Česká Genetická Banka

SCIENCE: 12. 6. 2013

SCIENCE: U.S. Stem Cell Patent Challenged

"Spurred by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled out patents on human genes (Science, 21 June, p. 1387), two nonprofi t groups are now asking a federal appeals court to throw out the key patent on human embryonic stem cells. The Public Patent Foundation of New York City—a leader in the gene patents case—joined with Consumer Watchdog of Washington, D.C., and Santa Monica, California, to argue that human stem cells cannot be patented because they are a product of nature. The suit focuses on research published in 1998 by biologist James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. (...)"

 

SCIENCE: Evidence Mounts for Two More HIV Cures

"Two HIV-infected men who had stem cell transplants to treat blood cancers have gone off antiretrovirals (ARVs), and early indications suggest that they may have cleared the virus. This resembles the case of Timothy Brown, the fi rst person cured of an HIV infection, who has been virus-free for more than 6 years. Researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston last year reported no sign of HIV in the men following the transplants (Science, 3 August 2012, p. 509). But the patients were taking ARVs, which can reduce HIV to undetectable levels. (...)"

 

NATURE: T_reg induction by a rationally selected mixture of Clostridia strains from the human microbiota

"Manipulation of the gut microbiota holds great promise for the treatment of inflammatory and allergic diseases^{1, 2}. Although numerous probiotic microorganisms have been identified³, there remains a compelling need to discover organisms that elicit more robust therapeutic responses, are compatible with the host, and can affect a specific arm of the host immune system in a well-controlled, physiological manner. Here we use a rational approach to isolate CD4⁺FOXP3⁺ regulatory T (T_reg)-cell-inducing bacterial strains from the human indigenous microbiota. Starting with a healthy human faecal sample, a sequence of selection steps was applied to obtain mice colonized with human microbiota enriched in T_reg-cell-inducing species. (...)"

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12331.html

 

NATURE: A slippery slope to human germline modification

"The UK government’s recent move towards human trials of mitochondrial-replacement techniques has prompted intense interest among scientists and bioethicists, while the media continue to frame mitochondrial replacement as a matter of ‘three-parent babies’. The description is accurate — it would involve a woman affected by mitochondrial disease, whose egg provides a nucleus, a second woman to provide a ‘healthy’ egg and a man to provide sperm — but this simple framing overshadows profound social and ethical concerns. Mitochondrial-replacement procedures would constitute germline modification. Were the United Kingdom to grant a regulatory go-ahead, it would unilaterally cross a legal and ethical line on this issue that has been observed by the entire international community. This consensus holds that genetic-engineering tools may be applied, with appropriate care and safeguards, to treat an individual’s medical condition, but should not be used to modify gametes or early embryos and so manipulate the characteristics of future children. (...)"

http://www.nature.com/news/a-slippery-slope-to-human-germline-modification-1.13358

 

NATURE: Trial and error

"The Italian government is planning to oversee a clinical trial of a controversial stem-cell therapy. There are many reasons for the trial to be stopped — and no good reason for it to be carried out. Last week, Nature revealed that the method used by Italian researcher Davide Vannoni, founder of the Stamina Foundation in Brescia, to treat scores of very sick patients is based on flawed data. The revelation struck a major nerve, and hit the front pages of the main newspapers in Italy, as well as featuring on television and radio talk shows. A highly emotional debate about whether Stamina therapy works, or could ever work, has been running long and hot for months. Vannoni denies any wrongdoing. (...)"

http://www.nature.com/news/trial-and-error-1.13346