One major problem they must overcome is the tumors stem cells tend to cause when they split out of control. Scientists are still trying to find a way to stop the cell's splitting once its purpose of replacing damaged tissue has been accomplished. In order to truly advance in research, scientists must find a way to correct and overcome this major problem.

 The History of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

Here is a timeline of dates relevant to the history of hESC research. Information for this timeline came from stemcellhistory.com. (6)

July 12, 1974:

- The National Research act establishes the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research in order to oversee the protection of human subjects during medical/ scientific Experiments. The commission was created as part of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

- Congress bans all federally funded fetal tissue research. This ban would be kept in place until the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research could come up with some guidelines.

Stem cell extraction picture (17).

1975: An Ethics Advisory Board to oversee fetal/ fetal tissue research that come from abortions.

1980: President Reagan doesn’t renew the Ethics Advisory Board. Because of this, the federal funding for human embryo research is halted.

1990: Congress tries to lift the moratorium with legislation; however, the bill was vetoed by President H.W. Bush.

1995: Congress bans federal funding for embryo research by passing the Dickey-Wicker Amendment which prohibited creation of human embryos for research through federal funds.

1998: James Thomson, a scientist from the University of Wisconsin, is the first to ever isolate human embryonic stem cells and show that they could potentially rejuvenate and turn into specialized cell types.

August 2001: President George W. Bush says that the only stem cell lines eligible for federal funding were the ones derived before August 9 of 2001, the day he gave his address.

December 26, 2006: “Guidelines for the Conduct of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research” is released by the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

March 9, 2009: President Barack Obama Issues an executive order that would remove all barriers to “responsible scientific research involving human stem cells.”

October 11, 2010: The Geron Corporation announces that they have acquired their first patient for their clinical trial involving human embryonic stem cells.

November 14, 2011: The Geron Corporation shuts down the first ever hESC clinical trial due to lack of funding, opting to put funds into cancer research. (3)

November 22, 2010: the FDA granted permission for Advanced cell Technology to start a clinical trial that uses human embryonic stem cell to treat patients with Stargardt’s Macular Dystrophy.

 

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