http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYCwP2gN7g8
transcript (.txt)
University of Michigan researchers have created the state’s first human embryonic stem cell line, achieving a long-sought goal that provides the foundation for future efforts to develop innovative disease treatments.The new cell line, known as UM4-6, is the culmination of years of planning and preparation at U-M and was made possible by Michigan voters’ November 2008 approval of a state constitutional amendment permitting scientists here to derive embryonic stem cell lines using surplus embryos from fertility clinics.”This historic achievement opens the door on a new era for U-M researchers, one that holds enormous promise for the treatment of many seriously debilitating and life-threatening diseases,” said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. “This accomplishment will enable the University of Michigan to take its place among the world’s leaders in every aspect of stem cell research.”Work on UM4-6 began in May, and detailed characterization of the line was completed in late September. The project was conducted without federal funds, using private gifts to U-M’s Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies and internal U-M resources. With the derivation of UM4-6, U-M joins a select group of fewer than a dozen U.S. universities that have created human embryonic stem cell lines.”The real importance of today’s announcement is that the ability to derive new embryonic stem cell lines will allow us to take the next step: disease-specific research that could someday lead to new treatments,” said Gary Smith, leader of the derivation project at the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies.The consortium will distribute UM4-6 samples to stem cell researchers across campus and to their collaborators statewide. In addition, U-M researchers hope—pending the resolution of a federal court case that seeks to bar federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research—to submit UM4-6 to the U.S. National Institutes of Health for inclusion in the national registry of human embryonic stem cell lines that are eligible for federal research funding.”We’ve spent a lot of time making sure that our entire process is in compliance with the NIH guidelines for registering embryonic stem cell lines so that other scientists will be able to use these lines to conduct NIH-funded research,” said Smith, co-director of the consortium and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical School.UM4-6 was derived from a cluster of about 30 cells removed from a donated five-day-old embryo roughly the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That embryo was created for reproductive purposes but was no longer needed for that purpose and was therefore about to be destroyed.The embryonic stem cells were extracted and placed in a culture dish containing nutrients that nourished them while preventing them from differentiating into specialized cell types. The cells divided and spread over the surface of the dish. When they began to crowd the dish, the cells were gently removed and placed into several fresh culture dishes, a process called re-plating. The re-plating process was repeated every seven to 10 days.Once cell colonies have been successfully re-plated many times over several months, a new embryonic stem cell line—a collection of millions of genetically identical cells generated from a single embryo—has been established. Various tests are then performed to confirm that the cells display all the traits of normal embryonic stem cells, including the ability to form the body’s specialized cell types. Conducting those tests is called characterizing an embryonic stem cell line.While the creation of Michigan’s first human embryonic stem cell line stands as a research milestone, the many steps that led to the achievement were nearly as important.”We have addressed all the regulatory issues and have derived this line according to the highest ethical standards. We have a laboratory equipped with cutting-edge equipment and people with the know-how,” Smith said. “All our efforts have finally started to bear fruit, so now the truly exciting and novel work can begin.”In March 2009, four months after voters approved the state constitutional amendment, U-M announced the creation of a consortium to establish new human embryonic stem cell lines that will aid in the search for disease treatments and cures.Based at the Medical School, the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute’s Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies secured funding commitments of nearly $2 million to start the program. Lab space totaling 1,254 square feet was obtained in the Biomedical Science Research Building, and the labs were outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment. Four new research associates were hired to do the work.Throughout much of last year, U-M researchers worked to ensure that their proposed embryo-donation and cell-line derivation projects would comply with federal law and the Michigan Constitution, as well as extensive new regulations established last summer by the National Institutes of Health.The project required approval by U-M’s Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee and the Medical School’s Institutional Review Board. Both committees are composed of physicians, scientists, ethicists, attorneys and community members who evaluated whether the project would be conducted ethically, legally and to the benefit of patients.In November 2009, the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies received final approval to begin accepting donated embryos created for reproductive purposes but no longer needed or unsuitable for clinical use. Many Michigan couples, as well as some from outside the state, have contacted the university and expressed the desire to donate their surplus embryos—which would otherwise be discarded—for human embryonic stem cell research.In March, the first attempts were made to establish an embryonic stem cell line, a process called derivation. After several attempts, the consortium team succeeded with UM4-6, using a 5-day-old embryo known at that stage as a blastocyst.In addition to deriving new embryonic stem cell lines, consortium researchers spent much of this year refining recently developed techniques to convert adult skin cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, known as iPS cells. These reprogrammed cells display many of the most scientifically valuable properties of embryonic stem cells while enabling researchers to bypass embryos altogether.Earlier this year, the consortium established its first iPS cells, using skin samples donated by healthy individuals and by patients with diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and several ataxias, said Sue O’Shea, a professor of cell and developmental biology at the Medical School and co-director of the Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies. Consortium workers are now attempting to grow iPS cell lines that will be used to study disease mechanisms.”There are few university programs in the United States deriving disease-affected embryonic stem cell lines,” O’Shea said. “Our special niche will be creating, studying and understanding normal and abnormal development of disease-affected stem cell lines—both embryonic and iPS cell lines.””These efforts represent the culmination of several years of work to bring Michigan laws into line with the laws of other states and expand the University of Michigan’s facilities for pluripotent stem cell research, so we can follow the science wherever it leads and get to new treatments sooner rather than later,” said Sean Morrison, director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology at U-M’s Life Sciences Institute.In the months and years ahead, consortium researchers will use genetically abnormal embryos to create cell lines that carry genes for diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, Rett syndrome, spinal muscular atrophy and Tay-Sachs disease.”We are extremely gratified that we are now able to make new embryonic stem cell and iPS cell lines available to researchers everywhere, who will put them to use in the discovery of effective treatments for a wide variety of human diseases,” said Dr. Eva L. Feldman, director of the Taubman Institute. “It demonstrates the wisdom of the voters of the state of Michigan, who put their faith and confidence in the work of their scientific community. It is also a tribute to Alfred Taubman, who donated his time, his money and his leadership to make this day possible.”Embryonic stem cells are the body’s master cells; they can replicate endlessly and form all of the more than 200 cell types in the human body. Scientists hope these remarkably versatile cells—and the iPS cells that mimic them—can someday replace faulty cells or diseased tissues in failing organs. This fledgling field is known as regenerative medicine, and the U-M Consortium for Stem Cell Therapies intends to play a leadership role in this research.
Joseph Cabadas - 1990
“The project required approval by U-M’s Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee and the Medical School’s Institutional Review Board. Both committees are composed of physicians, scientists, ethicists, attorneys and community members…”
My what over exuberant backslapping and glad handing over barbarianism with a scientific face. I will say this, coming from a historian’s point of view, Stalin’s Soviet Union and Nazi Germany had many committees of ethicists and attorneys and such. When we reduce people to mere products — some to be used as raw materials for the benefit of others or as “extra embryos that are going to be destroyed anyway” — we sink further down into cultural and social depravity.
How far U of M has sunk from the ideals of Father Gabriel Richard and the Rev. John Monteith.
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Brian Dimoff - 1997
I couldn’t agree more with Joseph C’s comments. This is a sad day in Michigan history. I wonder which group of people will be next to experimented on and/or destroyed to “help” others with their diseases. Don’t people realize that through the unethical destruction of HUMAN embryos, there have been ZERO cures, but using the ethical method of adult stem cells there have been 75+ documented cures/improvements in fighting disease. There is only one motivation for embryonic stem cell research….MONEY. And this is one Michigan Alumni that will not be donating to a university that approves and encourages such immoral practices.
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Curtis Street - 2002
Congrats U of M! You’re finally starting to make progress in a field that has born little to no benefits thus far while great strides are already being made with Adult Stem Cells.
“We have addressed all the regulatory issues and have derived this line according to the highest ethical standards.” So where exactly are U of M’s ethical standards derived from? Apparently not a respect for the dignity of vulnerable human life.
None the less, I guess a congrats is in order to all those children who ended up being USED for research because they were not needed (or loved).
Good article, it is very carefully worded to avoid mentioning how many embryonic lives (I mean blastocysts) were destroyed to achieve one line of cells!
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Tom Banks - 1977
I could not agree more with Joseph Cabadas. Experimenting on human embryos depreciates all of us.
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Brian Carey - 1992
I am profoundly saddened that my alma mater, the great University of Michigan, is actively advancing something morally reprehensible. Each of these embryos is a human life, which would grow into a human being if it were put in the right place. I admit that embryonic stem cell research sounds appealing, if one regards these as just extra cells that could be thrown away or employed to cure horrible diseases! Of course, the “extra” embryos are created from in-vitro fertilization, a procedure which itself poses a great many moral dilemas. The concerns voiced against IVF have long been ignored in favor of big business and in support of an increasingly common, self-serving lifestyle where couples wait until later in life, if ever, to have children. So we have a ready supply of “spare parts” from IVF to potentially cure disease. I hate to see what happens next if this is successful. Can you imagine the market for embryos from desperate young women willing to sell them? How much will families pay for embryos to cure their sick children or extend the lives of their elderly loved ones? What if scientists find that fresher, more developed embyos work better? What if late-term or full-term babies work best? This may sound absurd, but who could imagine 20 years ago we’d even be talking about this? May God have mercy on us.
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Scott Kirkwood - 1983
Not sure why there is such a continued push for embryonic stem cell research considering its controversy and the fact that there are already over 70 successful adult stem cell treatments already… Check out the facts!
http://www.stemcellresearchfacts.org/stem-cell-successes/
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Dan Colovas - 1962
I think this is just great. The possibilities are enormous. Keep up the good work.
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Paul Seibold - 1969
The eighth paragraph’s contemptuous dismissal of any moral qualms says it all.
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Fawzi Elshafei - 1982
“While the creation of Michigan’s first human embryonic stem cell line stands as a research milestone, the many steps that led to the achievement were nearly as important.”
If we look at the first word in this paragraph in this article, we note that it started by the word of “creation. However, what it is in making here is to develop or separate a cell line from a blastocyst embryo grading stage and not to create. But this character her it is recipe is characterized by the creator of The One God, not scientists
Do not let vanity inspire us as scientists, and we know where we put our pens. These things must be observed when an announcement on the progress of science and particularly sensitive issue such as this if we want to take this in consideration of scientific vinegar or an ethical point.
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michael goz - 1981
As an ataxia sufferer I can see the need for any and all research to help find cures to these ailments. The religious objectors obviously can’t. More’s the pity.
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Marko Belej - 1997
The objections to embyonic stem cell research are not solely religious– they are also grounded in the scientific fact that an embryo is a living human being (see any embryology textbook). The university has completely ignored this key issue. They should stop calling me for money; I cannot in good conscience give them a single cent.
P.S. If it’s time to play our respective disability cards, then let me point out that I have MS. A cure would be nice, but not if it requires the destruction of human life.
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Joseph Cabadas - 1990
Dear Mr. Michael Goz:
Your first name stands for “Who is like God” BTW.
You have my sympathies as a fellow human being who is suffering from a disease. We are all mortal and will face something that will kill us and/or will be hampered from various ailments. But, if I may be blunt, since you take a utilitarian view of human life and are not worried by “religious objectors” — why is your personal health such a concern to a cold, “objective” society free of moral and religious constraints? Is it because you are able to communicate that we — the great unwashed — should care that you need treatment? Is human life something special in the universe — whether you are religious or not — or are you just a carbon-based life form? Should society only treat you with respect depending upon your usefulness to the state?
The real pity I have is for those who lack compassion for those who are weaker than they are — including the unborn. Watch out for what kind of “science” and “medicine” you are asking for.
Are you outraged by things like the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? Where black men were intentionally not treated for the disease to track its natural progression. That experiment, I’m sure, was approved by various government committees, scientists, doctors and “ethicists” too.
Sincerely,
Joe Cabadas
award-winning writer
author of ’40 Ford
author of River Rouge: Ford’s Industrial Colossus
co-author of The American Auto Factory
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Beverly Bettega
I agree with the majority opinion and that is that it is a disgrace that our great university has to stoop to using human beings in their embryonic stage with which to experiment. The sad part, aside from the morality, is that stem cells are readily available from adult sources and placenta sources that we do not need to use embryos. This move is a significant tragedy in the history of Michigan and the U.S.
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Patricia Bunce
Thank you for your article on stem cell research. My right arm and hand were paralyzed by a careless doctor in 1996. I am most anxious to find a cure for my spinal injury to allow me to play the piano and bassoon once more.
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Michael Sierant - 2012
I applaud the research efforts at the Medical School. Although significantly behind the ESC research of other institutions, this is fantastic news! Hopefully this signals UMich’s return as a bastion of cutting-edge biomedical research.
To anyone outside the University or State, please ignore the above posters. They do not reflect the opinion of the University’s students or faculty.
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ruth fox
I am comfortable with this research.I do not believe every embryo produced should come to fruition. Our world population is fast coming to the point where a satisfactory life for all will be unsustainable.
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Lisa Myers - 1995
I can see that there are posts on here that are cloaked in 3000 year old third word superstitions. I would not have my practice if it were not for newer rationalist thinking. Newer being from the last 100 or so years.
The E.S.C. controversy has always puzzled me. The best tool for modern medicine should have no opponents.
I see websites with so much misinformation on the issue. The bogus sites are as a rule anonymous or put up by people with a background of superstition. A quick check of http://www.whois.net/ confirms this.
So many people will benefit from the new research. So many people will be without disease and pain.
Way to go U-M ! !
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John Squires
To the dogmatic, 10 to 15% of pregnancies miscarry in the first 8 weeks. So there is a 10-15 percent chance that the embryo used for UM 4-6 would have not survived anyhow. There is a hundred percent chance that it would not survive if it were thrown out because it was not used for implantation in a fertility clinic. No one complains when someone donates their organs for transplantation, but when some stem cells are taken from an embryo that would have been disposed of anyhow, people are upset. Interesting.
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