WASHINGTON _ Federal policy on human embryo researchcontinued its slow thaw this week as the National Institutes of Health(NIH) Human Embryo Research Panel voted to allow federal fundingfor certain projects. The research included in the panel's narrowapprovals involve in vitro creation of human embryos for certainresearch purposes and research on embryos up to gastrulation, the stagewhen the first vestiges of the central nervous system begin to form.Funding of such research had been blocked since 1980, when thefederal Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) had been disbanded for politicalreasons. Regulations on human subjects had required review offederally-funded protocols by the EAB. But the NIH Revitalization Actof 1993 opened the way for renewed funding of embryo research whenit rescinded that requirement.At least three biotechnology companies are already working onresearch that would be affected by the recommendations, panelmember Mark Hughes, professor of molecular genetics, cell biologyand medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told BioWorld.But because he signed confidentiality agreements, he refused tocomment further.And Charles Hartman, general partner in the C W Group, a venturecapital firm in New York, told BioWorld that he anticipates a flood ofactivity among biotechnology companies once mostly academicscientists have laid the foundations of basic research. "Without thosefoundations," Hartman explained, "it forces you to invest earlier thanwhen there is basic research.""Embryonic stem cell lines . . . could have a powerful impact on wholeareas of science, including cancer," Hughes told BioWorld. "The sky'sthe limit. There is such a void here of good research, but a lot of basicscience needs to happen [before many biotech companies will becomeinvolved]."Specifically, the panel voted 14 to 2, allowing creation of embryos invitro for use in fertility studies, and as controls in studies where theresearch is "great" or "compelling."The questions of who would evaluate the quality of the research andhow they would do so was a matter the committee did not address atthe time the vote was taken. But this task would probably fall under thepurview of a National Review Board which the panel voted to establishlater in the day.The panel also voted 15 to 1 to prohibit creation of embryos in theabsence of compelling research or to address the problem of scarcity.But members also voted to allow creation of research embryos in orderto develop embryonic stem cell lines, a particularly promising avenueof research, though seven out of 16 panel members voting want case-by-case review.And members opted to prohibit research on embryos that have reachedgastrulation even on a case-by-case basis, despite the belief that itwould allow good science to be accomplished."I could make a strong plea for the scientific possibilities of what onecould do with primitive nervous tissue in regard to understanding ofspinal cord injuries, a lot of understanding about regeneration of thecentral nervous system," said chairman Steven Muller, presidentemeritus of Johns Hopkins University. "After formation of theprimitive streak (the first vestige of nervous tissue), and formation ofnervous tissue, people look at the moral status of the embryo in adifferent way." The vote was 11 to 5.Besides the moral issue, the panel noted that many countries havealready placed the same time limit on embryo research.In fact, researchers don't know precisely when the primitive streakappears, and the panel favored allowing research to take place thatwould pin down that time, although such research would inevitably gobeyond gastrulation.The panel also voted down the use of fetal egg cells in research (femalefetuses develop egg cells before birth). "Why raise a red flag?" JohnEppig, senior staff scientist at The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor,Maine, wanted to know, when the benefits of the research might befew.No Science FictionThe panel also halted what Hughes called some "science fictionproposals." Neither transfer of a nucleus from one cell or embryo toanother, nor interspecies fertilization would be allowed. Nor would thecreation of either human-human, or human-non human chimeras,although one panel member pointed out that chimeras can occurnaturally _ for example, people with two blood types. (Chimerascontain cells from more than one individual of the same, or differentspecies.)Research on sex selection was also voted down, though just barely, andthe panel rejected allowing purchase of gametes.The voting was very informal, and was meant to give the panel a senseof its own direction for the writing of the final draft of its report than tobind the panel to any one position. The votes will not be recorded inthe report.NIH director Harold Varmus will consider the panel's report (whichshould be done by September) when he takes up the question offunding embryo research in December. n

-- David Holzman Special to BioWorld Today

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