DRUG DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT 27
needed for that use and donated to the university.
Te creation of all three lines was made possible by Michigan voters’ November 2008 approval of Proposal 2, a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive human embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics. Te amendment also made possible an unusual collaboration that has blossomed between the University of Michigan and a company that describes itself as “the leading global provider” of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) tests, Genesis Genetics of Detroit. PGD is a testing method used to identify days-old embryos carrying the genetic mutations responsible for inherited diseases.
Genesis Genetics performs nearly 4000 PGD tests annually at its Detroit facility. Under the arrangement between the company and the university, patients with embryos that test positive for a genetic disease now have the option of donating those embryos to the UM Consortium for Stem Cell Terapies if they have decided not to use them for reproductive purposes and the embryos would otherwise be discarded.
Te agreement was worked out between U-M’s Smith and Dr Mark Hughes, founder and president of Genesis Genetics and a pioneer in the field of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.
“Tis is an example of two Michigan leaders – U-M and Genesis Genetics -- joining forces to advance medicine by thinking outside the box,” said Smith, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical School. “Tis is an innovative collaboration and one that did not happen overnight,” Smith said. “Tis is an arrangement that’s been worked on for more than two years.”
Blastocyst During a PGD test, a single cell is removed from an eight-celled embryo. Te other seven cells continue to multiply and on the fifth day form a cluster of roughly 100 cells known as a blastocyst.
Te UM consortium received the first disease-affected blastocysts through Genesis Genetics in November and began trying to establish a human embryonic stem cell line – a collection of millions of genetically identical cells generated from a single embryo.
“Tese are very precious cells, and it
would be unconscionable not to take advantage of such an opportunity for medical science and the cure of disease,” Hughes said.
Genesis Genetics has a similar arrangement with Stanford University. Until the Michigan constitutional amendment passed in November 2008, Hughes said he “hadn’t even imagined that I could work with a top-flight institution right down the road, like the University of Michigan, because the state didn’t allow such work.”
Once the UM9-1 and UM11-1 lines were established, various tests were performed to confirm that the cells displayed traits of normal embryonic stem cells. Conducting those tests is called characterizing an embryonic stem cell line. For UM9-1 and UM11-1, the characterisation tests were completed this month.
Haemophilia B, also known as Christmas Disease, is the less common form of the disorder and is caused by the lack of clotting Factor IX.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is one of the most common inherited neurological disorders, affecting one in 2,500 people in the United States. People with CMT usually begin to
Below This microscope image (100X magnification) shows a cluster of several thousand human embryonic stem cells growing together as a colony. This colony is part of a U-M stem cell line that carries the gene for haemophilia. Photograph Courtesy Gary Smith.
“Donated embryos will be used to create cell lines that carry the genes responsible for myotonic dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, Rett syndrome, spinal muscular atrophy and Tay-Sachs disease”
Above This microscope image (200X magnification) shows the 6-day-old embryo — also known as a blastocyst — that U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies researchers used to create a cell line that carries the gene for haemophilia. Photograph Courtesy Gary Smith.
www.scientistlive.com
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