Scientists seek to mix human and cow cells
Tuesday, 07 Nov 2006 11:03
Could cow eggs be the latest step in tackling diseases such as Alzheimer's?
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A team of scientists is seeking permission to fuse cow eggs and human cells in the hope of finding a cure for debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Researchers from the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) at the International Centre for Life in Newcastle submitted their application yesterday for a three-year licence for the work from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).
If granted, the research team would be able to create hybrid embryos that would be 0.1 per cent animal and 99.9 per cent human. The embryos would not be allowed to develop and would be destroyed after two weeks under the terms of the licence.
They claim that the cow eggs are vital for stem cell research as human eggs are in short supply. Animal cells are thought to hold the potential to reveal more than is previously known about how cells behave.
The ultimate aim of the research is to create stem cells to grow new tissue that is genetically matched to individual patients, thereby lessening the chance of the body rejecting the new tissue for damaged body parts.
Dr Lyle Armstrong of NESCI said that the team is "very hopeful" that they will be granted the licence for the work.
"We need this information to enable us to take this area of stem cell research to the next stage," he said.
"At the moment we don't know if the nuclear transfer process works well enough in humans to create useful embryonic stem cells. We need to carry out many tests to establish this and, as animal eggs are freely available, it makes sense to use these as a source of material for our laboratory work."
Dr Armstrong added: "Stem cell research promises huge potential medical advantages and we believe we will be working towards our ultimate goal of developing new patient therapies."
But concerns have been raised that the process is unethical.
Dr Calum McKellar from the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics told the BBC1 Six O'Clock News: "In this kind of procedure we are mixing, at a very intimate level, animal eggs with human chromosomes. We believe this may begin to undermine the whole distinction between animals and humans.
"If this happens it may also undermine human dignity and human rights."
Plans to submit similar applications have been announced by teams at Edinburgh University and Kings College London. The NESCI team expect a decision on their application from HFEA in the next few months. If granted work would begin straight away.