Reprogenetics

In a recent article on Bloomberg.com, Dr. Mina Alikani of Reprogenetics and Tyho-Galileo Research Labs comments on the process of embryonic stem-cell line approval. According to the article, in June alone, 37 stem cell lines were approved by the NIH for tax-payer funded research. Three of these approved lines were derived at Reprogenetics. This brings the national total to 128 U.S. endorsed lines.

Despite the surge in approvals, Dr. Alikani comments on the still-politicized nature of embryonic stem cells and how it seeps into the approval process. “Down the line, they may have to deal with some kind of a congressional committee coming down to check to see what they did, what the approval process entailed and how well they screened everybody, and how well they stuck to the guidelines,” cautions Alikani.

While clinical applications derived from embryonic stem cells may not be immediately made available, we are hopeful that an increase in federally-approved stem-cell lines, and funding towards research on these cells, will help bring life-changing therapies to the patients who need them.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) involves removal of one to 10 cells from human embryos developing in vitro and allows diagnosis of chromosome abnormalities at those early stages.  At the 2011 Annual Meeting of ESHRE, Reprogenetics researcher, Dr. Elpida Fragouli, was honored with the Basic Science Award for her work on alternatives to embryo biopsy and conventional PGD. Dr. Fragouli’s paper described her team’s work on testing cells associated with the egg and the follicle for altered patterns of gene expression and how the expression patterns were associated with normal and abnormal eggs. These cells, called cumulus cells, are typically discarded following egg collection since they are not needed. Dr. Fragouli found that certain alterations in the cumulus cells from given follicle significantly increased the likelihood of abnormalities in the embryo following fertilization of the egg from that same follicle. This approach is not as comprehensive as that of direct analysis of the chromosomes in an embryo following biopsy, however, it is intriguing because the technique is essentially non-invasive and does not require embryo biopsy.

In an interview on the BBC (11 July 2011), Dr. Fragouli noted: “We are still in the process of establishing the usefulness of these genes as non-invasive markers of egg chromosome status and quality. However, it is interesting that several of these genes are involved in vital cellular functions of the cumulus cells and the egg they enclose, such as cell signaling and regulation, hormonal response and cell death, and so they may shed light on the genetic origins of chromosome abnormality.”

German Parliament Allows Some Embryo Screening

According to Reuters, German lawmakers have approved a new measure to allow limited screening of human embryos for possible life-threatening genetic diseases.

“The Bundestag moved to allow some pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, by a wide, non-partisan margin. But it also imposed strict conditions: Doctors can perform the screening only when the parents have a strong likelihood of passing on a genetic defect, or when the chances of miscarriage or stillbirth are (genetically) high.”