Cloning success in S Korea could influence discussions in Japan

The epochal success of South Korean researchers in cloning a human embryo and culling stem cells from it is likely to influence discussion in Japan about such studies.


'It's an achievement that provides great hope for patients suffering from serious diseases,' said Shinichi Nishikawa, group director of the Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at the government-affiliated Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken)(Japan).


The experiment by scientists at Seoul National University involved a special technique to remove the nucleus of an egg taken from a woman and replace it with the nucleus from one of her own cells, thus creating genetically identical cells.


The technique may provide a breakthrough in transplant treatment because a patient's body would not reject cloned cells. Transplanting cloned nerve cells containing a patients' own genes could cure Parkinson's disease or spinal cord damage caused by damage to nerve cells.



But some observers have voiced ethical concerns over cloning, warning that cloned embryos could result in a human clone if they were placed in a womb and, even if cloned embryonic stem cells were used exclusively for the purpose of studies and medical treatment, the embryos themselves from which human life starts would be artificially created and destroyed.



'Sufficient experimentation hasn't been conducted on animals. We need to verify if the technique is safe and effective,' said Motoya Katsuki, director general of the National Institute for Basic Biology (Japan).



Cloning human embryos is prohibited under regulations based on Japanese law, but a research panel of the Cabinet Office's Council for Science and Technology Policy has been discussing lifting the ban.



In its discussions, the panel has focused on such issues as whether to allow the creation and use of fertilized embryos for research purposes; the creation and use of cloned embryos; and preimplantation genetic diagnosis for in vitro fertilization. The main focus among these issues has been whether to allow studies on cloned human embryos.



Over the past 2-1/2 years, however, the panel has been divided. An interim report released by the panel in December presented both supporting and opposing views.



'There are huge differences between animals and humans. We should start researching the use of cloned human cells,' said Jichi Medical School's President Fumimaro Takaku, an advocate of cloning studies.



Prof. Susumu Shimazono at Tokyo University's graduate school of humanities and sociology, expressed a different view, saying, 'Discussion on the purpose of such studies and ethical issues are yet to be made.'



It is too soon to use human embryos, he said.



Panelists on either side of the debate are unlikely to reach a consensus in the near future because their discussions lack necessary data, such as the extent of current research using human and animal cells, and the use of such techniques in treating diseases.



At a symposium on cloned human embryos held by the council in Tokyo on Sunday, some members of patients support groups, including those suffering from spinal cord damage, called for the encouragement of such studies to help patients stricken with intractable diseases.



The purpose of the symposium was to provide an avenue for the public to state their views on the issue. The contents of the panel's interim report and views of each panel member were explained during the symposium, while a similar symposium will be held Sunday in Kobe (Japan).



Following the cloning success in South Korea, calls for the encouragement of such studies are likely to increase. The panel intends to release its final report early June, and is expected to discuss possible legislation that would be acceptable to the public. The cloning of human embryos will have a significant effect on medicine in the future.