Oregon Scientists Successfully Clone Monkey Embryos

By Anastacia Mott Austin

For the first time, scientists have been able to clone an adult male monkey, in order to use the embryonic stem cells from the clone.

This week’s issue of the journal Nature contains a report documenting the successful cloning of monkey skin cells into monkey embryos. It marks the first time this particular procedure has been used on a primate– and scientists say the technology should be transferable to humans.

"We hope the technology will be useful for other labs that are working on human eggs and human cells," said Shoukhrat Mitalipov to reporters at The New York Times. Mitalipov was the leader of the trial at the Oregon Health and Science University. Added Mitalipov, "I am quite sure it will work in humans."

Researchers say this bodes well for the future of organ transplantation. Organs grown from one’s own cloned cells would not require the strong immuno-suppressive drugs that transplant patients currently must take.

The experiment involved removing skin cells from an adult male rhesus macaque monkey and injecting them into egg cells that had had their own genetic material removed. The eggs transformed the skin cells into embryonic stem cells, the so-called "master cells," giving them the potential to change into any cell of the body.

But it was not as easy as it might sound. The scientists started with 304 eggs from 14 different monkeys. 213 of those developed into embryos, of which only 35 continued to grow beyond a few days. The 35 developed into blastocysts, at which point stem cells are generated. Twenty of the blastocysts had stem cells removed, and only two stem cell lines survived. One of the two was genetically defective, one was healthy.

Yet experts remain undaunted by the statistics, and insist that having even one stem cell line survive means the trial was a success.

"This technology potentially allows researchers to look at the early stages of many human diseases," said Sean Tipton, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, a stem-cell research advocacy group.

The study echoes findings which were widely reported by South Korean scientists in 2004; however, the earlier discovery was proven to be false.

The field of scientific cloning suffered as a result, and many believed that cloning primates just was not possible.

"This paper represents a major recovery for the field," said Robert Lanza, from Advanced Cell Technology, to reporters.

One improvement the current work developed was in eliminating the dyes used for viewing cells, which were inhibiting the cell division process.

Not everyone was universally pleased with this new discovery. Opponents of stem cell research believe that using cloned embryos, especially human cells, is wrong and amounts to murder.

Others had mixed feelings. The Reverend Thomas Berg, executive director of the Catholic-based think tank the Westchester Institute, told reporters, "Insomuch as research on cloned primates can provide basic biological insights into human disease and tissue growth, this is a golden opportunity. The risk lies in applying the cloning technique to humans. Such a pursuit, if successful, would be one of humanity's darkest endeavors."

Added Berg, "This breakthrough is a double edged sword."