It's too early to wait for "X-Men" yet
Prospects for IVF
Anna Romanenko, NSU
Recently, scientists in the UK were given the green light to edit the genomes of human embryos. In fact, this means a new round in the development of in vitro fertilization. And although scientists were obliged to comply with ethical standards when conducting research, many media are sounding the alarm, trying to look into the near future, when, according to opponents of experiments on embryos, the planet will be inhabited by "X-Men". Scientists claim that gene modification is carried out solely for the purpose of identifying and editing genes responsible for hereditary diseases. There is a limit to everything: eye color, gender, IQ in the near future, no one is going to edit.
Why did modern scientists so actively seek permission to conduct research, to what extent genetic modification of the human embryo is possible and what is really to be feared in the procession of gene editing, said Arseniy Yadrikhinsky, a graduate of NSU, a leading embryologist at the Pasman clinic.
Gene editing: what is possible and what is not?
Despite the statements of scientists that gene editing is designed to solve a number of problems related to hereditary diseases, opponents of IVF operate with the theory that technology will be stronger than humanism, and, perhaps, in a few decades for some money, it will be possible to edit not only heredity, but also the IQ of the child. Arseniy Yadrikhinsky debunks a myth actively supported by the media.
If the technology allows you to edit the gender and eye color, then humanity will not be able to carry out more complex modifications in the next hundreds of years. In order to make any changes in the human body, you need to know a lot about how what processes can occur and be regulated at the genetic level, and a comprehensive understanding of this is still quite far away.
The work of our brain, the mechanisms of memory and thinking are not so well studied that people can influence the development of intelligence at the level of genetic modifications. There are sequences, proteins, products... it is quite difficult to predict how they all react to each other and how this will affect higher nervous activity, the study of its molecular mechanisms is still far from being fully understood.
According to the embryologist, gene editing of the human intelligence level is unrealistic at this stage, but technology in theory allows you to control some parameters of appearance.
It is very difficult to edit IQ, it is much more effective to drink vitamins, monitor nutrition and lead a proper lifestyle during pregnancy. As for skin color, it is determined by less than a hundred genes that have been studied, that is, it is theoretically possible to influence this parameter using genetic engineering methods.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of genetic engineering is the fight against hereditary diseases.
Scientists are actively working in the direction of editing monogenic hereditary diseases, which are determined by a violation of the synthesis of a particular product. If the mechanism of the disease, the genetic basis of some mutation in the sequence of nucleotides or their transcription has been studied, then there is an opportunity to fix it.
One embryo – three parents
Recently, information was made public that British scientists from Newcastle University managed to create a human embryo for the first time in history, whose DNA chains contain genetic material from three parents at once – two women and one man.
The method is the removal of healthy DNA from the mother's egg and incorporation of them into the donor's egg, which, in turn, is implanted into the child's mother.
Researchers predict the popularity of the new method – there is an increase in demand for such procedures in clinics.
The sampling of gene material from three parents is done in order to exclude diseases associated with mitochondrial disorders. The frequency of these diseases is about one per 7 thousand people. In such cases, they resort to donation. The patient's egg nucleus, which carries her genetic material, is inserted into the egg cell of a healthy female donor. The cytoplasm is obtained from the donor, and the hereditary material is obtained from the patient. Mitochondrial hereditary material is taken from a third person, the nuclear genetic material that determines most of the development will be parental. Thus, pathology associated with the cytoplasmic genome is excluded.
Each mitochondria contains a small number of genes (37 out of 23,000 in total) that are passed from mother to child. Mutations of these genes can lead to the development of incurable genetic diseases that cause blindness, deafness, heart and kidney problems, as well as the early development of dementia. The life span of such patients is significantly reduced. The technology of "three parents" will save children from almost fifty serious diseases associated with blindness, deafness, kidney damage and heart pathologies. In the UK, 2% of children suffer from them
ECO-children are the same as everyone else
Experts in the field of in vitro fertilization note that the first thing potential parents worry about when deciding to turn to modern technologies is hidden genetic threats to the "test tube baby". Statistics based on many years of practice show that the risk of having a child with genetic abnormalities after in vitro fertilization is reduced to zero.
Such results are achieved due to high-tech diagnostics of the embryo in the preimplantation period. Embryologists conduct research on 3-5 days after conception, when the embryo consists of a very small number of cells. At this stage, it is already possible to identify potential developmental abnormalities and diseases transmitted at the gene level in the embryo.
It should be understood that a born child has risks of developing diseases, regardless of which way he was conceived, naturally or with the help of IVF. Factors that can affect his health may include the lifestyle of his parents, their age and their chronic or genetically transmitted diseases, as well as the environmental situation in the place of residence. Statistically, IVF children have more health problems just because they were originally born from parents who had health problems. But in general, these are the same children," explains Arseniy Yadrikhinsky.
When will genome editing become the norm?
Despite the fact that embryo editing is now experimental in nature, scientists predict that the method will soon be legalized and put into widespread practice. Before the British, four teams from China conducted research in the field of changing the genes of human embryos using the CRISPR technique, despite the fact that no permission was obtained at the legislative level.
By itself, gene editing is not a complicated procedure if the necessary equipment is available," says Yadrikhinsky. – Probably, some clinics in China can do this right now. That's not really a bad thing. People often accept the new with caution and distrust, and now humanity is stagnating in evolutionary terms. With the development of such technologies, a transition to a new stage is possible, it is possible that this will be the next step in the evolution of our species. If there is a demand and a need, then it will be impossible to stop the development of such technologies, even with the joint efforts of progressive states. There will be loopholes, black market, underground networks. There will be "X–Men" - but what's the big deal? Although skeptics see a threat. For example, the American Professor Silver wrote that, with the transition of reproductive genetic technologies to the category of publicly available, an uneven distribution of genetic material among the population will begin. This will lead to the appearance of a subspecies of people, called "naturals" by him, unable to mate with genetically improved representatives of humanity. Perhaps our ancestors were also once afraid of the appearance of a modern man, they thought: what a horror, will there really be a bald man who will also talk. Not everything new is bad. After all, in vitro fertilization has already created the problem of additional genetic burden: people who cannot have a child, whom nature and evolution have forbidden, still leave offspring.
How are the norms of IVF regulated in Russia and the world
Today there are no uniform global norms regulating IVF. Each country has the right to regulate laws concerning in vitro fertilization to a certain extent.
In Russia, there is an order 107 "On the procedure for the use of assisted reproductive technologies, contraindications and restrictions to their use", regulating the activities of IVF clinics. According to the order, cryopreservation of embryos and biomaterials, the use of donor sperm and eggs, as well as donor embryos are allowed in Russia. It is also possible for single women to use donor materials. However, there is no legislative regulation of inheritance and disposal of embryos and biomaterials of deceased patients, the possibility of their transfer to relatives, explains Arseniy Yadrikhinsky.
In European countries, the situation is different. Thus, cryopreservation of embryos is allowed in Germany, but only before the start of their crushing, the use of donor eggs is prohibited, as is surrogacy. In France, a ban has been imposed on the use of assistive technology methods for single women and lesbian couples. In Italy, not only egg donation and surrogacy are prohibited by law, but also sperm donation, embryo cryopreservation and disposal, that is, all embryos obtained during fertilization must be transplanted into the uterine cavity. Cryopreservation has been used in England, but only for the last ten years, anonymous donating of reproductive cells is prohibited.
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21.04.2016